Did you know that a visitor visa doesn't guarantee you the right to enter the U.S. as a visitor? If you want to come to the U.S. as a visitor (and you are not subject to the visa waiver program), simply go to a U.S. Consulate abroad and apply. Keep in mind that the Consulate will presume that you, as a visitor visa applicant, are actually planning to immigrate to the U.S. So, the only way you will be able to persuade the Consulate to grant your visitor visa applicant, is to convince them that you are not going to immigrate to the U.S. and that you have every intention of returning to your home country when your trip ends. READ MORE
Boston Immigration Lawyer – What to do if your I-751 is denied because you filed it late
conditional permanent residency, Green card, I-751, Immigration Court Boston
Lately, our Boston immigration law office has been inundated by a flood of people who have had their I-751, petition to remove conditions on permanent residency, denied by USCIS because they were not filed on time. As the I-751 denial letter points out, when the I-751 is denied, all the rights and privileges of permanent residency are terminated. In some cases, the I-751 denial letter is accompanied by a Notice to Appear in Immigration Court, which means that deportation or removal proceedings have been initiated. If you filed your I-751 late and then got one of these denial letters from USCIS, what should you do? First, take a deep breath. Relax. Don't panic. And, by all means, don't pack your bags and leave the U.S. READ MORE
TPS for Haiti: Why You Should Apply
As most people in Boston's Haitian community know by now, Haitian nationals who are now in the U.S. may apply for Temporary Protective Status or TPS to avoid deportation from the U.S. and to obtain a work permit, i.e., employment authorization. Applications for TPS are filed on Form I-821 and must be received by the cut-off deadline of July 20, 2010. TPS is a generous benefit. Consider the following: A final order of deportation or removal will not disqualify you for TPS as a Haitian; As a Haitian, you may qualify for TPS even if you are out of status or have overstayed your visa; and If you entered the U.S. without inspection, you may still apply for TPS as a Haitian. READ MORE
Want a green card through marriage? How your tax return might help or hurt.
Adjustment of Status, Citizenship, Green card, immigration and taxes, Immigration Tips
Green Cards, Marriage and Taxes As an immigration lawyer in Boston, I know next to nothing about accounting and tax law. But I do know a lot about how your tax return may impact your immigration case. If you are going through any immigration process, you should expect immigration judges and officers to scrutinize your tax returns. For those who are in the process of applying for a green card through marriage to a permanent resident or to a U.S. citizen or who have filed an I-751 petition to remove the condition on permanent residency, I have 3 tips that may help you: READ MORE
Want to help your parents get green card? Read this first
As an immigration attorney, my goal is to help people get green cards and U.S. citizenship. One of the most important privileges that you gain with US citizenship is the right to file an immigration petition (Form I-130) for your mother and father. But before helping your parents get green cards, you need to think through this decision and weigh your immigration options carefully. How to lose your green card status Before you help your parents get green cards, keep in mind that when someone with a green card stops living in the United States, they lost their green card status. It's called abandonment of residency. Once you've been given lawful permanent residency, you can't definitively lose your status until an immigration judge conducts a formal hearing in Immigration Court and rules that you have abandoned your green card or residency status. To make this decision, the Immigration Judge will look at a variety of factors including whether you have worked in the U.S., filed income tax returns, and whether you have maintained an actual home in the U.S. READ MORE
H-1B Visa Update
In years past, the problem with H-1B visas was scarcity--too many visa applicants going after too few H-1B visas. Congress capped the annual number of available H-1B visas at 65,000. Although exceptions to the H-1B cap exist, this general restriction had a devastating effect on companies that depend on recruiting talented, educated foreign professionals with advanced degrees. With the H-1B visa limits in mind, during immigration consultations in my Boston office, I'd typically advise immigration clients that if they didn't submit their H-1B visa petition on the earliest possible moment--April 1--their prospects for success were subject to chance. I described the H-1B visa application as sort of like a lottery. An element of luck existed because even if your H-1B visa application was valid and deserved to be approved, who knew whether your petition would be fortunate enough to be selected? And in years past, H-1B visas were gone within days of becoming available. READ MORE
Thinking of sealing or expunging your criminal record? A Boston immigration lawyer says think again
Citizenship, Green card, immigration consequences of criminal convictions
These days, it is not easy to get a job or housing benefits. And it is even tougher if you have a criminal record. To make things easier, criminal lawyers often recommend having your criminal record expunged or sealed. This can be great advice for people seeking work or housing benefits as you will effectively have no criminal record once your criminal record is expunged or sealed. Your Massachusetts CORI criminal history report will show "no adult criminal record," and you can honestly say you have no criminal record when applying for jobs and housing benefits. But sealing or expunging your criminal record does not free you from immigration consequences resulting from a criminal record. A conviction--even if it's been sealed or expunged--can still trigger your deportation. And USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) can deny your green card or citizenship application because of a sealed or expunged criminal record. READ MORE
Diversity Visa Lottery
Consular Processing, Diversity Visa Lottery, Green card
When people visit me in my Boston immigration law office, I encourage anyone who is eligible to apply for the Department of State's Diversity Visa lottery. Yesterday, the Department of State' announced the winners of the 2010 Diversity Visa lottery. Those who already applied for the DV Lottery can check online here to see whether they were lucky enough to be selected to receive one of the 50,000 visas granted each year. But being selected does not mean that you will automatically get a green card and become a permanent resident. What it does mean is that you will be eligible to go through a complex immigration process on the basis of being selected for the DV Lottery. READ MORE
Deportation and Juvenile Court Proceedings
Deportation, immigration consequences of criminal convictions, Naturalization, Removal
Since I'm an immigration attorney, I'm often asked for my opinion on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions and activities. Yesterday, a criminal defense attorney in Boston asked me whether, in Massachusetts, a non-citizen youth who breaks the law and who is found delinquent by a juvenile court could end up being deported as a result of the juvenile delinquency finding. The short answer is no. According to the Board of Immigration Appeals, a juvenile adjudication isn't considered a criminal conviction for immigration purposes. The logic behind this rule is that juvenile proceedings are not criminal. So a delinquency finding on a deportable offense will not cause a juvenile to be deported. READ MORE
How to get to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Burlington, MA using public transportation
Deportation, Immigration Bond, Immigration Tips
In 2007, Immigration and Customs Enforcement--the agency, which handles immigration bonds and is in charge of deportation--moved its offices from the centrally-located JFK Federal Building in downtown Boston to a remote office park way out in the boonies of Burlington, Massachusetts. In my years of experience as an immigration lawyer specializing in deportation cases, I've noticed that many of my clients don't have cars and rely on public transportation. My clients need to travel from Boston area to the Burlington, MA immigration office to post immigration bonds or to report in for orders of supervision or orders of recognizance. My immigration clients often ask me how to get to ICE's Burlington office from Boston using public transportation. READ MORE
