California Immigration Lawyer Blog

Yesterday President Obama announced the elimination of the HIV inadmissibility ban at the signing of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009. Currently individuals with HIV are inadmissible to the United States. As part of the new legislation, individuals with HIV will be admissible and individuals seeking permanent residence will no longer have to be tested for HIV as part of the medical exam that is given to all new immigrants.

The final rule was published yesterday and goes into effect on January 4, 2010.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Adjustment of status , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Immigrants , Medical exams , New Immigration legislation

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I am writing the second of a multi-part series of posts on how to bring family relatives to the United States permanently. The first post I wrote provided general information on bringing family relatives to the United States. (See my post, "Can I petition for my relative to immigrate to the United States?") This post will focus on how to petition for your brother or sister to come to the United States permanently.

In order to petition for your brother or sister you must file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative with United States and Citizenship Services ("USCIS") along with proof that you are a United States Citizen and that you are related to your brother or sister. I will discuss the steps you must take in more detail below.

Obtain Form I-130

You may obtain Form I-130, by clicking on the link in this post. At the same time that you obtain the form, you should also print out the instructions to the form. They are more detailed than the instructions I will provide in this post and provide the mailing address to where you will need to send the form.

Proof of U.S. Citizenship

You may prove that you are a U.S. citizen by sending one of the following documents to USCIS with your petition:

• A copy of your birth certificate (if you were born in the United States) issued by a civil registrar, vital statistics office, or other civil authority.
• A copy of your naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship issued by USCIS or the former INS.
• A copy of your Form FS-240, Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States, issued by a U.S. embassy or consulate.
• A copy of your unexpired U.S. passport. OR
• An original letter from a U.S. consular officer verifying that you are a U.S. citizen with a valid passport.

Continue reading "How do I bring my brother or sister permanently to the United States?" »

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Immigrants , USCIS , Visa Petition

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Last weekend I spoke at a conference for Social Security attorneys along with my colleague, David Wright. Our talk was about immigration issues that arise when representing applicants for SSI and/or SSDI. We gave examples from our own cases and discussed issues such as refugees applying for SSI, temporary residents applying for SSDI and the pitfalls that can occur when permanent residents apply for disability. There have been some recent changes to eligibility for SSI by certain groups of immigrants and we highlighted those changes.

You may find a copy of our written materials on my blog here.

Attorneys were interested in our presentation and now know some of the questions they should ask their clients before taking on representation.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Attorneys , Disability , Immigrants , Public benefits , Refugee , SSI , Social Security

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On February 4, 2009, President Obama signed into law the 2009 Children's Health Program Reauthorization Act (CHPRA H.R. 2) . This law reauthorizes the Children's Health Program which provides money to the states for children's health. Included in the law is also a provision which removes the five year waiting period for legal immigrant children and pregnant women to access health coverage It does this by granting federal money to the states so that they may provide health coverage through CHIP and Medicaid.

This is a welcome development at a time when people may be losing health insurance as a result of a job layoffs.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Immigrants , Immigration Law , Public benefits

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The Immigration Policy Project of the National Conference of State Legislatures ("NCSL") has recently published its report of State laws related to immigrants and immigration in 2008 passed by state legislatures across the United States in 2008. Last year, 1305 pieces of legislation were introduced. In 41 states, at least one law or resolution was enacted, with a total of 206 laws and resolutions enacted nationwide.

The California State Legislature in Sacramento passed five pieces of legislation:

• Assembly Bill (AB) 499 (Signed 09/27/2008) This Act, the Sexually Exploited Minors Pilot Project, authorizes the District Attorney of Alameda County to create a pilot project addressing the needs and effective treatment of commercially sexually exploited minors.
• AB 2448 (Signed 09/27/2008) This bill, waiver of court fees and costs, allows an applicant beginning on July 1, 2009, to proceed without paying court fees and costs due to the applicant's financial situation if he or she is receiving public benefits under the Cash Assistance Program for the Aged, Blind and Disabled Legal Immigrants (CAPI).
• AB 88 (Signed 9/23/2008) This law, contained in the Budget Act of 2008, provides $8.8 million of reimbursements to CALWORKS participants. Providers of adult basic education, English as a Second Language, and English as a Second Language-Citizenship for legal permanent residents, shall grant priority for services to immigrants facing the loss of federal benefits under the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193). The law also provides for citizenship and naturalization preparation services.
• AB 1781 (signed 9/23/2008) This bill also contained in the Budget Act of 2008, provides funding for various migrant related services, including housing. The Act allocates ten percent of the Community Services Block Grant to migrant and seasonal farm worker programs; $600,000 for a three-year program evaluation to meet federal Title I Migrant Education Program requirements; and funds migrant day and child care.
• AB 2405 (Signed 8/1/2008)
  The Act, relating to domestic violence, permits a county to authorize an additional fee to be imposed upon a conviction for specified crimes of domestic violence, to be deposited into a fund in each county to be used for domestic violence prevention programs that focus on assisting women who are immigrants, refugees, or persons who live in rural communities.

In addition to these laws, the legislature passed 10 resolutions honoring various immigrant communities.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Immigrants , Immigration Law

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I was at the eye doctor yesterday and my doctor asked me whether or not immigrants can receive Medicaid. This is a question I hear a lot. The answer to the question depends on a person's legal status in the United States, the date he or she entered the United States and the person's income.

Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that provides health insurance coverage to certain categories of low-income individuals, including children, pregnant women, parents of eligible children, seniors and people with disabilities. Each state administers its own Medicaid program. In California, the name of the program is Medi-Cal. In general, it is a program for people who have limited income and no health insurance or poor health insurance. There are various criteria for eligibility including age, pregnancy, disability, blindness, income and resources, and one's status in the United States. This blog post will focus on the legal status aspect.

First, in order to receive Medicaid, you have to be what is called a "qualified immigrant." Qualified immigrants include the following: 1) lawful permanent residents (green card holders); 2) refugees, asylees, persons granted withholding of deportation/removal, conditional entry (in effect prior to April 1, 1980), or paroled into the United States for at least one year; 3) Cuban/Haitian entrants; 4) battered spouses and children with a pending or approved a) self-petition for an immigrant visa, or b) immigrant visa filed for a spouse or child by a U.S. Citizen or lawful permanent resident, or c) applicant for cancellation of removal/suspension of deportation, whose need for benefits has a substantial connection to the battery or cruelty. A parent/child of a battered child/spouse are also "qualified." Victims of trafficking are not included in the "qualified" definition but they and their derivative beneficiaries are eligible for benefits funded or administered by federal agencies, without regard to their immigration status. Any non-citizen who does not fall under one of those preceding categories would not be eligible for Medicaid.

Continue reading "Can immigrants receive Medicaid?" »

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Asylee , Immigrants , Immigration Law , Public benefits , Refugee

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