Peter Rich, Author at Marriage Green Card and Citizenship Attorneys

House Passes Build Back Better Plan

November 23, 2021

The House passed a massive spending bill this Friday which holds major promise for immigration reform. The Build Back Better Plan would be the largest mass-legalization program for undocumented immigrants in American history. About 7 million of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country would be eligible to apply for work permits, protecting them from deportation, allowing them to travel internationally, and granting benefits like state driver’s licenses. The bill would also recapture over 400,000 unused green cards.

Despite the successes of the Build Back Better Plan, it is a watered-down version of its previous form, and many concessions were made. It does not provide a pathway to citizenship, a promise made during the conception of this bill. More permanent protections must be high priority on the agenda in the future.

Biden Administration Expands Protected Areas

November 10, 2021

Church as one of the protected areas The Biden administration recently issued a new guidance barring immigration enforcement in certain protected areas.

This protected areas includes places offering social services (domestic violence shelters, food banks, facilities for disabled individuals), places where children gather (bus stops, playgrounds, childcare centers, after-school programs, foster care facilities), medical treatment centers (hospitals, doctor’s offices, COVID-19 vaccination and testing sites, mental health providers, urgent care centers), civil ceremonies (funerals and weddings), public demonstrations (parades, rallies, political demonstrations), emergency response shelters, and places of worship.

Immigration agents cannot make arrests, conduct searches, or serve subpoenas in these places. There are a few exceptions, such as matters constituting a serious threat to national security, and enforcement officers must refer to agency headquarters to be granted an exception.

The guidance is a major expansion of a previous Obama era policy, which technically remained in effect during the Trump administration but was mostly ignored. In an interview right before the official announcement, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that “individuals should not be restrained or limited in their access to essential services.” The shift could improve the lives of millions of immigrants, especially those whose access to important resources have been affected by anxiety.

If you need to talk to an experienced immigration attorney. We’ve helped hundreds of couples traverse the complicated immigration and citizenship process. We would love to help you as well. Call 617-714-4375 or email hello@cambridgeimmigrationlaw.com to get in touch.

President Biden wants to address Green Card Processing Delays

October 12, 2021

Green card processing delays - american flag and green card form The White House has said President Biden wishes to address the Green Card processing delays. This came on Friday in White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s response to a question about the waste of about 80,000 unused employment based green card numbers. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has been unable to allocate them to the millions waiting, indicative of larger inefficiencies in the system.

The issue on green card processing delays is popular this week. Earlier, Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks introduced the “Preserving Employment Visas Act.” This would allow the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to preserve unused employment based visas for use in Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021.

Processing delays are a huge issue, as well as complications related to COVID-19. At this point, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is at risk of wasting thousands and thousands of unused employment based visas. This inefficiency, when millions are awaiting Green Cards, is a major loss for all involved. The system must be reformed and more resources must be allocated to solve these delays. It is unjust that lives remain on hold as the government fails to address its own inadequacies.

Registration opens for Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

October 5, 2021

The United States Department of State has just announced that registration for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program will open up next week. The United States diversity visa lottery is an important part of the American immigration system. The program awards as many as 55,000 green cards to immigrants from countries around the world. It attempts to promote diversity within the United States.

The registration for Diversity Immigrant Visa Program period is for the 2023 fiscal year. The electronic enrollment period begins Wednesday, October 6th 2021 at 12pm, and will close on Tuesday, November 9th 2021 at 12pm. Interested individuals must submit their applications electronically on the State Department’s website. Participation in the program is free and the application process is simple. Winners will be determined through a randomized computer drawing.

Individuals may only submit one entry per person during each Diversity Immigrant Visa Program registration period. Failure to follow this rule will lead to automatic disqualification. Officials also recommend registering early, as they predict heavy demand may cause website delays closer to the deadline. No late entries will be accepted.

There are certain simple qualifications in . The individual must first be from a qualifying country, which is dependent on immigration trends in the preceding five years. The following countries are excluded:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam

Individuals must also have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Alternatively, two years work experience over the past five years in an eligible field requiring at least two years of training will also suffice.

Protests Against Senate Parliamentarian Advisory

September 24, 2021

protesters marched the senate The month began with promise. House Democrats worked on creating a pathway to citizenship through the budget reconciliation plan. This legislation aimed to allow about 8 million people (primarily Dreamers, TPS/DED holders, farmworkers, and other essential workers) to apply for green cards. Furthermore, the provision would invest $2.8 billion into U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, recapture unused green cards, and allow diversity visa lottery winners to reapply if they had been denied visas due to COVID or other travel restrictions. However, this past Sunday, the Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised against the immigration measure, ruling it inappropriate for inclusion.

