Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S.

8 12, 2022

Must We Really Deport All of Our Undocumented?  The U.S. Supreme Court Is About to Weigh In

By |2022-12-10T17:27:41-06:00December 8th, 2022|Categories: DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S.|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published December 6, 2022 Homeowners are a lot like governments.  Both must give attention to the imperfections before them.  In a house it might be broken windows, chipped paint, or even termites.   In a government, it might involve a nation facing excessive corruption, broken highways, or even broken borders.  Time and money, among other factors, will typically limit a homeowner or government’s ability to fix every problem it faces.  Thus the only practical way forward in either situation, is to prioritize, with some imperfections being tolerable for a period of months or perhaps eternity, and others requiring immediate attention. In recent days [...]

19 12, 2021

Another Legalization Program That Wasn’t

By |2021-12-19T12:48:56-06:00December 19th, 2021|Categories: General, Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S.|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published December 19, 2021 For the past 20 years, more than a few proposals to help millions of undocumented immigrants come out of the shadows have been presented for Congress’ consideration only to find their way to the waste heap.  Each time a big legalization idea is up for serious discussion, I will generally write about it, only to be forced to pen a follow up account confirming the proposal’s demise, with either of the political parties playing the role of killer. The last far reaching legalization type avenue actually enacted by Congress was Section 245(i) of the Immigration [...]

18 07, 2021

A Brief Overview of Biden’s Immigration Policy

By |2021-07-18T11:48:02-05:00July 18th, 2021|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published July 18, 2021 America is more of a salad than a melting pot. More than one million people obtained lawful permanent resident status in 2019. They came from all over the world, bringing their skills and cultures into America. The White House has framed Biden's immigration policy as facilitating that mission. They promise to help thousands of immigrants establish homes in the country. But how they will do that is a little uncertain. How has Biden reacted to Trump's immigration policies? What promises has Biden made for visas and green cards? What is the main immigration [...]

22 02, 2021

Biden Reaches For the Stars and Starts an Important Immigration Conversation

By |2021-02-22T17:44:49-06:00February 22nd, 2021|Categories: General, Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Asylum in the United States, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, immigration reform, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published February 22, 2021 By Richard Hanus, Esq. It’s been more than 20 years since our nation has enacted any significant legislation to allow our nation’s undocumented population an avenue to legalize their status.  The most recent provision,  Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, was neither simple nor straightforward.  It was potent, though, affording hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of otherwise law abiding foreign nationals without immigration status a path to permanent residence (green card).  Its primary requirements included having a qualifying family member or employer to petition them along with the payment of a financial penalty for violating their status. Fast [...]

26 01, 2021

6 Big Immigration Happenings Under President Biden

By |2021-01-26T16:11:29-06:00January 26th, 2021|Categories: General, Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Asylum in the United States, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Green Cards, immigration reform, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published January 26, 2021 By Richard Hanus, Esq. Even before President Biden took office, the nonstop flow of news relating to immigration law began.  How will things be different with President Biden when it comes to immigration law and policy, especially after 4 years of the Trump administration’s harsh tone and policies?  In the past 10 days, the Biden administration has announced dozens of important immigration initiatives, some being Executive Orders taking effect immediately and without Congressional approval and others like proposed legislation, requiring Congressional approval and having no immediate impact.   Below are the 6 most far reaching of these orders [...]

14 11, 2020

The Top 5 Ways It’s a New Day for U.S. Immigration Under A Biden Administration

By |2020-11-23T10:54:57-06:00November 14th, 2020|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Asylum in the United States, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published November 14, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. In recent memory there has not been an administration as singularly focused on immigration law as President Trump's. Donald Trump ascended into office because of loud immigration rhetoric, and while in the White House, dedicated a massive effort at transforming our nation’s immigration policies impacting both illegal and legal immigration.  As to curtailing illegal immigration, although he failed to round up and deport millions of undocumented as promised, many would say his actions were largely consistent with his lofty promises and no matter their utility.  On the legal immigration side, Trump’s initiatives included [...]

30 07, 2020

Uncertainty All Around For DACA and U.S. Immigration Operations In General

By |2020-11-14T12:40:15-06:00July 30th, 2020|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published July 30, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. The nonstop, unprecedented flow of immigration news continues, including with regard to the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision rejecting the Trump Administration’s attempt to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Executive Order.  For certain, since the SCOTUS ruling, the Administration has waffled about DACA’s future, first making it clear it was going back to the drawing board to rescind DACA and curing the legally deficient procedures previously employed to end the program.  Then later, the President announced he wanted to find a way to make “DACA (people) happy” with [...]

16 07, 2020

10 Years Just Happened in 3 Months – An Unprecedented Volume of Immigration Law Events

By |2020-11-14T12:40:40-06:00July 16th, 2020|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Asylum in the United States, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Foreign Exchange Student Visas to the U.S., Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S., United States Embassies Abroad|

Published July 16, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. In my 25+ years as an immigration lawyer, my area of practice has never been as important or relevant as it is today.  This Administration has made it this way, bringing U.S. immigration law into the spotlight as one of the bedrock issues of its campaign and presidency.   Whether it really merits this level of attention is questionable, given other more pressing problems plaguing this nation.  Loud, news attracting immigration policies are released every other day, and whether their legality is held up in court seems to be beside the point.   The policies touch on illegal immigration [...]

30 06, 2020

Supreme Court Administers CPR and Revives DACA…..For Now

By |2020-11-14T12:41:17-06:00June 30th, 2020|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., immigration reform, Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published June 30, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – better known as DACA – was an Executive Order issued by President Obama in 2012 after our Congress was unable to agree on an appropriate answer to our nation’s “12 million undocumented” state of affairs.  Once in place, DACA allowed approximately 700,000 young adults who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children to gain legal status and employment authorization for 2 year increments and otherwise be protected from deportation.  8 years later, tens of thousands of DACA recipients are accomplished professionals, teachers, artists, business leaders and students, [...]

14 11, 2019

DACA Argued Before The U.S. Supreme Court

By |2020-05-01T14:01:47-05:00November 14th, 2019|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., immigration reform, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published November 14, 2019 In 2012, President Obama issued an executive order allowing undocumented foreign nationals who arrived in the U.S. under the age of 16 to be shielded from deportation and issued an employment authorization document.  Eligibility for coverage under the Executive Order – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) depended on a number of factors, including whether the applicant had a serious criminal background and was physically present in the U.S. for the requisite period. DACA has been a huge success, allowing some 700,000 undocumented young immigrants to come out of the shadows, attend universities, assume jobs and otherwise [...]

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