News Release: DHS Announces 18-Month Redesignation and Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Yemen

Breaking News Release from USCIS

DHS Announces 18-Month Redesignation and Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Yemen

Release Date: January 04, 2017

WASHINGTON— Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has redesignated Yemen for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and extended the existing TPS designation for the country for an additional 18 months, from March 4, 2017, through Sept. 3, 2018. This allows eligible nationals of Yemen (or persons without nationality who last habitually resided in Yemen) to register or re-register for TPS in accordance with the Federal Register notice published today.

Click here for the full press release, including who is eligible to file for TPS and the filing period, from USCIS.

**If you have questions about your eligibility for TPS and/ or are looking to file, contact an experienced immigration attorney at The Shapiro Law Firm, LLC, today.**

News Release UPDATE: USCIS will continue to accept old forms until February 21, 2017.

Breaking News Release from USCIS

On Tuesday, I explained that without any notice to the public, USCIS released new versions of all of the immigration forms and stated that they would no longer be accepting any of the old form editions. Myself, along with immigration attorneys and groups across the nation were surprised and frustrated by this move since USCIS generally provides a grace period where they will continue to accept older form editions to allow the public to take notice. I was further surprised that USCIS did not announce the new form editions in a press release.

Well it looks like USCIS heard our moans and today posted a press release that they will continue to accept the older form versions untilFebruary 21, 2017.

**There is one exception, however, USCIS will ONLY accept the NEW edition of Form N-400, the Application for Naturalization.**

Click here for the full press release from USCIS.

**If you need help filing your application/petition, contact an experienced immigration attorney at The Shapiro Law Firm, LLC, today.**

Case Status Updates: 2 More Work Permit Approvals for Asylum Applicants

Work Permit Renewal Approval: Another Work Permit Renewal granted to our client who is a native and citizen of Senegal, (hereinafter, “Y”), awaiting a decision on a cancellation of removal application for non-permanent residents (aka 10-year cancellation). Y’s work permit is based on her status as an asylum applicant as her asylum application remains pending while she awaits her cancellation of removal decision.

Work Permit Replacement Approval: Today we also received an approval notice for Employment Authorization for a client, (hereinafter, “X”), who is a native and citizen of Togo. X applied for Asylum within one-year of entering the country and is currently awaiting his initial interview with the Asylum Office. X’s work permit was initially approved in August, however, after he did not receive the actual work permit in his mailbox, it was clear that it was stolen. Since the post office reported that the EAD was delivered to the proper address, X had no choice but to reapply and wait over 5 months before the replacement was finally approved and mailed, this time to our office.

Unfortunately, there is an epidemic of EAD (and Green Cards) being stolen from recipient’s mailboxes. USCIS will make you reapply AND pay a filing fee of $410 if their records show that the post office delivered the EAD card to the correct address as listed on the application. USCIS also requires that you file a police report that your EAD card was stolen and include a copy of the report with the replacement application.

If you are worried about your EAD card being stolen out of your mailbox, give yourself piece of mind and contact us today and we can have your sensitive documents shipped to our office instead of your home and hold it for you to come pick up personally!

(*please note that all identification information has been removed in order to protect our clients’ privacy and in order to fully comply with attorney advertising rules and regulations*)

News Release: USCIS released new editions of most immigration forms on 12/23/2016 – OLD EDITIONS NOT ACCEPTED – Check that you have the correct form before filing!

Breaking News Release from USCIS

In addition to the filing fee increases on December 23, 2016, USCIS also released new editions of almost every immigration form on the website without prior warning and further stated that previous form editions will NOT be accepted.

This is a major change that will effect almost every USCIS form type filed after December 23, 2016. If you have submitted an application or petition after this date and did not use the 12/23/2016 edition (form edition date can be found on the bottom of each form), then you must fill out a new form and re-submit it to USCIS. Failure to do sure will result in a rejection of your application and a significant delay in processing.

