immigration webinar basics - maricella
TRANSCRIPT
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AGENDA
Overview of Immigration Terms
Categories of Aliens
Immigrating through Employment, Special
Programs, Family
Bars Immigrants Face
Moving Forward
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Immigration 101
What do you need to know to advocate for
immigration reform?
Current immigration law unfair and
provides insufficient channels to legal status
12 million people are undocumented
Unreasonable hurdles exist in the path to
legal status
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IMMSPEAK
Monica is waiting to immigrate in the 2A
preference, and it may take 5 years before
she gets her LPR card. She might age outunless the CSPA can help. Even then, she
will need to examine whether she can adjust
by filing an I-485, because she entered EWI
and will need 245(i) otherwise she will be
subject to a bar when she consular
processes.
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How much do you know about
Immigration Law?What is an immigrant?
The term immigrant means every alien
except an alien who is within one of the
following classes of nonimmigrant
aliens
INA 101(a)(15)
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Non-Immigrant Categories
AForeign Government Officials
BVisitors
CAliens in Transit
DCrewmen ETreaty Traders and Treaty
Investors
FAcademic Students
GForeign Government Officials
to International Organizations HTemporary Workers
IForeign Media Representatives
JExchange Visitors
KFianc of US Citizen
LIntracompany Transferee
MVocational and Language
Students
NSpecial Immigrant Juveniles
OWorkers with ExtraordinaryAbilities
PAthletes and Entertainers
QInternational Cultural
Exchange Visitors
RReligious Workers
SWitness or Informant
TTrafficking Victims
UVictims of Certain Crimes
VFamily Unity
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So What is an Immigrant Again?
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF FOREIGNNATIONALS ENTERIGN THE U.S.
NON-IMMIGRANTS enter the US with the
intention of remainingtemporarily and returningto their home country.
IMMIGRANTS enter with the intention of
remaining in the USpermanently.
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CITIZENS
By birth
Through parents
By naturalization
Immigrants
Lawful permanent
residents (LPRs)
Refugees/Asylees
Other lawful statuses
Non-Immigrants
E.g. visitors, students,
temporary workers
Undocumented
Overview of Immigration Categories
ALIENS
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Immigration Law Terminology
Citizens, nationals, aliens
Citizens:
Acquired by birth in the U.S. (or territories)
Acquired by birth abroad
Derived by naturalization of parent
Derived by residence with citizen parent
Naturalization
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Aliens
Nonimmigrant
ImmigrantLawful Permanent Resident(LPR)
Family-based visas
Employment-based
Refugee, asylum
Defenses to removalLong residence
Special immigrants
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Undocumented Immigrants
Without legal statusbecause entered
without admission or inspection (EWI)
Entered with legal status but overstayed or
violated conditions of stay
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Why Undocumented Immigrants
and Not Illegal Immigrants? It's inaccurate legally and confuses the debate. Immigration judges and attorneys don't
use the i-word. Journalistswho treat all transgressions as alleged, - a tenet of ethical
and professional journalism, don't use it either. The i-word finds many people guilty
before they are tried and ignores the fact that our laws are unjustly applied. Immigrants
without documents are regularly hired as cheap, exploited labor with a limited ability toprotect their own rights. No one else who benefits from the set up, including the
employers who recruit and hire these migrants, is labeled this way.
The i-word is used to unfairly label and scapegoat people who are out of status due to a
variety of systemic circumstances. For example, many people:
Are brought to the country against their will or by employers who often exploit them for cheap labor.
Fall out of status and overstay their VISAS because of school or employment.
Risk being killed in their country of origin due to political or religious beliefs or sexual orientation.
Are affected by natural disasters and/or other reasons beyond their control.
Are on a backlog waiting years to get processed, even when they are eligible to get papers through a relative.
ColorLinesDrop the I-Word
http://colorlines.com/droptheiword/
http://colorlines.com/droptheiword/resources/en/toolkit.htmlhttp://colorlines.com/droptheiword/http://colorlines.com/droptheiword/http://colorlines.com/droptheiword/http://colorlines.com/droptheiword/http://colorlines.com/droptheiword/http://colorlines.com/droptheiword/http://colorlines.com/droptheiword/http://colorlines.com/droptheiword/resources/en/toolkit.html -
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CITIZENS
By birth
Through parents
By naturalization
Immigrants
Lawful permanent
residents (LPRs)
Refugees/Asylees
Other lawful statuses
Non-Immigrants
E.g. visitors, students,
temporary workers
Undocumented
Why Does it Matter Where you Fall?
ALIENS
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Agencies Overseeing Immigration
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Department of Justice
Executive Office of Administrative Review (EOIR)
Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)
Department of State (DOS)
Department of Labor (DOL)
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Employment-based Immigration
Immigrants must be sponsored by prospectiveemployer.
