Snow Falling on D&B

Oh Sh*t I Lost My Green Card

You know the feeling. You know exactly where you put it in your wallet. But it isn’t there. You search all the sections of your wallet, twice. It was just here. Frantically, you search your bag. Maybe it fell out. Where is it??? And then slowly you come to accept that you have lost that most valuable document that took you years to obtain: your Green Card.  After many expletives (okay, maybe that was just me!) you realize you have an international trip in three weeks. What a nightmare! 

The solution to the problem starts with an application to US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) using Form I-90. This form is used for applications to renew or replace Green Cards. This includes ten-year Green Cards that are expiring, Green Cards that have errors or after a name change, and Green Cards that have been lost or mutilated. The I-90 cannot be used to extend or replace expiring conditional (i.e. two-year) Green Cards. 

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Huffington Post: "Whoops! The Department of Justice Admits That It Misunderstood U.S. Citizenship Law"

The US government has been misinterpreting certain citizenship statutes since 2008 and has consequently been incorrectly ordering US citizens deported, reports Laura Murray-Tjan, the Director of the Federal Immigration Appeals Project. The Department of Justice (DOJ) admitted their mistake in a recent decision saying that they "misread" the legal requirements for legitimation. Murray-Tjan writes:

The DOJ's error involved what is known as "derivative citizenship." If a parent naturalizes while a child is under 18, the child automatically becomes a citizen, if some other conditions are met. For example, if a father naturalizes, his out-of-wedlock children must be "legitimated" to derive citizenship.

This recent DOJ decision overturned an immigration judge's order to remove (i.e., deport) Oshane Shaneil Cross, a twenty-six-year-old man who was born out of wedlock in Jamaica to parents who were not American citizens at the time. Cross had been arrested for burglary in Connecticut and argued that he became a US citizen when his father naturalized. The immigration judge, however, said that Cross had never been legitimated under Jamaican law because his biological parents never married. In response, the decision clarified that "a person born abroad to unmarried parents can qualify as a legitimated 'child'...if he or she was born in a country or State that has eliminated all legal distinctions between children based on the marital status of their parents or has a residence or domicile in such a country or State[.]" This was true in Cross's case as Jamaica had passed a law in 1976 that eliminated legal distinctions between children born to married and unmarried parents.

What about those already deported? Murray-Tjan asks. "Will the DOJ communicate its error to affected individuals? How? When?...Will the government make any effort to identify them and bring them home?"

DHS Extends Eligibility for Employment Authorization to Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses

US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) Director León Rodríguez announced today that as part of President Obama's executive actions back in November 2014, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending employment eligibility to H-4 visa holders of H-1B spouses who are seeking employment-based permanent resident status. Applications will start being accepted on May 26, 2015.

This action is "one of several initiatives underway to modernize, improve and clarify visa programs to grow the U.S. economy and create jobs." Director Rodríguez said that granting employment to these spouses will not only provide "more economic stability and better quality of life" to the families but also that it will help "U.S. businesses keep their highly skilled workers by increasing the chances these workers will choose to stay in this country during the transition from temporary workers to permanent residents."

To qualify, individuals must be H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who: 

  • Are the principal beneficiaries of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker; or 
  • Have been granted H-1B status under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 as amended by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act. The Act permits H-1B nonimmigrants seeking lawful permanent residence to work and remain in the United States beyond the six-year limit on their H-1B status.

Eligible applicants must submit a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization along with supporting evidence and the required $380 fee to USCIS, beginning on May 26, 2015. H-4 applicants can begin work in the US upon approval of the application and receipt of the work card. 

As many as 179,600 individuals this year could be eligible for employment authorization under this new eligibility rule, USCIS estimates, and DHS expects that "this change will reduce the economic burdens and personal stresses H-1B nonimmigrants and their families may experience during the transition from nonimmigrant to lawful permanent resident status, and facilitate their integration into American society."

This announcement comes amid court challenges to President Obama's expansion of DACA as well as the possible impending shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (the mother agency of USCIS).

Ten Iconic American Roles. Nine Foreign Actors.

America is the land of diversity (well, to some degree) as well as opportunity (go American dream), and immigrants come to the US to work in many different industries and professions, which is something we know because, well, this is an immigration law firm. The American film and television industry is no exception to hiring and employing foreign workers. Beginning with Charlie Chaplin (British) and Cary Grant (also British), Hollywood continues to employ many foreign actors in "American" roles. I still remember when I first heard Detective Jimmy McNulty (played by the British Dominic West) speak with his posh British accent. (For comparison, here's a scene from The Wire).

We're not, of course, the first to notice the foreign invasion of talent. NPR discussed this and also the equally serious and important media journal TV Guide. And while the AV Club doesn't like it, we actually do. It's good to have diversity. It's good sometimes to have an "outsider" perspective on things. And since the Oscars are this weekend and we are in a cinematic state of mind, we thought we'd take some time to admire the talent of these foreign actors (as Amy Poehler did during the recent Golden Globes) tackling that damn American accent and playing particularly famous or iconic American roles.

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USCIS Will Not Begin Accepting Applications for Expanded DACA Today

US District Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas ruled late Monday night to temporarily block President Barack Obama's executive action on the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program as well as the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program. Consequently contrary to their original plans US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) will not be accepting applications today for the expanded DACA program, and going forward until further notice for expanded DACA and DAPA. The judge ruled that Obama's executive action failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, which "calls for the White House to afford a longer notification and comment period before taking action." The Department of Justice is planning to appeal this decision, and US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh C. Johnson issued a statement:

I strongly disagree with Judge Hanen’s decision to temporarily enjoin implementation of Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The Department of Justice will appeal that temporary injunction; in the meantime, we recognize we must comply with it...The Department of Justice, legal scholars, immigration experts and even other courts have said that our actions are well within our legal authority. Our actions will also benefit the economy and promote law enforcement. We fully expect to ultimately prevail in the courts, and we will be prepared to implement DAPA and expanded DACA once we do.

Secretary Johnson goes on to note that the court ruling does not affect the existing DACA program and that individuals may continue to apply for the initial or renewal DACA under the original guidelines established in 2012. We will continue to provide updates as we receive them.