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Getting a Green Card with a Marijuana Possession Case
The stigma around weed is going away-especially in California, home to the first legal dispensary. More and more states are legalizing pot for personal or medical use. Even before weed was legalized, a marijuana conviction wasn’t significant in many states. It often just involved receiving and paying a citation, sort of like a speeding ticket.…
I Received a Request for Evidence (RFE) From USCIS — What Should I Do?
If United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) needs more information to proceed with an immigration application, it will send out a letter called a ‘Request for Evidence (RFE)’. If you received an RFE, it is normal to be stressed out, confused, and even frightened. At this time, it is essential that you know how…
Green Card Holders Denied US Citizenship for Marijuana Jobs
Marijuana laws are in a state of flux. According to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), recreational marijuana is legal, in some form, in approximately a dozen U.S. states, including in California. However, marijuana remains strictly illegal under federal law. While the cannabis industry is growing rapidly, the federal prohibition on marijuana…
Immigration to the United States vs. Other Countries
The ‘New Colossus’, a poem by Emma Lazarus, is engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty. Its most famous line, declaring to the world that America is ready to accept the “huddled masses” who are “yearning to breathe free”, has long been referenced to show America’s appreciation of immigrants. There is no doubt…
Catch & Release: What Does it Mean?
‘Catch and release’ is the colloquial (slang) name of a long-time U.S. immigration enforcement protocol. Essentially, the policy simply allows those who have been accused of immigration violations to be released in the interim period while they are waiting to go before an immigration judge. Politically, catch and release has become an extremely controversial issue.…
Common Jobs Held By Immigrants in the United States
Recently, Voice of America (VOA) produced a series of maps and charts that showed the wide variety of jobs that are commonly held by immigrants throughout the country. VOA put together this information using a study conducted by the Minnesota Population Center. One particularly interesting map displays the most common job held by immigrants in…
Applying for Citizenship? 9 Things You Need to Know
If you’re a green card holder and you’ve been living in the Los Angeles area for a few years, you may be thinking about applying to become a U.S. citizen. As you start to look into it, you may be thinking to yourself, what does the process look like? What are the common problems people…
Five Resume Tips for U.S. Immigrants
One of the first things you will probably do once you are in the United States is look for work. The job search process differs from country to country and once you begin your search in the United States, you might find that you are not receiving calls back or job offers. This could be…
An Overview of the Different Types of Immigrant Visas
If you are an individual who is hoping to apply and be approved for a U.S. immigrant visa, it is important that you understand the multiple types of visas that are available, and which one you may qualify for. For help filing your visa application in an accurate and proficient manner, an immigration attorney is…
Armenian Immigration in Boston
For the past century, Boston has been a sanctuary for Armenian immigrants as demonstrated in the American Community Survey in 2013. It states that over 25,000 Armenians have migrated to Massachusetts, making it the second largest state where Armenian immigrants reside. The first being California. After the death of 1.5 million Armenians during the genocide…