Cambridge Immigration Law
Cambridge Immigration Law

Category: Firm Updates

Request to Expedite, Two for One!

March 4, 2022

expediteOur client’s request to expedite was recently approved. She has a long pending marriage-based adjustment of status application. This request fast-tracked her travel document application and her work authorization application, based on her need to travel abroad to visit her ailing grandmother.

 

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.

VAWA Green Card Approval

March 3, 2022

Recently, we were thrilled for our client that her VAWA/Abuse based case was approved in less than four months. We helped her to quickly prepare a strong application that clearly told her story to USCIS. Now, she is a permanent resident without conditions and soon will be eligible to apply for US citizenship.

 

 

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.

 

New Pilot Program Launched by a Private Prison Company

March 3, 2022

A private prison company is launching a new pilot program that would place migrants caught crossing the border under house arrest. BI Incorporated, the group responsible, is a subset of the private prison company GEO Group. Immigrants enrolled in this new pilot program “home curfew” would be confined to their place of residence in the United States for 12 hours a day, from 8pm until 8am, until their court hearing. The system relies on electronic monitoring.

The program is a product of Biden administration efforts to lessen the number of immigrants in detention. Currently about 164,000 immigrants are in “alternative-to-detention” programs. BI Incorporated received a $2.2 billion dollar federal contract in 2020 for purposes such as this. However, the program does not address the Biden administration’s supposed goal productively and progressively, instead unjustly furthering the surveillance of immigrants and expanding the power of a profit-driven detention group.

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.

Practice Alert: USCIS Decoupling Adjudication of EADs and Advance Paroles to Expedite EAD Issuance

February 25, 2022

Practice Alert: USCIS Decoupling Adjudication of EADs and Advance Paroles to Expedite EAD IssuancePractice Alert: USCIS Decoupling Adjudication of EADs and Advance Paroles to Expedite EAD Issuance

AILA has been made aware that USCIS is prioritizing working through an EAD backlog to avoid applicants experiencing a lapse or prolonged lapse in employment. This follows reports from AILA members receiving EAD cards that do not include AP travel authorization.
AILA Doc. No. 22022403

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.

Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization

July 10, 2021

Interagency Strategy for Promoting NaturalizationThe Department of Homeland Security’s US Citizenship and Immigration Services released the Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization this past Friday. This is a new intergovernmental approach to promote naturalization and eliminate excessive barriers to citizenship. According to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, this new strategy “will ensure that aspiring citizens are able to pursue naturalization through a clear and coordinated process.” 

The report is the collaboration of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Department of State, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Agriculture, Department of Veteran Affairs, and the Social Security Administration. These groups assemble the Naturalization Working Group, an interagency established following President Biden’s February executive order, intended to fix the problems in the immigration system. As Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in the announcement, “new citizens make our nation better,” and this new report reflects this sentiment. 

Supreme Court Rules Against Bond Hearings for Certain Immigrants

July 2, 2021

Supreme Court Rules Against Bond Hearings for Certain ImmigrantsThe Supreme Court decided this Tuesday that immigrants fearing persecution in their home countries can be indefinitely detained if they were previously deported and re-entered the United States without authorization. The partisan 6-3 decision held that deported immigrants who re-entered have no right to a hearing regarding their release while the government considers their claims. In the words of Justice Samuel Alito, “those aliens are not entitled to a bond hearing.”

The case involved deportees who had re-entered the United States. An immigration officer determined they had a “reasonable fear” for their safety if they returned. The immigrants were seeking withholding hearings. The court argued that, since the immigrants were facing removal based on the reinstatement of a previous order, they were not allowed to argue again for their release. 

As dissenting Justice Stephen Breyer mentioned, withholding proceedings often take more than a year, some up to two. This decision just delays the lives of these immigrants further, making them wait in fear. There is no justified reason to deny these people a new life, and subject them to persecution at home.

Catholic Leaders Meet To Discuss Immigration

June 15, 2021

Catholic Leaders Meet To Discuss ImmigrationCatholic leaders with over 20 bishops met with Vatican representatives and prelates from Central America at an emergency meeting held in Chicago from June 1st to June 2nd to discuss immigration. The meeting, held by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, planned to set forth a welcoming response to immigrants from the Catholic Church. El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz saw the meeting as a counter to recent political decisions against immigrant rights, and the bishop hoped to “raise anew the moral voice of the church with decision makers at this critical time in defense of the rights and dignity of those who are forced to flee.” Attendees also wanted to understand the underlying causes of migration from the region, in order to become better advocates for them. They worked closely with bishops from Central America and Mexico, and stressed the importance of collaboration. Shortly after the meeting, an archbishop affiliated with the organization criticized Congress for “kicking the can down the road” when it comes to immigration reform. This involvement of the Catholic Church on matters of immigration reform reflects the important moral concerns the entire fight for immigrant justice rests on.

Supreme Court Rules Against Immigrants Once Again

June 10, 2021

TSupreme Court Rules Against Immigrants Once Againhis Monday, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the thousands of immigrants living in the United States for humanitarian reasons, ruling them ineligible for permanent residency if they entered the country unlawfully. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the opinion, declaring that permanent residency and TPS designation are separate immigration tracks that can only merge if the TPS recipient entered the United States legally. 

The case, Sanchez v. Mayorkas, was brought before the court by Jose Sanchez and Sonia Gonzalez. The two El Salvadorian natives entered the United States unlawfully in the late 1990s, but were granted Temporary Protected Status after earthquakes devastated their home country in 2001. This designation protects individuals from deportation to countries affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters. The married couple then applied for green cards in 2014. This application was rejected, and the pair sued. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled against them, referring to the permanent residency eligibility requirement that applicants be “inspected and admitted” into the United States. According to Judge Thomas M Hardiman, the Temporary Protected Status designation “does not constitute an admission.” The Supreme Court upheld this decision. 

Despite this judicial setback, the House of Representatives have already passed legislation that would make it possible for TPS recipients to become permanent residents. Its future in the Senate is uncertain, but the move is supported by President Biden and his administration. If passed, it would allow thousands of immigrants who have made this country their home to continue living and thriving within the United States. 

 

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.

AILA Virtual National Day of Action

April 28, 2021

 

AILA National Day of ActionLast week, Ellen participated in AILA’s 2021 Virtual Day of Action. The purpose of the day was to advocate to our legislators in D.C. to:

  • Hold USCIS accountable for inefficient policy changes and crisis-level processing delays, and to return it to its customer-oriented mission.
  • Reform our immigration courts.
  • Reduce and phase out the use of immigration detention.
  • Provide a pathway to citizenship for the thousands of immigrants who call America home.

The New England delegation stood as a united front, raising new and important ideas. Hopefully, the passion and advocacy of the group will translate into legislative change on the Hill.

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