U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation Archives - Page 17 of 26

22 02, 2011

Enforcement Measures Like We’ve Never Seen Before

By Richard Hanus|2011-02-22T14:04:20-06:00February 22nd, 2011|Categories: DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published: February 22, 2011 I can’t help but think the Obama Administration is doing its best to set the groundwork for enactment of comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for the 15 million undocumented in the U.S., by ironically, instituting an unprecedented number of deportation cases and criminal prosecutions against employers and visa fraud perpetrators. I observed the same type of Executive Branch activity during the Bush II administration, where an administration attempts to give the population at large the impression that our immigration laws really do have teeth and that the U.S. government really means business when it […]

26 01, 2011

Options to Adjust Status in the U.S. for the Undocumented/Overstay – What’s Left?

By Richard Hanus|2011-01-26T10:29:06-06:00January 26th, 2011|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published: January 26, 2011 With the DREAM Act out of the picture for now, the 15 million undocumented/out of status immigrants living in the U.S. are left wondering, what options for living legally in the U.S. are left? Of course leaving the U.S. is not an option for the vast majority of these immigrants – contrary to what the anti-legalization camp see as their next logical step. These individuals have already decided that life in the U.S. in an undocumented status is better than life as a legal resident in their home country. The option most of this population will pursue […]

13 01, 2011

New CIS Guidance on Immigration Benefits for Surviving Relatives of Deceased Petitioners

By Richard Hanus|2011-01-13T08:58:11-06:00January 13th, 2011|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published: January 13, 2011 On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law important immigration provisions to address the unjust consequences of slow Citizenship and Immigration Services processing, particularly relating to widows and widowers of U.S. citizens. The law also includes ameliorative provisions relating to other types of family relationships and petitions; the death of a petitioning US family member or principal beneficiary will no longer necessarily deal a fatal blow to a pending case. With regard to this latter category of petitioners, however, significant questions have now been answered. Widows and Widowers of U.S. Citizens Benefit from New Liberal Provisions […]

20 12, 2010

UPDATE ON “DREAM ACT”: The DREAM is Over…For Now

By Richard Hanus|2010-12-20T09:14:52-06:00December 20th, 2010|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published: December 20, 2010 As most people have come to learn by now, the DREAM Act – the legislative initiative to allow for the legalization of 1 million or so undocumented individuals who came to the U.S. as children – has been shot down by Congress. The very same Republican force that gave birth to this legislative proposal a few years back was pretty much responsible for its demise. And yes, 2 +2 = 5. PUBLISHED December 20, 2010 – “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM” Copyright © 2010, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois

1 12, 2010

New Version of DREAM ACT Up For Congressional Consideration

By Richard Hanus|2010-12-01T13:38:47-06:00December 1st, 2010|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published: December 1, 2010 If past experience is any guide to the future, the new and “improved” DREAM Act proposal now up for congressional consideration has little or no chance at passage. As the post 9/11 era has taught us, legislative proposals to excuse, in any way, immigration law violations generally face the bleakest of prospects. Proponents of the new DREAM act, or any other type of initiative to “go easy” on immigration violators, will surely be greeted with the same heated opposition previous versions of the proposal faced, even though the current bill comes with many more eligibility restrictions. A […]

17 11, 2010

Immigration Filing Fees to Increase on November 23, 2010

By Richard Hanus|2010-11-17T14:00:45-06:00November 17th, 2010|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published:November 17, 2010 Effective November 23, 2010, filing fees for most immigration applications and petitions are set to increase, on average, some 10-15%. On the other hand, filing fees for 6 categories of applications are actually set to be reduced, including for I-129F/Petition for Fiance, I-539/Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, N-565 Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document and I-131 – Application for Travel Document – but only when filed for Refugee Travel Document. Also, fee waivers based on an applicant’s economic hardship will be accepted in more types of application categories. Approximately 90% of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ budget comes from […]

22 09, 2010

The Strange World of Politics and the Killing of the “Dream Act”

By Richard Hanus|2010-09-22T10:58:13-05:00September 22nd, 2010|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

The Strange World of Politics and the Killing of the “Dream Act” Published: September 22, 2010 For about the past 10 years a legislative proposal known as the DREAM Act – standing for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors – has been under consideration at various times by lawmakers in Washington. Essentially, the bill would allow for a path to legal immigration status for certain undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as young children, and who have completed a high school education or equivalent and fulfill, prospectively, other conditions such as 2 years of college or 2 + years of […]

30 06, 2010

ICE Memo Outlines Enforcement Priorities as Obama Pushes Comprehensive Immigration Reform

By Richard Hanus|2010-06-30T04:08:50-05:00June 30th, 2010|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

ICE Memo Outlines Enforcement Priorities as Obama Pushes Comprehensive Immigration Reform Published: June 30, 2010 Recent estimates place the number of illegal or undocumented immigrants in the U.S. anywhere from 10 to 15 million. With very few exceptions, the laws these individuals are violating are civil in nature – similar to most traffic laws, or parking ordinances. Thus, contrary to the pronouncements of countless talking heads in the media, these violators are not “criminals” and necessarily subject to criminal punishment such as a prison sentence. Instead, immigration law violators are subject to the deportation process (now known as removal proceedings) where […]

8 05, 2010

Citizenship Options for Individuals Serving in the Armed Forces

By Richard Hanus|2010-05-08T12:42:01-05:00May 8th, 2010|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Citizenship Options for Individuals Serving in the Armed Forces Published: May 8, 2010 Whether you are a lawful permanent resident or simply undocumented, signing up and serving in the U.S. military may pave a quick, and perhaps an otherwise unavailable path, to U.S. citizenship. By way of laws like the National Defense Authorization Acts for fiscal year 2004 and 2008 and the Expedited Naturalization Executive Order of 2002, permanent residents, and undocumented aliens alike, may be eligible for U.S. citizenship no matter how much time they have spent in the U.S., or their legal status. Military based applicants will still need to […]

24 04, 2010

The New Arizona Law Prompts Big Picture Discussion on U.S. Immigration

By Richard Hanus|2010-04-24T13:12:12-05:00April 24th, 2010|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

The New Arizona Law Prompts Big Picture Discussion on U.S. Immigration Published: April 24, 2010 The question has been lingering for years: what is our nation going to do about the 15 million or so undocumented living in the U.S.? Commence removal proceedings against them? Grant legal status to most or all of them who are otherwise law abiding? Do nothing and essentially allow for a continued, de facto amnesty? In part to address the question of undocumented in their state, and in part to cry out for help regarding the security of their state and border with Mexico, the State of Arizona has taken the […]

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