The release of the new form editions along with the refusal to continue to accept previous form editions for a specified grace-period without proper notice to the public is an unprecedented move by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A move that will create a lot of delay and frustration for applicants and lawyers alike. In addition, there is no mention of the mass form changes anywhere on the USCIS website. One must click on each individual form and then click on the ‘edition date’ to see the disclaimer.

To ensure that your application is processed as expediently as possible, always double-check that you have included the proper filing fee with your application (if any), that the edition date for the form is still accepted and that the address where you are mailing the forms to is current on the USCIS website.

If you need help filing your application/petition, contact an experienced immigration attorney at The Shapiro Law Firm, LLC, today.

#ImmigrationWatch2017 | #Update to Topic #1: DACA | New Bi-Partisan Legislation Introduced in Senate

#ImmigrationWatch2017

Today, Senators Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham introduced a bill entitled, “The BRIDGE Act.” The BRIDGE Act will protect DACA recipients from the incoming Trump Administration by creating a new status called “Provisional Protected Presence.” Here is a break down of what Provisional Protected Presence status will look like:

The bill will be in effect for 3 years from the date it becomes a law;
It will be available to all current DACA recipients and those who are eligible for DACA who have not yet applied for the status;
You must pay a fee, undergo a background check and meet all of the DACA eligibility requirements (for DACA eligibility requirements click here).
You will be able get employment authorization so that you can legally work;
Any information given to the U.S. government under for DACA or for provisional protected presence status cannot be us for immigration enforcement. In other words, you will not need to worry that the government will use the information they gave to deport you or your family members (there are exceptions though for national-security reasons and for non-immigration felony investigations), and;
It will not provide recipients with a path to legal status or a green card.

Now we face the real challenge of getting both houses of Congress to approve the legislation. Congress recesses for the holidays next Friday, December 16, so it is unlikely to gain much traction before Congress comes back in session on January 3, 2017.

At least this is a step in the right direction to get DACA recipients some protection and piece of mind. #withDACA

*If you are in the United States and are worried about your ability to remain in the country, contact an experienced immigration attorney at The Shapiro Law Firm, LLC, to find out if we can help.*

#ImmigrationWatch2017 | Topic #4: Sanctuary Cities | UPDATE

#ImmigrationWatch2017

On Tuesday, I explained what Sanctuary Cities are discussed the protections that these cities have been offering illegal immigrants. I also touched on the NYC ID program created my Mayor De Blasio that permits undocumented individuals to obtain a photo ID and did have information on immigration status on file. I also mentioned that NYC had a “kill-switch” built into the program that would allow officials to destroy all of the collected data for roughly 900,000 people, more than half of whom are illegal immigrants and that a Staten Island lawmaker had filed a lawsuit to stop the Mayor from destroying the data.

NYC ID Card

After publication, the court issued a temporary injunction to prevent the De Blasio administration from destroying any of the collected data.

What does this mean for undocumented immigrants who have already given their information to city officials in order to obtain a NYC ID?

Nothing yet…the case will move forward so that the court can rule on whether or not city officials may destroy the data collected in conjunction with the program. Read more here.

*If you are in the United States and are worried about your ability to remain in the country, contact an experienced immigration attorney at The Shapiro Law Firm, LLC, to find out if we can help.*

#ImmigrationWatch | Topic #4: What is a Sanctuary City? A NY Immigration Attorney breaks down the basics.

#ImmigrationWatch2017

What is a Sanctuary City?

There is no legal definition of a “Sanctuary City.” Basically, it refers to a city which refuses to fully comply with federal immigration authorities seeking to apprehend and remove unauthorized aliens.

State and local governments are supposed to collect information on a person’s immigration status and allow for the free exchange of this information to the federal government. While these officials are not specifically required to collect this information, any relevant information collected must be properly maintained, and state and local officials are prohibited from barring the exchange of this information to federal authorities.

Who is effected by living in a Sanctuary City?

The main category of immigrants that are effected by Sanctuary City policies are those people who have committed criminal offenses. If you not a U.S. Citizen and you are charged with a crime in this country, the state or municipality in which you are charged can have a major impact on your ability to remain in this country. If you are charged in a city that regularly cooperates with federal immigration authorities, then there is a much higher chance that you will be placed into Removal/ Deportation Proceedings upon completion of your criminal case.

