Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application Archives - Page 3 of 10

22 09, 2019

Appeals Filing Fee May Skyrocket; Processing Times for Chicago Area Applicants

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T14:13:41-05:00September 22nd, 2019|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, 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, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings|

Published September 22, 2019 Administration Aims to Dramatically Increase Filing Fees for Appeals In an effort that will effectively deter appeals of certain immigration decisions within the deportation court system, the Trump administration is reportedly advancing a regulation to dramatically increase the filing fees associated with such appeals. The regulatory proposal being considered would increase the current filing fee of $110.00 by 900% to a total of $975.00 in most cases. If imposed, the new filing fee will create a severe financial obstacle for a significant portion of the impacted population, a mostly vulnerable population seeking to advance their right [...]

19 05, 2019

Making U.S. Immigration Great Again

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T15:02:45-05:00May 19th, 2019|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Asylum in the United States, Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, immigration reform, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Published May 19, 2019 I started practicing immigration law in the decade that followed the Reagan era’s 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, the last large scale immigration amnesty in the U.S. Through this legislation, roughly 3 million undocumented, but otherwise law abiding, individuals were able to come out of the shadows and officially start their lives as U.S. lawful permanent residents. Eventually, the vast majority eventually went on to become U.S. citizens. Existing statutory avenues toward U.S. residence have allowed for approximately 1 million new permanent residents to the U.S. per year. In addition to these avenues to legal [...]

2 05, 2019

Smoking Marijuana May Be Hazardous to Your Immigration Health

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T15:35:05-05:00May 2nd, 2019|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published May 2, 2019 A lawful permanent resident (green card holder) seeking to become a U.S. citizen must fulfill a number of requirements when submitting their Application for Naturalization and in order to be approved to take the oath of U.S. citizenship. In addition to a requisite number of years of permanent residence and physical presence in the U.S., an applicant for naturalization must demonstrate that he/she is of “good moral character” and for a specified period leading up to their application. Now, according to a new policy memo issued by the Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services [...]

24 03, 2019

The Top 6 Reasons to Hire An Immigration Lawyer

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T15:42:07-05:00March 24th, 2019|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, immigration reform, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Uncategorized, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published March 24, 2019 Whether the goal is U.S. citizenship via naturalization, lawful permanent residence (green card) or the issuance of a temporary visa – such as a work visa, having an immigration lawyer be a part of the legal process can sometimes be extraordinarily helpful and in other times, absolutely essential. The job of the immigration lawyer can best be summed up as follows: A) to keep simple, straightforward cases…..simple and straightforward, B) to devise and implement a thoughtful strategy for cases involving more complex factual or legal issues and C) to provide a client with the type of […]

8 02, 2019

Federal Indictments Handed Down Against Birth Tourism Ring

By Richard Hanus|2019-02-08T09:57:45-06:00February 8th, 2019|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., General, Uncategorized, United States Embassies Abroad|

Published February 8, 2019 With few exceptions, per the Constitution of the United States of America, if a person is born in the U.S., they are born as a U.S. citizen – and no matter the citizenship or immigration status of their parent. As further evidence of just how valuable a life in the U.S. is, especially with a U.S. passport, we have news of the prosecution of an alleged criminal enterprise specializing in arranging for foreign individuals to enter the U.S. for the sole purpose of giving birth to their children as U.S. citizens. In recent days, federal authorities have unsealed […]

24 01, 2019

Applying for Naturalization – 2 Big Decisionmaking Trends

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T15:49:16-05:00January 24th, 2019|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S.|

Published January 24, 2019 Applying for U.S. citizenship after accumulating the requisite number of years of permanent residence should not be an automatic decision. In recent years, U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) seems to be taking a more aggressive approach in deciding applications for naturalization, with increased scrutiny applied to an applicant’s history both before AND after obtaining permanent residence. That is, to a certain degree immigration officers are looking back at how the applicant obtained their green card status in the first place and engaging in a reassessment of whether that decision was indeed proper. […]

10 01, 2019

How Are Immigration Related Services and Offices Impacted By the Government Shutdown?

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T15:51:06-05:00January 10th, 2019|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Foreign Exchange Student Visas to the U.S., Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Uncategorized, United States Embassies Abroad|

Published January 10, 2019 As our nation is headed toward the longest government shutdown in our history, many of the players impacted, including companies petitioning foreign workers as well as individuals in all our immigrant communities, are asking questions about how the shutdown impacts immigration system related processing. Can I obtain a U.S. passport? Is my Green Card application interview in the U.S. still going to be conducted? Can I still apply for a visa at a U.S. consular post abroad? These and other questions are answered below – and with the answer usually dependent on whether the applicant is […]

28 11, 2018

What is a Conviction for Immigration Purposes?

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T15:57:50-05:00November 28th, 2018|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), General, Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published November 28, 2018 Foreign nationals who are the subject of a criminal arrest or charges must take proper care to make informed decisions when it comes to consideration of plea deals being offered by the prosecuting entity. That is because convictions for certain crimes may negatively impact the individual’s immigration status in one way or another. In addition to which crimes may lead to negative immigration consequences, foreign nationals must also pay attention to whether the plea deal leads to a “conviction” for immigration purposes, and regardless of how the criminal court may label it. Foreign nationals who plead […]

16 11, 2018

Widespread Delays Continue to Plague Most Immigration Filings

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T15:59:49-05:00November 16th, 2018|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, 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 Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S.|

Published November 16, 2018 Applicants for immigration benefits in the U.S. such as lawful permanent residence, citizenship, employment authorization document (EAD), advance parole travel document (AP) and for removal of conditional basis on residence are seeing processing of their filings plagued by extraordinary delays. Finding a reason for these delays is not easy, since processing costs are funded by applicant filing fees (not taxpayer money) and there has been no substantial change in the processing environment. Thus the only rational explanation would be that the administration has made a choice to slow down processing, a choice that has caused havoc […]

2 11, 2018

Trump Looks To End Birthright Citizenship

By Richard Hanus|2018-11-02T20:01:10-05:00November 2nd, 2018|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Family-Based Immigration Law, General, immigration reform, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Uncategorized, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published November 2, 2018 The experts have already chimed in to advise that his plan is contrary to basic constitutional law, but that has not stopped Donald Trump from announcing in recent days that he will issue an executive order putting a halt to birthright citizenship, i.e. the rule that all children born in the U.S., with few exceptions, are born as U.S. citizens. Most see the President’s announcement as a purely political stunt in order to bolster support among his base to vote Republican in the coming midterm elections and to maximize their chances of maintaining control of Congress. […]

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