Recent Ninth Circuit decision could be of monumental significance.

Sunday, September 28th, 2014

On September 5, 2014, the Ninth Circuit issued a very important decision, Torres-Valdivias v. Holder. The decision held that when seeking a discretionary benefit, an alien who committed a violent or dangerous crime will not receive that benefit except in extraordinary circumstances, such as those involving national security or foreign policy considerations, or cases in which an alien clearly demonstrates that the denial of status adjustment would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship. Moreover, depending on the gravity of…

USCIS to ameliorate situation for some impacted by the 3 and 10 year bars.

Sunday, January 8th, 2012

In the jargon-rich world of immigration law, an important new phrase came out of amendments to the immigration law in 1996, the 3 and 10 year bars. What these bars say is that if a person accrues more than180 days of unlawful presence in the United States and departs he or she cannot return to the United States for 3 years. If the person accrues a year or more of unlawful presence, this person cannot return for 10 years. A…

USCIS adjudicators administer laws they do not understand.

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

When I was a kid, I remember watching an interview with the then-current crop of Nobel Prize winners on television. The concept was that these men and women were the world’s brightest people and their insights on things outside of their professional expertises would be valuable. The Physics prize winner kept saying all kinds of non-mainstream things that made him seem odd compared the others whose views were within the norm, at least to my then-child’s mind.  One thing he…

A disappointing immigration consultation

Saturday, January 1st, 2011

Instead of a written post today, I made a movie — a dramatization of a conversation I must have at least five times a week. I hope it is informative. A disappointing immigration consultation