San Jose Immigration Law Blog

Ambiguity in a criminal conviction can mean relief from removal

On behalf of Yew Immigration Law Group, a P.C. posted in Immigration Law on Monday, July 22, 2019.

When an immigrant is convicted of certain offenses, including controlled substance offenses, they can be deported and removed from the United States. Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard a case in which an immigrant petitioned to avoid removal. She claimed that she was not, in fact, convicted of a crime that disqualifies her from remaining in the U.S.

The issue was that the woman had pled guilty to a violating California's Penal Code § 182(a)(1): conspiracy. It seems that the underlying offense did involve a controlled substance. However, the petitioner did not plead guilty specifically to a controlled substance offense but pled down to a felony conspiracy charge.

Supreme Court to decide whether Trump can end DACA program

On behalf of Yew Immigration Law Group, a P.C. posted in Immigration Law on Tuesday, July 9, 2019.

In 2012, Congress reached a deadlock on a program that would have protected young immigrants from deportation if they had been brought to the U.S. as minors.

The idea was that these immigrants had themselves done nothing illegal. It was not their choice to enter the U.S. illegally, and now most of them had virtually no ties to their countries of origin. Deporting them would be unusually cruel, forcing people who had long believed themselves to be Americans to move to essentially a foreign country.

Have substantial capital to invest in the US? Consider an E-2 visa

On behalf of Yew Immigration Law Group, a P.C. posted in Business and Investment Immigration on Monday, June 24, 2019.

If you’re considering starting a U.S.-based business, you could qualify for an E-2 treaty investor visa. This is a 2- to 5-year nonimmigrant visa, but there are no limits on the number of renewals. It allows the investor of significant capital in a U.S.- based business to live and work in the U.S. It also allows key employees of the enterprise to come to the U.S., along with the families of E-2 visa holders.

In order to qualify for an E-2 visa:

The person or an investing entity must be the citizen of or primarily based in a country with which the U.S. has a treaty for commerce and navigation.
You must make a substantial, committed and irrevocable investment in a business that is sufficient to ensure it will operate successfully.
The business must be a real operating enterprise, not a paper organization or speculative investment.
The business must be poised to generate significantly more income than just a living for your family, or it must make a significant economic impact on the U.S.
The person or investing entity must have control of the funds and must be taking a commercial risk with the business, meaning that some or all of the investment could be lost if the business fails.
The investment cannot be in the form of loans secured by the assets of the investment business.
You must be coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the business, as established either by 50% ownership or operational control of the business.
If you are not the principal investor, you must be an essential employee who will work in an executive or supervisory role or will provide a highly specialized skill.
You must show that you did not obtain the investment funds directly or indirectly from criminal activity.

Any US citizen can sponsor a fiancé/fiancée to live in the States

On behalf of Yew Immigration Law Group, a P.C. posted in Family Immigration on Friday, June 21, 2019.

Whether you're a birthright citizen or were naturalized, you can petition to bring your foreign-born fiancé(e) to the United States for the wedding. They can use a K-1 visa, as long as you intend to marry within 90 days of their entry. Once you are married, your spouse can apply for lawful permanent residence (green card status) and, eventually, citizenship.

In order to qualify for a K-1 fiancé(e) visa, you must be about to enter into a valid marriage. That is to say, it cannot be solely to obtain immigration benefits but must be the product of a bona fide intent to establish a life together. You both must also be free to legally marry in the U.S.

If 2 married parents are citizens, why isn't their kid a citizen?

On behalf of Yew Immigration Law Group, a P.C. posted in Family Immigration on Wednesday, May 29, 2019.

Two married men, James Derek Mize and Jonathan Gregg, had a daughter through assisted reproductive technology. The girl is biologically related to Gregg, who was born in Britain to an American mother. Mize was born and raised in the United States. Both are U.S. citizens, but they recently received a letter from the State Department denying birthright citizenship to their daughter.

"We're both Americans; we're married," Mize said. "We just found it really hard to believe that we could have a child that wouldn't be able to be in our country."

Redesignation of pot conviction not enough to prevent removal

On behalf of Yew Immigration Law Group, a P.C. posted in Immigration Law on Tuesday, May 14, 2019.

California's Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, not only legalized adult marijuana use but also provided some relief for people who had previously been convicted of marijuana crimes. Among other things, some marijuana-related felony convictions can be "redesignated" as misdemeanors after the sentence has been served. What does this mean for immigrants?

As you may know, immigrants can be deported if they are convicted of controlled substance crimes, among other offenses. However, a conviction for possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana for personal use is not grounds for deportation and removal.

Facing removal from the US for a crime of violence?

On behalf of Yew Immigration Law Group, a P.C. posted in Immigration Law on Wednesday, May 8, 2019.

When an immigrant is convicted of a crime of violence, they are subject to mandatory removal from the U.S. They are also ineligible for many kinds of relief from removal. If this has happened to you, however, there may still be hope.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the definition of "crime of violence" in relation to immigration law is too vague to be constitutional.

How US nationals from American Samoa can obtain full citizenship

On behalf of Yew Immigration Law Group, a P.C. posted in Immigration Law on Wednesday, April 17, 2019.

If you're from American Samoa, you probably know that you're a national, but not a full citizen, of the United States. You are eligible for a U.S. passport and can live and work in the U.S., but you're missing out on a number of other privileges of U.S. citizenship, such as:

Voting in federal elections
Running for elective office when citizenship is required
Participating on a jury
Eligibility for certain federal or law enforcement jobs that require citizenship
Getting citizenship for your minor children who were born abroad

How can I get a green card for a family member?

On behalf of Yew Immigration Law Group, a P.C. posted in Family Immigration on Wednesday, April 10, 2019.

One of the privileges of being a U.S. citizen or green card holder (lawful permanent resident) is the ability to sponsor relatives to come live and work in the United States. As long as the relative isn't otherwise inadmissible, you can sponsor as many eligible relatives as you like. However, U.S. immigration law has a set list of preference categories, which affects which types of relatives will get a visa in a timely fashion.

Generally, the closer and more dependent the relative, the higher the preference. Also, relatives of citizens may be more highly preferred than the relatives of lawful permanent residents. Spouses, children under 21 and parents are considered immediate relatives. For U.S. citizens, these immediate relatives are not part of the preference system.

Was your immigration testimony lost in translation?

On behalf of Yew Immigration Law Group, a P.C. posted in Immigration Law on Thursday, April 4, 2019.

Last December, the head of the immigration courts told all immigration judges to start using phone interpreters for any language but Spanish. The reason given was budgetary. Yet immigration judges and attorneys complain that telephone interpretation has serious drawbacks that can lead to unfair results. They also claim it is adding to the immigration court backlog.

One of the larger challenges the new policy is less in-person translation in Mandarin Chinese. In the past, immigration courts have generally had on-staff translators in both Spanish and Mandarin, the most common languages spoken by immigrant petitioners.