Articles Posted in Citizenship & Naturalization

The town of Brookline, Massachusetts has approved a measure that will someday allow immigrants with a green card to vote once voted on by the Legislature. Similar measures in San Francisco and Portland were turned down but because Brookline is such a highly diverse area where 53 languages are spoken and immigrants with green cards pay taxes and have a say in town affairs, many believed they should also be allowed to vote.

One Brookline resident said, “They live here, they should vote here. They’re going to be citizens, ultimately, if they have a green card.”

MVP “Q & A Forum” – This Friday, December 17th, 2010

We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, AZ SB1070, priority dates, or the debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

During the 2010 fiscal year 11,146 members of the armed forces were granted citizenship by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the largest number amount in any year since 1955. The number represents a 6 percent increase in naturalizations from the 2009 fiscal year.

Outreach programs created by USCIS have been launched in order to reach more military members. They are encouraged to attend seminars that review that naturalization process and other immigration services. Attendance at the seminars often results in increased applications for naturalizations within the community. The Naturalization at Basic Training Initiative has also allowed for all processes like the interview, administration of the Oath of Allegiance and collection of biometrics to be done on the military bases. The initiative allows recruits to gain citizenship once they complete basic training. Specific information about citizenship and immigration benefits for the armed forces and their families can be found at http://www.uscis.gov/military.

MVP “Q & A Forum” – This Friday, December 3rd, 2010

We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, AZ SB1070, priority dates, or the debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

On October 27, the DHS Office of Immigration Statistics released a compiled Fact Sheet which compares the naturalization rates of IRCA(Immigration Reform and Control Act) legalized immigrants up until 2009 with the rates of other immigrants who arrived during the same period or obtained in a LPR(legal permanent resident) status.

The IRCA was passed back in 1986 and created pathways to citizenship for many different groups of immigrants. The two main groups that benefited were immigrants who had always resided in the US illegally before January 1, 1982 and special agricultural workers (SAWs) who were required to have worked in US agriculture during specific years ending on May 1 for at least 90 days (1984, 1985, and 1986). In order to gain LPR status, IRCA immigrants were required to meet certain requirements and standards.

All of the data for the Fact Sheet was gathered through the Department of Homeland Security’s records. No individual below the age 18 was included and children who may have received legal status because of their parents were also excluded. All rates were compared amongst immigrants during the same time period. Some of the findings and results of the Fact Sheet were that 2.7 million immigrants achieved LPR status under IRCA, naturalization rates were lowest among individuals who gained status through IRCA provisions and as time went on the percentage of immigrants who were naturalized gradually increased. Other conclusions from the Fact Sheet are that fact that Mexican-born SAWs had a lower rate of naturalization than other groups of immigrants and non-Mexican born immigrants were not subject to the same extra requirements others were.

MVP “Q & A Forum” – This Friday, November 19th, 2010

We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, AZ SB1070, priority dates, or the debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

Even though the District of Columbia legalized same sex marriage earlier this year, the federal government doesn’t recognize the marriages and therefore same sex couples do not receive the same benefits as heterosexual couples. Erwin de Leon and Rev. John Beddingfield are just one of the many couples in the District who experience limitations. Leon is an immigrant from the Philippines on a student visa that expires next year and because he and Beddingfield do not receive the same immigration benefits as heterosexual couples, he can not apply to become a U.S. citizen. According to a census taken by the UCLA’s Williams Institute, there are an “estimated 25,000 same sex couples in the US that [have] one partner [that] is foreign born.” The introduction of Senators Leahy (D-VT) and Menendez (D-RI) Comprehensive Reform Act of 2010 may be the immigration reform needed because it encompasses the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) which would grant citizenship to same-sex couples.

The launch of the redesigned Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550) was announced October 25 by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The new certificate was redesigned in order to increase security and reduce the amount of fraud. Due to the revamping of the naturalization certificates, USCIS estimates over 600,000 individuals will receive the enhanced certificate over the next year. Features of the redesigned certificates include a digitized photo and an embedded signature on the document, as well as a color-shifting background that is difficult to copy. In addition, USCIS has implemented a new, more secure printing process that makes the document more resistant to fraud. The Director of USCIS, Alejandro Mayorkas, also announced that by the end of the year USCIS would fully transition to an automated production process for the new certificates. The automated process would allow for increased consistency in the creation of naturalization certificates and it would cut down on preparation time. Any previously issued Certificates of Naturalization will remain legitimate even with the implementation of the redesigned certificates.

USCIS Issued a Fact Sheet and a Q&A regarding the redesign of the Naturalization Certificate, please click here to access.

An announcement on October 20 from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revealed that two decisions by the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) are now binding precedent, also known as law. The decisions made by the AAO are a joint collaboration between the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ). DHS and the Attorney General must agree that a particular immigration appeals case is grounds for establishing a universal rule that would apply to all future cases before it becomes an AAO precedent decision. The two binding precedents created state an applicant’s petition must first be considered “valid” before the validity can be considered if the applicant moves to a new job and spells out the definition of an “American firm or corporation.”

In first case, Matter of AL WAZZAN, the applicant asked for adjustment of status to permanent residence even though the applicant never provided documentation supporting his eligibility for a permanent residence visa. After two of the applicant’s original Form I-140 visa petitions were denied, the applicant claimed he had an offer for other employment and wished to readjust his status. The applicant argued that he should be allowed status adjustment due to the fact his application has been pending for more than 180 days from the time it was ruled upon. The underlying problem found in the applicant’s case that the AAO decided to create a binding precedent for is Section 245(a) of the Act which “requires the adjustment applicant to have an ‘approved’ petition.”After reviewing the case, AAO found that the applicant’s assertions were not convincing enough to allow for his adjustment of status. Even though AC21 states that a petition shall remain valid even if unadjudicated for 180 days if the applicant changes to a new job or employer in the same or similar field, the applicant in this case did not have a “valid” petition to begin with for the legislation to be effective.

In the second case, Matter of CHAWATHE, the Acting District Director denied the applicant’s application to preserve residence for naturalization purposes. The overlying question in this case was whether a publicly traded corporation could be considered an “American firm or corporation.” After reviewing the case, AAO found that the previous statement may be deemed true under Section 316(b) of the Act, only if the applicant proves that the corporation is incorporated in the US and that the corporation’s stock is strictly within US markets. An applicant who has filed a Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes does not need to be physically in the country for the required two and half years of residency as long as the employer is an “American firm or corporation.” The director determined that in this case, the applicant failed to prove ChevronTexaco Corporation, his employer, was an “American firm or corporation.” The applicant argued that the employer was incorporated in the state of Delaware and that the company he worked for overseas is considered a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco. Although the company was incorporated in Delaware, AAO asserts that an applicant must also establish 50% of the company is owned by US citizens, which the applicant in this case did not. However, incorporation doesn’t necessarily determine if a company is an “American firm or corporation.” Under the evidence submitted, AAO found that ChevronTexaco is in fact an incorporation of the US and Saudi Arabia Texaco, and that the company the applicant went to go work for is a legitimate subsidiary of the company. In conclusion, AAO found ChevronTexaco Corporation in fact meets the definition of an “American corporation” and the applicants appeal was sustained.

MVP “Q & A Forum” – This Friday, November 5th, 2010

We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, AZ SB1070, priority dates, or the debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

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