Essential Updates on Immigration Law: February 2018 Insights

The United and Securing America act has been introduced by both Republicans and Democrats early this February. The U.S.A Act might have a chance of actually passing because it has been supported by both sides of the Congress. How would it work?

The Bill would provide cancellation of removal to those Dreamers who entered the US on or before December 31, 2013, and at that time were younger than 18 years old and meet certain educational requirements. Convictions of certain crimes, and a crime of domestic violence in particular would disqualify an applicant from this benefit. Important:  the convictions that were dismissed, expunged, deferred, annulled, invalidated, withheld, sealed, vacated, pardoned, an order of probation without entry of judgment, or any similar rehabilitative disposition would not be counted against the applicant.

The conditional resident status would be provided for 8 years; a person would have to apply for a removal of the condition if he/she can demonstrate that: he/she has acquired a degree from an institution of higher education or has completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in a postsecondary vocational program or in a program for a bachelor’s degree or higher degree in the United States; has served in the Uniformed Services for at least the period for which the alien was obligated to serve on active duty and, if discharged, received an honorable discharge; or has been employed for periods totaling at least 3 years and at least 80 percent of the time that the alien has had a valid employment authorization, except that any period during which the alien is not employed while having a valid employment authorization and is enrolled in an institution of higher education, a secondary school, or an education program described in section 3(b)(1)(D)(iii), shall not count toward the time requirements under this clause.

The Bill would also provide the same benefits to all DACA recipients, who was not convicted of conduct making them ineligible for DACA.

All male applicants of a particular age would have to register for Selective Service.

If an applicant departed the US for longer than 90 days at a time, or 180 days in the aggregate, then such an applicant would be disqualified from the USA Act benefits. However, unlike for a traditional cancellation of removal, service of Notice to Appear would not disrupt the continuous presence.

Importantly: those with orders of deportation/removal; in removal proceedings at the time of the application or even those with unexecuted orders of voluntary departure will be allowed to apply!

Again, this is just one of the proposals and is not the law yet. Hopefully, the Congress would be able to agree on a solution soon.

Stuck I 751 Petition

Green Card Attorney Alena Shautsova

A United States Permanent Resident Card featuring the name, date of birth, and other personal details of the holder, with an image of the Statue of Liberty in the background.

An I 751 petition is a petition that has to file by a conditional resident who received his/her status based on marriage. Without the grant of the I 751 petition, a person’s application for citizenship (naturalization) would not be granted. It is a necessary step towards “legalization” in the US.

If I 751 petition is filed jointly, there is a deadline for its filing: 90 days before the second anniversary of the conditional permanent residence.

Many believe that I -751 petition is just a formality, because the conditional permanent residence has been granted already. But this is not the case. In practice, I -751 petitions take longer to get approved then the original submission; the petitioner and the spouse may be called for another interview; and if I -751 is denied, the person will be placed in removal proceedings.

Recently, however, there is another “trend”: I 751 petitions are simply getting “stuck”: they remain pending for years, sometimes, for five-eight years… Of course, a person whose I -751 is pending is still a conditional resident, and has a right to work and even travel outside the US. But a conditional resident cannot change his/her residence from the one based on marriage to the one based on employment; cannot ‘adjust’ his/her status again based on a different basis or a new marriage; and as stated above, cannot have his/her application for naturalization get granted.

What to do if the I 751 has been pending for years and the USCIS gives you a standard response to all your info pass/customer calls inquires?

First, you may ask a USCIS Ombudsman or US Congressman to follow up on your case. In some limited situations, it did help to receive a resolution.

Second, you may want to file for citizenship, if eligible. Note: your application for naturalization will not be granted, unless I 751 is approved. But, it will help to get a decision on I -751. Here, you will likely face a problem of a “missing file” at the time of the interview and an offer of “waiting” a little longer. It will be important to be firm and demand immediate resolution of I 751.

Third, you may file a lawsuit against USCIS to force them to decide on your case. This may work if all other methods are not available or failed.

If you have questions regarding pending I-751, please call at 917-885-2261.