The Immigrant Blog

Attorney General vacates Matter of Compean

2009-06-07T01:14:00.000-07:00

More good news from the Obama Administration for immigrants: In yet another common sense and rational turn around from previously poorly-thought-out decisions under the previous administration, the AG vacated this week the unpopular Matter of Compean decision, which had made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for an alien to claim ineffective assistance of counsel in an immigration matter. The AG's decision gives immigrants back their right of due process, which was being severely curtailed in Matter of Compean.

Your H1B not getting you the green card you wanted?

2009-04-26T01:36:00.000-07:00

Come to Canada.......under the

Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP).

This category was designed exclusively for people who are on temporary work visas in the United States. No Canadian job offer required! Provided your profession is listed as a scheduled, "in-high demand" profession, in Alberta, you can fast track in the Canadian immigration system with no job offer.

Obama in Canada: NAFTA safe for now

2009-02-19T18:43:00.000-08:00

President Obama met with his Canadian counterpart, Prime Minister Harper, in Canada today.

President Obama has long promised that he intends to renegotiate certain provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) pertaining to movement of labour and so forth. Under current provisions of the NAFTA, certain qualified professionals, who are citizens of Canada, Mexico and the United States may seek temporary employment in a neighbour state with minimal labour department paperwork involved. This is particularly true of Canadian and US citizens who seek employment in each others' countries.

The potential to renegotiate NAFTA provisions could make the easy movement of labour between the countries involved harder. US employers have traditionally been in need of skilled and specialized workers.

We, at Mansouri & Sheeno, APLC, support the current NAFTA structure and the hassle-free movement of labour between the signatory countries.

Inmigrarse a los Estados Unidos de America

2009-02-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

Con la llegada del President Obama en Washington, esperamos que los latinos que viven en los Estados Unidos puedan ver sus derechos ampliados y en terminos migratorios poder acceder a la residencia permanente y ciudadania estadounidense de forma mas justa dentro del marco de leyes nuevas.

Para muchos latinos la expectativa de poderse quedar en los EE.UU. de forma permanente y legal, sin el temor de detencion y expulsion es una promesa de una vida llena y completa para poder acceder a su "sueño americano."

Actualmente, para muchas familias latinas sin posibilidad de poder remediar su situacion migratoria mediante sus familiares o su trabajo, la mejor manera de poder legalizar su situacion migratoria es solicitar la "cancelacion de deportacion" (Cancellation of Removal), aportando pruebas que han residido en los EE.UU. durante 10 años seguidos, que no tienen antecedentes penales de importancia mayor, y, por ultimo, pero muy importante, manifestar que su expulsion o deportacion del pais causaria una penuria/dificultad excepcional y sumamente extrema a alguien de su familia inmediata (hijos, padres o esposos/esposas) que tengan la ciudadania estadounidense o que sean residentes legales de los EE.UU.

Para poder calificar, hay que aportar muchisimas pruebas de sus años de residencia en los EE.UU. y de la penuria o dificultad extrema que sufririan sus familiares.

Para los latinos que tienen la ciudadania estadounidense, recomendamos ponerse en contacto con la oficina de su diputado congresional (congressional representative of your district) para pedir cambios en las leyes de inmigracion, permitiendo a los miles de millones de latinos ya dentro de nuestras fronteras poder quedarse aqui de forma permanente y legal con requisitos legitimos y con fines razonables y no anti-migratorios.

President Obama and Immigration Reform

2009-01-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

This administration appears to be very open-minded on immigration reform and actually understands the need for reform in a system that is dogged by bureaucratic inefficiency and slow adjudications for legal immigrants. While understanding the need for secure borders for the country the new administration under President Obama will stimulate long overdue reforms. We at Mansouri & Sheeno, Sherman Oaks, California, support the need for immigration reform, allowing millions of immigrants who live and contribute to this southern California community and beyond to come in from the cold of illegal immigrant status. We urge the incoming administration to make immigration reform and the legalization of many valuable members of our community its number one priority. Legalization of people who are in immigration limbo is a good thing for a weak economy and will bring with it dividends far beyond the economic domain. It will enrich our society and will allow millions of people to fulfill their American dream without the fear of deportation or removal from the United States. The Los Angeles area is an area that will profoundly benefit from immigration reform and some form of legalization. Please stay tuned as we periodically update you on developments as our new and fresh leadership breaks historic ground on these and many other issues, after years of stagnation and poor management of our nation's immigration laws.

Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is effective 12 Jan. 09

2009-01-12T06:55:00.000-08:00

ESTA comes into effect today for all visitors to the US from eligible Visa Waiver Countries citizens. Under ESTA, all travellers from Visa Waiver countries will need to electronically file for an authorization to travel to the United States BEFORE the date of their arrival in the US. The recommended time to do this is 72 hours prior to your intended date of departure. I would say just do it a week before you are due to depart for the United States. Please note that failure to have requested said authorization under ESTA may result in denial of boarding your airline on your date of departure. Many Visa Waiver visitors arrive at the Los Angeles International Airport every day. Please make sure to comply with ESTA requirements.

Check out the USCIS website for more information on this subject.

Filing an Application for Asylum in the US

2008-12-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

Asylum in US Immigration service

Often the decision to file a claim for asylum in the US Immigration system is a difficult one. People love their homeland, but have reasons for not wanting to or not being able to return to their homeland. In order to file for asylum, the applicant must be unwilling to return to their homeland because he fears persecution.

The application is filed on form I-589 (www.uscis.gov)

Fill the application out as completely and fully as possible, setting out explicitly all the grounds you feel are important, paying particular attention to the 5 enumerated grounds as to why you feel that you would be harmed in your home country. The 5 grounds are: race,religious, political opinion, nationality, membership in a particular social group. You may wish to enumerate what happened to you in a separate declaration that you attach to the form I589. It is important to carefully collect all supporting documentation that you feel reasonably and logically supports your claim. Additionally, make sure all non-English language documents are translated into English correctly and properly. In all likelihood, your interviewing officer will not speak your language and will rely on the English translations of your documents. So, if they are not accurate, you stand to weaken your claim substantially. Please always provide true and legitimate documentation in support of your claim. If you are filing for asylum in Los Angeles/Sherman Oaks, California, where we our firm is located, your application is supposed to be filed at the Laguna Niguel service center of the USCIS.

Take a lawyer to the interview and an interpreter if English is not your first language.

If English is not your first language, please consider taking an interpreter with you to your asylum interview. Making the officer understand your case clearly is vital to a successful asylum bid. Moreover, make sure you take an immigration lawyer with you to your asylum interview. Your lawyer is the only person who can takes notes at your interview (aside from the asylum officer, whose notes remain in the government file) and who can argue for your case at the end of interview if necessary. Make sure to have all original documentation with you at interview for your asylum officer to review. The easier you make the asylum officer's job by being well-prepared and organized in your preparation for the interview process, the more time he/she can spend understanding your claim and less time on figuring out what paper belongs to whom and which translation purports to be a translation of which document. As stated before, do not use fake documents. Honesty and integrity are crucial to you.

Mansouri & Sheeno

www.coming2usa.com

Renew your old green cards. It's the Law!

2008-11-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

A lot of people may still have their old style green cards with the old format and no expiration dates. Those green cards or forms I551 NEED to be replaced. This according to the Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 162, August 22, 2007, Proposed Rules.

Section 264 of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides that, "Every alien in the United States shall be issued a certificate of alien registration or an alien registration receipt card in such form and manner and at such time as shall be prescribed under regulations." It also states, "Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him. Any alien who fails to comply with [these] provisions shall be guilty of a misdemeanor." The specific requirements and procedures for applying to renew an expiring permanent resident card are set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] at 8 CFR § 264.5.

Who Should Renew a Permanent Resident Card?

You should renew your permanent resident card if you are a permanent resident who was issued a Form I-551 valid for ten years, and that card is either expired or will expire within the next six months.

Please note: If you are a Conditional Resident and your status is expiring, these instructions do not pertain to you. You are to use Form I-751 (Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence) to apply to remove the conditions on your permanent resident status.

How Do I Apply to Renew My Permanent Resident Card?

If you are a lawful permanent resident whose ten-year I-551 has expired or will expire within the next six months, you may renew your card by filing an Form I-90.

A Form I-90 can be downloaded from this site, or ordered by calling the Forms request line at 1 (800) 870-3676, or by submitting a request on-line. After receiving Form I-90, read it carefully. Detailed information is provided in the instructions for the Form I-90.

Applicants may also file Form I-90 on-line using an Internet connection. Please see Introduction to E-Filing for more information.

Source www.uscis.gov

New Employment authorization form

2008-11-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

The USCIS has a new form for employment authorization, I-756. The form is available on the USCIS website. The form has a new edition date of 10-16-08. This form should be used if you are applying for a new work authorization, or a renewal of your work authorization.

Our office handles all aspects of immigration law and we are available to answer your questions at anytime. We are located in Sherman Oaks, California and can be reached at 818-986-1079.