California Immigration Lawyer Blog

It can take years to bring family family members to the United States legally - anywhere from 1 year to 15 years, depending on the category of the petition and the country the beneficiary comes from. The wait unfortunately does not guarantee a visa. Indeed, there are certain circumstances which can automatically terminate the petition. For instance, if the petitioner dies, the petition is automatically revoked. Thus after waiting 15 years, a petition can die with the petitioner.

In such a situation it is possible to seek "humanitarian reinstatement." In order to seek reinstatement, you must file a request at the location where the petition is pending. (I.e., at the embassy abroad or at a Service Center in the United States. For those of us in northern California, you would send it to the to the California Service Center. In order to succeed in your request, you must prove that there is a humanitarian reason why the petition should be reinstated by discussing the following factors: 1) disruption of a family unit; 2) hardship to United States citizens or lawful permanent residents; 3) a beneficiary who is elderly or in ill health (but not so severe that she would be prevented from immigrating); 4) a beneficiary who has had a lengthy residence in the United States; 5) a beneficiary who has no home to go to; 6) undue delay in processing by USCIS or consular officers; 7) a beneficiary who has strong family ties in the United States.

In addition to this request, you will have to submit a new affidavit of support from a different family member since the petitioner has passed away. Acceptable family members who can substitute for the petitioner include: spouse, parent, in-laws, sibling, child (if at least 18 years old), brother-in-law or sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, or legal guardian of beneficiary.

But now for the icing on the cake. At a recent meeting held between attorneys and California Service Staff on November 19, 2008, representatives from the California Service Center indicated that it is currently taking two years to process reinstatement petitions. This seems unconscionable to me. In a situation such as this, where the petitioner has died, the beneficiary is already grieving for her loss. It seems cruel to make her wait an additional two years, just to inform her whether or not the petition will be reinstated. What are they doing for two years and how can this be justified?

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: California Service Center , Humanitarian Reinstatement , Immigration Law , Visa Petition

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The government has rolled out another program in the name of security for visa waiver applicants called "Electronic System for Travel Authorization," or ESTA, for short. Effective January 12, 2009, all visa waiver program ("VWP") travelers will be required to obtain a travel authorization via ESTA prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea under the VWP.

The VWP permits visitors from certain countries to visit the United States for 90 days without obtaining a visa. A list of the countries is as follows.

As of November 17, 2008, The following countries are now included in the visa wavier program: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia. Visitors from these countries must have an e-passport and must be using ESTA now.

Continue reading " ESTA or arresta " »

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Immigration Law , U.S. Customs and Border Protection , Visa Waiver

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Anyone who talks to me and uses the internet soon learns that I am a big fan of the internet-based virtual world called Second Life©. Second Life is an amazing virtual reality in which users create avatars who then interact with each other. You can go dancing, shopping or listen to music. You can also participate in educational and spiritual activities or you can just hang out on a beach. There are thousands of groups to join from support groups to social groups to educational groups. I am a member of the SL Bar Association, a group of about 100 scholars, law students, and attorneys from around the world. It has been great fun to meet people who have an interest in the law and in virtual reality.

One of our members, Kate Fitz, has been instrumental in arranging for lawyers to get continuing legal education credit by attending seminars on Second Life. In real life, Kate is a law librarian at the Sacramento County Law Library. Kate (known as Cat Galileo on Second Life) has also established a law library on Second Life. (See Kate's website about the Lawspot.) On Saturday, November 22 at noon, she will be leading a seminar on web 2.0 tools for lawyers. Web 2.0 tools abound. Blogs, vlogs (video blogs), social networks, wikis, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, RSS feeds, and much more. Many of these tools are free. Her talk will show lawyers how to use these tools to keep up-to-date, enhance research and collaborative work, network with colleagues and clients, and market a practice. Participants will receive handouts including links to the featured web tools.

The seminar is free to anyone attending. If you wish to obtain the one hour of continuing legal education credit, the cost is $25.00 or the equivalent of that in Linden dollars. You may find more information about the seminar and register for it on the SL Bar Association's website. Hope to see you there!

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Second Life©

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At our recent conference of Immigration lawyers in San Francisco last weekend, we heard several presentations about e-verify. I came away from the conference thinking that whether or not to register for e-verify is a Shakespearean quandary.

E-verify is an internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security in cooperation with the Social Security Administration that permits participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. Once an employer registers with a program, the user completes a tutorial and then may begin using the system. The Department of Homeland Security claims that more than 69,000 employers use e-verify and that over 4 million employment eligibility queries have been run in fiscal year 2008.

It is currently a voluntary program; however, beginning on January 15, 2009, all federal contractors and subcontractors are required to use it. Thus for some employers, participation in the program will be obligatory.

Immigration Customs and Enforcement ("ICE") wants non-governmental employers to use e-verify so they have established a program called IMAGE designed to help employers institute what ICE calls "best practices" into the hiring process. By registering for this program, employers agree to:

• submit to an I-9 audit by ICE;


• verify the Social Security numbers of their employees using another database called Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS);


• use e-verify for all new hiring;


• establish an internal training program covering such topics as I-9, fraudulent identity documents, and e-verify procedures;


• have only trained employees completing the I-9 and performing the e-verify query and establish a secondary review process;


• conduct a semiannual I-9 audit by neutral party and establish a self-reporting procedure to inform ICE of violations or deficiencies;


• establish a protocol for responding to no-match letters from the Social Security Administration.

In exchange for an employer's participation in the program, ICE will consider an employer's participation in IMAGE as a mitigating factor should any civil penalties be levied against an employer who has hired persons unauthorized to work.

Continue reading " To e-verify or not to e-verify, that is the question " »

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: E-verify

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It may be easier for dogs or cats to immigrate to the United States than for humans. They do not need passports. There are, however, requirements that their owners must follow in order to bring them to the U.S.

The importation of animals, in general, is regulated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC"). There are different rules depending on the type of animal that is being imported into the United States. In addition to the CDC's regulations, each state and airline may have additional rules. This post will discuss the requirements for bringing your dog or cat into the United States.

Dogs

A general certificate of health is not required by CDC for entry of pet dogs into the United States, although some airlines or states may require them. (California does not.) Pet dogs are subject to inspection at ports of entry and may be denied entry into the United States if they have evidence of an infectious disease that can be transmitted to humans. If a dog appears to be ill, further examination by a licensed veterinarian at the owner's expense might be required at the port of entry.

Proof of Rabies Vaccination:
Dogs must have a certificate showing that they have been vaccinated against rabies at least 30 days prior to entry into the United States.

Importation of Unvacinated Dogs:
Dogs not accompanied by proof of rabies vaccination, including those that are too young to be vaccinated (i.e., less than 3 months of age), may be admitted if the importer completes a confinement agreement (see below) and confines the animal until it is considered adequately vaccinated against rabies (the vaccine is not considered effective until 30 days after the date of vaccination).

Confinement agreement (Form CDC 75.37)

Continue reading " Does my dog need a passport to immigrate to the United States? " »

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Immigration Law

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