It has been decades since there has been a complete overhaul of our immigration system.  Instead, Congress has taken what I term the "band-aid approach" to change bits and pieces of the immigration laws and regulations.  For example, in December, 2000 Congress passed a law which permitted immigrants who were in the United States illegally at that time to be eligible for legal status if they filed certain documents with either the Department of Labor (DOL) or the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The law went into effect in January, 2001 with a deadline of April 30, 2001.  Thousands of immigrants filed before the April 30th deadline but thousands more did not filed due to the narrow window of opportunity in which to file.  

Presently it is estimated that there are approximately 12 million immigrants illegally in the United States.  Illegal immigrants are not just immigrants who have crossed the border illegally but include immigrants who entered the U.S. legally but then overstayed their visa.  

The need for a complete overhaul of our immigration system is needed not just to continue to secure our borders against illegal entry but to also address the millions of immigrants presently in the U.S. illegally who have been here for years.  Illegal immigrants are currently "trapped" in the United States because they are aware that if they leave the U.S. under current the law and return to their country then will be barred from returning to the U.S. for a period of three (if living in the U.S. illegally for more then six months but less then one year) to ten years (if living in the U.S. illegally for more then one year).  The bar only applies if the immigrant physically leaves the U.S.  Therefore, even if the immigrant is able to obtain a visa through the U.S. Consulate the his or her country the immigrant will be unable to return to the U.S. for the three to ten year period (there is a waiver but the waiver has a very high standard which is completely within the discretion of Immigration to grant or deny.

Creating the ability for illegal immigrants currently in the U.S. to obtain a visa while in the U.S. and have the ability to work and live in the U.S. legally not only strengthen our national security since every immigrant who applies will have to undergo fingerprinting and security checks (presently we do not know the identity of the majority of the illegal immigrants currently in the U.S.) but will also ensure that they will all have the ability to pay taxes since they will be eligible for social security numbers.

The time is now to pass comprehensive immigration reform not only for humanitarian reasons but also for national security reasons.

Regulation for Haitian TPS.pdf (37.97 kb)

You can obtain a complete copy of your immigration file from the government by filing a Freedom of Information application.  It is always advisable that you obtain a complete copy of your file from the government if you have ever filed an immigration application in the past and/or been placed in deportation proceedings before filing another application.  There is no filing fee for the application.

Contact the Law Offices Jon E. Jessen LLC if you want to file a FOIA application. 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on January 15, 2010 that most Haitian citizens living in the United States will be eligible to apply for TPS (temporary protected status) for an 18 month period.

In order to qualify for TPS the following criteria must be met (there are other additional requirements which must be met which will be discussed in a later posting):

•  You must be a national of Haiti, or, if not a national of Haiti, lived in Haiti
• Continuously lived in the United States since January 12, 2010
• Not have a felony conviction or two misdemeanor convictions.

TPS (temporary protected status) must be given to Haitians living in the United States who are illegal or have deportation orders so that they cannot be deported to Haiti during Haiti's recovery from the massive earthquake on January 12th.  Citizens of Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador have had TPS in the United States for years (Honduras since January 5, 1999; Nicaragua since January 5, 1999 and El Salvador since March 9, 2001).  TPS was designated for Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador due to natural disasters occurring in those countries.  Our government can no longer ignore the fact that Haitian citizens must be given TPS as a result of the horrific loss of human life in Haiti due to the earthquake which had a magnitude the equivalent of two nuclear bombs.   

On January 15, 2009 I blogged concerning the reintroduction of a bill in Congress which would have given Haitians in the United States protection from deportation due to turmoil which was occurring at that time due to hiurricanes and internal conflict.  The only action taken on the bill to my knowledge is that the bill was referred to the House Immigration Committee in February, 2009 with no further action.

The time is now for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue TPS to Haitian nationals residing in the United States.  The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) wrote a letter on January 13th to DHS Secretary Janet Reno urging her to issue TPS to Haitians.  Access to the letter is available below.

AILA Letter to Secretary Remo.pdf (238.35 kb)

The following is the Visa Bulletin for December, 2009.  Visa Bulletin for December 2009.pdf (40.66 kb)

Click on the link below to access the latest Visa Bulletin for February 2009 released by the U.S. Department of State.

visa Bulletin.pdf (204.03 kb)

Beginning January 22, 2009 applicants filing for U.S. Citizenship (Form N400) must file their application by mail at one of two locations depending on where the applicant lives.  Download the USCIS announcement at the following link: New Addresses for N400 Applications.pdf (30.17 kb) for details.

The United States Attorney General has decided that immigrants do not have a constitutional right to be represented by an attorney at a deportation hearing.  In Matter of Compean, 24 I & N Dec. 710 (A.G. 2009), U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey wrote that although an immigrant has a right to have an attorney represent her in a deportation hearing the immigrant does not have a right to have a deportation order reopened if the attorney was ineffective. 

The opinion does state however that an immigrant may file a motion to reopen a deportation order if the attorney representing the immigrant was ineffective.  The immigrant is required to comply with a number of requirements which must be included with the motion to reopen in order for the motion to be considered.  Furthermore, the Immigration Judge or Board of Immigration Appeals may only grant the reopening of the deportation order in "extraordinary cases."

Go to Matter of Compean.pdf (108.98 kb) to download the complete opinion.

"The Department [of State] is hereby revising its regulations regarding Au Pairs. The Interim Final Rule revises the section on repeat participation to allow qualified au pairs to repeat the program after a period of at least two years residency outside the United States following the end date of his or her initial program. DATES: This rule is effective 30 days from July 21, 2008. The Department will accept comments from the public up to 30 days from July 21, 2008." Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 119 / Thursday, June 19, 2008. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-13796.pdf