Rejecting MacDonough’s ruling as an end to immigration reform via budget reconciliation plan, thousands of immigrants appeared in Washington to push back on Tuesday for a protest against the senate. Their march began in Banneker Park, by the Potomac River, stopped at the headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and ended at the Capitol Reflecting Pool. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer talked to protestors outside the Capitol, promising them his continued commitment to the fight for a pathway to citizenship. At the same rally, Representative Ilhan Omar urged Schumer and the White House to disregard the advice of the Senate parliamentarian. The fate of the provisions is still unknown, but the people have spoken. Let’s hope their voices are heard and their demands for justice finally met.

If you need to talk to an experienced immigration attorney. We’ve helped hundreds of couples traverse the complicated immigration and citizenship process. We would love to help you as well. Call 617-676-0503 or email hello@cambridgeimmigrationlaw.com to get in touch.

House Judiciary Committee Marks Up Legislative Proposal for Budget Reconciliation

September 16, 2021

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR BUDGET RECONCILIATION The House Judiciary Committee spent Monday September 13th marking up their legislative proposal for the $107.5 billion reserved for “lawful permanent status for qualified immigrants” in the reconciliation package. They are trying to create a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants. After this process, the text will be combined with the larger Build Back Better reconciliation plan and voted on in the House before moving to the Senate.

The first part of the legislation provides a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS/DED holders, farmworkers, and other essential workers. The provisions in the reconciliation bill would allow about eight million people to qualify for green cards.

The second component is the recapture of unused green cards and the restoration of specific immigrant visas that were made unavailable. The former involves the recapturing and restoration of thousands of unused visas lost due to slow technical processing dating back to 1992. The majority of these will go to family-based visas, alleviating existing visa backlogs. The latter ambition will offer diversity visas to those previously selected in the diversity visa lottery but denied visas due to COVID or other travel ban restrictions. All of those unable to claim visas due to the Muslim ban will be able to reapply.

The final part of the legislation is an investment in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Roughly $2.8 billion will be allocated to increase capacity at USCIS to support adjudication of applications and reduce processing backlogs.

This bill is essential. Undocumented immigrants have played a key role in the response to this pandemic, and the recovery of the economy in its wake is dependent upon them. A report by the Center of American Progress found that the country’s economy would expand by $1.7 trillion over 10 years if Congress were to provide a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated support for the move in a press conference this July, and Senator Bob Mendez of New Jersey has been a vocal advocate for it. It is for the betterment of all that this pathway to citizenship be created.

If you need to talk to an experienced immigration attorney. We’ve helped hundreds of couples traverse the complicated immigration and citizenship process. We would love to help you as well. Call 617-744-7919 or email hello@cambridgeimmigrationlaw.com to get in touch.

Haiti TPS Registration Open

August 13, 2021

United States Citizen and Immigration Services announced the designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status effective August 3rd, 2021 to February 3rd, 2023. This eighteen month designation allows Haitian nationals, as well as individuals without nationality who last resided in Haiti, to apply for Temporary Protected Status. This designation protects individuals from deportation on the basis of immigration status. United States Citizen and Immigration Services explains in the Federal Register that political crisis, violence, and human rights abuses are the key factors in determining this 18 month TPS designation.

USCIS estimates that approximately 155,000 individuals are eligible to apply for TPS under the designation of Haiti. All applicants must demonstrate continuous residence in the United States since July 29th, 2021. To determine eligibility, all individuals will undergo security and background checks. All must register during the 18 month registration period, spanning August 3rd, 2021 to February 3rd, 2023. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services website encourages all to register as soon as possible within this 18 month registration period.

To read more about Temporary Protected Status, the application process, and USCIS reasoning for the designation, visit https://www.aila.org/infonet/uscis-advance-copy-notice-tps-designation-of-haiti?utm_source=Recent%20Postings%20Alert&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RP%20Daily

DACA and Congress

August 11, 2021

Legislators have spent the last few weeks scrambling for solutions in the wake of a Texas judge’s July 16th decision ruling the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) unconstitutional. While the decision has no effect on current DACA recipients (Dreamers), it has halted new applications. President Biden called the decision “deeply disappointing” and announced the U.S. Department of Justice’s plan to appeal the ruling. However, Biden also acknowledged in his statement that only Congress can ensure a permanent solution, and called upon the body to pass the American Dream and Promise Act in order to provide a stable path to citizenship for DACA recipients.

Congress has tried to meet rising pressures by introducing new policy initiatives in the upcoming budget reconciliation bill. This avenue would allow Senate Democrats to bypass the GOP with only a simple majority, as long as support among the Democrats is unanimous. The plan is not yet complete, but will likely include $120 billion to create a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and permanent green card status for undocumented farmworkers and recipients of Temporary Protected Status. If successful, it would be a major win in immigration reform.

Unfortunately, legal restrictions make this venture unlikely. The Byrd Rule limits budget reconciliation bills to the realm of spending and taxes. If the Senate Parliamentarian rules that these immigration measures fall outside this scope, they will not be included. The possibility of this is still being debated. While the current Senate Parliamentarian was a former immigration lawyer, she has blocked many Democrat proposals before. It seems the only stable course of action now is the most undesirable to Congress — negotiation with the GOP.

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