Most categories cover only immigrants with high
levels of education or skill.
Immigrants with lower skill levels must gothrough labor certification (i.e. the sponsor must
prove that it could not find a worker alreadylawfully in US to fill the job and therefore it mustsponsor the immigrant).
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Refugees/Asylees
Individuals who have a well-founded fear of persecution in theirnative country due to
Race
Religion
Nationality
Political opinion Membership in specific social group
Refugees: Identified outside the US (usually in UN-sponsored
camps) and resettled in US through the State
Department and international relief organizations
Asylees: Enter US by some other means and make claim for
political asylum while in US
(Less than 25% of asylum claims are successful)
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Special Forms of Relief
VAWA: Certain immigrants who are/have been in abusive
relationships can self-petition under theViolence Against Women Act (VAWA).
U Visa: Immigrant victims of certain crimes that cooperate
with law enforcement in the investigation or
prosecution of their crimes.
T Visa: For victims of human trafficking.
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Country-Specific Relief
Cuban Adjustment Act
Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American
Relief Act (NACARA) (benefiting certain Cubans,
Nicaraguans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, andEastern Europeans)
Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act
(HRIFA)
Temporary Protected StatusEl Salvador, Haiti,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South
Sudan
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Immigrating Family Members
Two-step process:
Sponsoring relative files petition to sponsor
immigrant (e.g. Form I-130)
Immigrant applies for LPR status
Who can Immigrate?
U.S. citizen may immigrate: spouse, parents,children (any age), and siblings
LPR may immigrate spouse and unmarried
children (any age)
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Who DOESNT qualify
Grandparents Grandchildren
Aunts/Uncles
Nieces/Nephews
Cousins
Boyfriends/Girlfriends
Domestic Partners
Friends Pets
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Priority Date
Quota System => 500,000/Year
Priority Date => Filing Date
Priority Date Stays With Petition And May Be
Retained Sometimes With 2ndPetition
Filing => Form Signed, Fee Paid
Visa Chart => Issued Every Month By the
State Department; Used to Determine Visa
Availability
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Visa Bulletin Principles
Three Factors:
Priority date, which must be before date on
Visa Bulletin to be currentCountry of chargeability
Preference category
Visa Bulletin does not progress steadily Visa Bulletin may even retrogress
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Sample Visa Bulletin (October 2011)
All ChargeabilityAreas ExceptThose Listed
CHINA-mainland
bornINDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES
1st 15JUN04 15JUN04 15JUN04 22MAR93 08JAN97
2A 08JAN09 08JAN09 08JAN09 15OCT08 08JAN09
2B 15JUL03 15JUL03 15JUL03 22NOV92 01MAY01
3rd 08SEP01 08SEP01 08SEP01 01DEC92 08JUN92
4th 15MAY00 15MAY00 15MAY00 08APR96 01AUG88
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Obstacles to Family Reunification
Under current law (since April 30, 2001) a personmust enter U.S. legally in order to be able to applyfor permanent residence here
A temporary provision called 245(i) expired onApril 30, 2001, which had previously allowedpeople to pay a penalty fee if undocumented, and
then they could adjust in the U.S.
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Inadmissibility/Deportability
Immigrants can be deniedadmission/residency forany of several reasons:
Communicable disease
Drug abuse
Criminal history
Terrorism/ national security/involvement in persecution
Public charge Immigration violations
Unlawful voting/ falseclaims to US citizenship
Any noncitizen can bedeported (removed);ground include:
Immigration status violations
Unlawful presence in US
Terrorism/ national security/involvement in persecution
Public charge (within first 5
years of admission) Marriage fraud
Alien smuggling
Unlawful voting/ falseclaims to US citizenship
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Criminal Grounds of Deportability
Crimes involving moral turpitude (not defined) Drug offenses
Firearms offenses
Domestic violence Aggravated felonies
Immigration law defines conviction in its own wayand analyzes crimes on a different basis than what is
provided for in state statutes.
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Unlawful Presence Bars
Anyone who is present in the US without legal status for 180days, leaves, and attempts to reenter lawfully is barred from
returning for3 years
Anyone who is present in the US without legal status forone
year, leaves, and attempts to reenter lawfully is barred from
returning for 10 years
Anyoneordered deportedwho attempts to reenter lawfully is
barred from admission for 10 years; 20 years after second and
later deportation; life if deported for aggravated felony
Anyone who leaves the US after being in the US without legalstatus fora total of one year, or has beenordered deported
andattempts to reenter unlawfullyis barred from admission for
life
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What Do We Do From Here?
Educate Immigrants About Their Rights
Restore Fairness and Justice
Reform the System
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
DREAM Act
Family Unity
Ag JobsRecapture Unused Visas
Be ready to respond!