U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation

New Immigration Legislation to Benefit Widow(er)s of U.S. Citizens and Other Surviving Family Members of Deceased Petitioners and Applicants; Significant Questions Remain Published: December 2, 2009 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 […]

Public Benefits and Immigration Published: November 16, 2009 In the past month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a “Fact Sheet” outlining the law as it relates to a foreign national’s receipt of certain public benefits in the U.S. and the possible adverse consequences it might pose for his/her effort to become a U.S. permanent resident. In sum, the Fact Sheet makes clear that not all benefits will present adverse consequences, and that merely receiving a “need based” benefit will not, in and of itself, be a basis to deny an applicant their resident status. A “public charge” has been defined […]