Immigration Law

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Immigration Law

• General Summary

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Fieldwork

• East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (EBSC)
• La Raza Centro Legal
• Asian Law Caucus
• Courts (Appellate, District, Immigration)
• Others (as arranged)

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Status
USC/LPR
Admission
Removal
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USC
LPR
Valid NIV
Asylum/Refugee
Pending AOS/EOS
TPS
Cancellation of removal
Restriction on removal
Parole
CAT
Asylum Applicant
Expired NIV
Pending removal
In U.S. w/out inspection
Post-removal order
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U.S. Citizenship

• Born in U.S.
• Born outside of the U.S. where one or both
  parents were U.S. citizens at the time of the
  persons birth.
• Naturalized in U.S.
• Parents naturalized

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Lawful Permanent Residence

• Admitted as immigrant
• May remain in U.S. indefinitely
• May travel in and out of U.S.
• LPR status is no guarantee of re-admission
• Subject to admission procedures
• An LPR may be removed from the U.S. or denied
  re-admission for deportable or inadmissible
  acts

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Nonimmigrant Visa

• Is the person in status
• Valid visa
• Admission for a fixed period of time
• May apply for extension or change of NIV status

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Sample Nonimmigrant Visas
The visa is the document issued by the U.S.
Department of State (Consular officer) that is
either stamped or pasted in the persons
passport. The visa stamp bears the name, date
and place of birth of the individual. The visa
also indicates the non-immigrant classification
for which the person qualified. It may be used
to seek admissions during the validity period
noted on the document. Other restrictions may be
noted on the visa stamp.
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Sample Arrival-Departure Record (I-94
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Sample Arrival-Departure Record for Visa Waiver
Country
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Forms of Relief

• Applying for asylum (see previous discussion)
• Restriction on Removal
• CAT
• Adjustment of status
• Temporary Protected Status (Cannot be granted by
  IJ in removal proceeds)
• Extension of Status (Cannot be granted by IJ in
  removal proceeds)
• Cancellation of removal

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Refugee/Asylum Status

• Refugee visas are issued to selected persons who
  meet the protocol definition of having
• a well founded fear of persecution on account of
  their race, religion, nationality, membership in
  a particular social group or political opinion.
• A person admitted as a refugee may apply for
  permanent resident (LPR) status 1 year following
  their admission as a refugee
• Asylum can be sought when a person is either at
  the border or is inside the U.S. if they can meet
  the refugee definition above.

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Refugee/Asylum Contd

• A person has 1 year from their date of admission
  to seek asylum, otherwise they may be treated as
  statutorily barred from seeking relief.

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Restriction on Removal

• A person may not be removed to a country where
  her life or freedom would be threatened.

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Convention Against Torture (CAT)

• A person may not be sent to a country where they
  face a clear probability of torture

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Adjustment of Status (AOS)

• Limited immigration benefit giving beneficiary
  privilege of changing from non-immigrant
  classification to lawful permanent residence.
• Lawful admission or parole

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Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

• Temporary safe-haven from being returned to
  ones country of nationality
• Not necessarily based on persecution, but may be
  response to national disaster, breakdown in
  public order, civil war, etc.
• Country must be designated by DHS after
  consultation with Secretary of State
• Countries are listed and requirements are set by
  publication in the Federal Register.

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Cancellation of Removal

• Long-term permanent residents who are deportable
  or inadmissible if they have been LPRs for at
  least 5 years and resided in the U.S. in status
  for 7 continuous years may have the proceedings
  terminated and the grounds waived.
• Non-permanent residents who have resided
  continuously for 10 years and can show
  exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to
  their U.S. citizen or LPR child, spouse or parent
  may have proceedings terminated and receive LPR
  status.

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Extension of Status

• Lawful non-immigrant admission
• In-status at time of request for extension
• Continues to qualify for status for which
  extension is sought

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Bad Situations

• Prior removal order
• Post-removal order, failure to depart and no
  pending appeals
• Expired non-immigrant status
• Entered the U.S. without first having been
  inspected by DHS.