ICE executes federal search warrants at multiple Mississippi locations

JACKSON, Miss. – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed multiple federal criminal search warrants at seven agricultural processing plants across Mississippi Wednesday morning as part of an ongoing HSI worksite enforcement criminal investigation.

In addition to executing federal search warrants and seizing business records pertaining to the ongoing federal criminal investigation, deportation officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in partnership with HSI detained approximately 680 removable aliens who were unlawfully working at the plants. Read more at: https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-executes-federal-search-warrants-multiple-mississippi-locations#wcm-survey-target-id

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information.

USCIS Assists in Conviction of Visa Fraud Perpetrator

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal jury convicted Abhijit Prasad, 52, of Tracy, California, on 21 counts of visa fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft today. The case originated in Sacramento when the grand jury there indicted Prasad in 2016, but the case was ultimately tried in San Francisco after a court order transferred the case there.

U.S. Attorney David Anderson for the Northern District of California and U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott for the Eastern District of California made the announcement.

According to the evidence at trial, Prasad filed 19 petitions for H-1B nonimmigrant visas containing false statements, made under penalty of perjury, about purported work projects to be performed at locations in California, including Cisco Systems. The evidence at trial showed that Cisco had no expectation that the foreign workers who were the beneficiaries of the visa petitions would actually work at Cisco on an existing work project. The evidence at trial further showed that the defendant knowingly submitted forged Cisco documents to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in support of his claims that the beneficiaries would work at Cisco. Read more at: https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-assists-conviction-visa-fraud-perpetrator

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information.

USCIS to End Certain Categorical Parole Programs

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced its intention to terminate two categorical parole programs, consistent with Executive Order (E.O.) 13767, Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements, and to better ensure that parole is used only on a case-by-case basis, consistent with the law. Parole is a process that allows foreign nationals to temporarily enter or remain in the United States, including those who are otherwise inadmissible. The programs to be terminated are the Haitian Family Reunification Parole program and the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole program.

Under both of these categorical parole programs, individuals with approved family-based immigrant petitions have been authorized to enter and work in the United States while waiting for their green card to become available. The decision to end these parole programs ends the expedited processing that was made available to these populations in a categorical fashion. It follows an extensive review to better ensure that parole authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act is exercised on a case-by-case basis when there is a significant public benefit or urgent humanitarian reason. Categorical parole refers to programs designed to consider parole for entire groups of individuals based on pre-set criteria. Read more at: https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-end-certain-categorical-parole-programs

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information. 

Reimagining Justice for Immigrant Survivors Through VAWA

The immigration-related provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) hold powerful potential to help us reimagine our understanding of diaspora, integration and discrimination.

Among the various purposes of VAWA is to make lawful immigration status a reality for those who have been victims of domestic abuse by spouses, parents or children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Beyond this, VAWA-based immigration cases help discredit the myth of the miscreant invader — not just because its immigration relief is premised on having been abused, but on having been abused by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. Read more at: https://truthout.org/articles/reimagining-justice-for-immigrant-survivors-through-vawa/

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information.

Brits could be turned away at US border if they don’t check their ESTA application now to make sure it’s gone through

BRITS heading to the US have been warned to check their ESTA

applications ahead of time.
Due to the government website being updated, a number of applications could be archived instead of being processed.
The update will be taking place on August 5, which is when problems could crop up.
On the ESTA website, it warns: "The ESTA website will be updated on August 5, 2019.
"All ESTA applications that are in a pending payment status at the time of the update will be archived.
"Applicants impacted will have to reapply after the update is complete." Read more at:https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/9639257/esta-application-warning-us-holidays/

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information.

DHS reaffirms adjustment of status with TPS is only valid in 6th and 9th Circuits (Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin)

The following immigration policy memorandum is now available on the Policy Memoranda section of the USCIS website:
• Matter of H-G-G-, Adopted Decision 2019-01 PM-602-0172
Matter of H-G-G- addresses recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and their eligibility to adjust status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This decision reaffirms the long-standing position of the Department of Homeland Security and the former Immigration and Naturalization Service that TPS recipients are considered as being in and maintaining lawful status as a nonimmigrant only during the period that TPS is in effect. A grant of TPS does not confer an admission, nor does it cure or otherwise affect any previous failure to maintain continuously a lawful status.
Matter of H-G-G- also says that because the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 6th and 9th Circuits have held that a grant of TPS supplies the requisite admission for purposes of adjustment, USCIS personnel will follow those decisions only in those respective jurisdictions and on that specific issue. On the question of whether a grant of TPS absolves a prior unlawful status, USCIS personnel will apply the holding in Matter of H-G-G- universally.

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information.

USCIS Announces Citizenship and Assimilation Grant Opportunities

 JULY 30, 2019

(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is accepting applications for two funding opportunities under the Citizenship and Assimilation Grant Program that will provide up to $10 million in grants for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country.

These competitive grant opportunities are open to organizations that prepare lawful permanent residents for naturalization and promote civic assimilation through increased knowledge of English, U.S. history, and civics.

USCIS seeks to expand availability of high-quality citizenship and assimilation services throughout the country with these two grant opportunities:
 

• Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services. This grant opportunity will fund up to 36 organizations that offer both citizenship instruction and naturalization application services to lawful permanent residents. Applications are due by Aug. 13, 2019. Read more at: http://www.wbiw.com/2019/07/30/uscis-announces-citizenship-and-assimilation-grant-opportunities/

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more details.