If however, your criminal offense takes place in a Sanctuary City like New York, federal immigration authorities will have to first obtain a judge’s order (which is the functional equivalent of obtaining an arrest warrant) before holding an illegal immigrant for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Like many other Sanctuary Cities across America, New York City also limits cooperation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE by failing to notify ICE of every non-citizen arrested, prior to each non-citizen’s release from custody. Once ICE is notified, it can issue a detainer that will allow them 48 hours to pick up the alien after the alien is released from custody. If ICE exercises this right, the alien can then be further detained based on immigration violations pending- or post-removal.

How about illegal aliens who have not committed a criminal offense?

This applies to non-criminal aliens living in the U.S. illegally as well. City authorities are supposed to notify ICE of any immigrant living within their jurisdiction illegally. This has sparked a lot of controversy in programs such as NYCID, which was set up my Mayor De Blasio to help undocumented individuals obtain a photo ID that is required for many public and private services. In order to receive a photo ID under the program, applicants must provide information regarding their immigration status. Mayor De Blasio has pledged to protect the information compiled from NYCID from federal immigration authorities, but technically federal law mandates that this information be turned over.

Why do Sanctuary Cities exist?

Sanctuary Cities exist for a variety of reasons. Officials who refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities have stated that such cooperation would undermine community relations, disrupt municipal services, interfere with local enforcement, or violate humanitarian principles .

Why are there opponents to Sanctuary cities?

Opponents of Sanctuary cities argue that state and local authorities who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities undermine federal immigration enforcement and encourage illegal immigration. Throughout the Presidential campaign, President-Elect Trump infamously criticized Sanctuary Cities who have released illegal criminal aliens, and highlighted cases where released illegal criminals have gone on to commit further crimes in the United States,

Do I live in a Sanctuary City?

There is no official list of Sanctuary Cities that exist, however there are at least 300 cities across the U.S. that have put at least some policies into play to shield undocumented immigrants from coming to the attention of federal authority.

Can President-Elect Trump force Sanctuary Cities to hand this information over?

President-Elect Trump has already pledged to cut federal funds to cities who refuse to comply with federal immigration authorities when he takes office on January 20. Trump will have the power to unilaterally withhold federal funding from cities who refuse to comply with his immigration enforcement policies. And this can create a major problem for certain cities like New York, who currently receives about $10.4 billion dollars a year in federal funding.

How can a Sanctuary City fight back?

Cities like New York have already began preparation for significant cuts in federal funding by examine budgets to see how to shift monies around. Mayor De Blasio has also announced that the NYCID program has a kill-switch that can erase all of the data to prevent it from getting into the hands of the federal government (although yesterday Staten Island lawmakers filed a lawsuit against Mayor De Blasio to prevent him from destroying the data). Even if this is not seen as a violation of federal law, New York and other Sanctuary Cities may face many obstacles if Trump follows through in blocking these cities from receiving most or all of their federal funding.

Ultimately, it is not clear how far President-Elect will go in carrying through with his threats to cut funds. Some of this funding in New York City, for example, goes towards the fight against terror. Not only would it be quite hypocritical for President-Elect Trump to defund anti-terror operations in an attempt to terrorize cities into compliance with his demands, but it would also place the city that he calls home at serious risk of attack.

*If you are in the United States and are worried about your ability to remain in the country, contact an experienced immigration attorney at The Shapiro Law Firm, LLC, to find out if we can help.*

What You Really Want to Know | Episode #5 | I just received a Stokes Interview Notice from USCIS, what is it and what should I expect?

Transcript: Hi, this is Attorney Shaffer. Today on “What You Really Want To Know,” we answer the question, I just received a Stokes Interview Notice, what is it and what should I expect?

A Stokes Interview is a type of immigration marriage interview. It goes by many different names depending on where in the country you live, but essentially they are all the same. The reason they occur is because USCIS has a reason to doubt the validity of your marriage.

Generally, there are two different reasons that you are going to be called in for a Stokes Interview, either:

A marriage petition is filed after the alien relative is placed into removal/ deportation proceedings, or;
At your first marriage interview, you and your spouse didn’t submit enough evidence of your marriage or things just didn’t go very well and you didn’t answer enough questions correctly.

So what happens at a Stokes Interview?

Well they begin just like a regular marriage interview: the immigration officer will ask you and your spouse if there are any changes or updates to the information contained on the application and is going to ask you to provide any updated marriage evidence.

At a regular marriage interview, the Immigration Officer will then start to ask you and your spouse questions about one another.

However, at a Stokes Interview, before any question is asked, the immigration officer will ask you or your spouse to leave the room and go wait in the waiting room. Then the immigration officer is going to start asking questions to you alone. When the immigration officer is done asking you questions, you and your spouse are going to switch places and those same questions will be asked to your spouse. When the officer is done asking your spouse those questions, he is going to bring you both back in and if you and your spouse answered any questions incorrectly or answered them different than the other, the immigration officer is going to tell you what those answers are, well he is going to say the question and the answers and give you and your spouse a chance to explain why you answered the questions differently.

Stokes Interviews tend to be very confrontational, and the reason is because USCIS already has doubts that you have a real marriage and they are going to make you prove to them that it is real. It can be very very nerve-racking, especially for people who don’t do well under pressure.

It is thus highly highly recommended that you exercise your right to have a lawyer present at the Interview. Attorney Shapiro and I have gone on thousands of these Stokes Interviews and we find that not only is our presence as lawyers there comforting and reassuring to our clients who are very nervous about what will happen in that room, but more importantly our role there is to ensure that the Immigration Officer acts appropriately and does not become too aggressive when asking questions. Although as a lawyer our job is to be there for our client, we also serve a dual role in these interviews, we serve more like a judge. We make sure that the process is fair and that you and your spouse are given an appropriate opportunity to answer the questions and then to provide these explanations if you answer any questions differently.

If you or someone you know has an upcoming Stokes Interview, contact an experienced attorney at The Shapiro Law Firm today to make sure that you are given a fair chance to prove that your marriage is real! That is all for this episode of “What You Really Want To Know,” thanks for watching!

#PositivelyImmigration + #PositivelyAmerican – Americans Reaching Out to Refugees Living Nearby After Election

#PositivelyImmigration

Since the election, refugees around the United States have been been scared, confused and subject to increased anti-refugee sentiment. Hate crimes, especially anti-muslim attacks, have shot up as a result of false and misleading statements that have been perpetuated by certain politicians and media outlets. America was beginning to look like a dark and unwelcoming place for mid-eastern refugees.

Fortunately, Americans across the Untied States who live in or near the refugee-resettlement towns are letting new refugee arrivals know that they are welcome there. Since the elections, Americans have been turning out in droves to lend their support to refugee communities. Hopefully more Americans will follow their lead. Read more here.

Case Status Updates: DACA Renewal Approved

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Renewal Approval:

Today we received another DACA renewal approval for a client, (hereinafter, “X”). X is a native and citizen of Guatemala who entered the United States with a B1/B2 nonimmigrant visa in 1998 when he was 15-years-old. X was one of the first to apply for DACA, submitting his application in August of 2012 when the relief first became available. This is X’s 2nd DACA renewal approval. As a DACA beneficiary, X received a work permit has been able to work legally and pay taxes for the past 4 years.

Last year, when X’s mother became gravely ill back in Guatemala and had to undergo surgery, X’s status as a DACA beneficiary allowed him to apply for humanitarian advance parole. His application was granted, and X was able to go back to Guatemala and see his mother for the first time in 17 years. Without the DACA program, X would not have been eligible to apply for a travel document, and thus would not have been readmitted to the United States if he left to go see his mother.

Although X is happy to have his DACA renewal approved, he is hoping and praying that President Trump does not repeal DACA.

(*please note that all identification information has been removed in order to protect our clients’ privacy and in order to fully comply with attorney advertising rules and regulations*)