Articles Posted in Naturalization/Citizenship

On June 23, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited immigration opinion in the case of U.S. v. Texas. The justices agreed 8-1 that the states who filed the lawsuit against the federal government over what the states perceived as the non-enforcement of immigration laws could not sue the government in this case. The eight justices disagreed on exactly why the federal courts could not handle this case and give the states what they wanted, but all eight agreed that the lower courts were wrong in getting involved in this matter.

So, what was U.S. v. Texas about and how does this decision affect non-citizens in the United States? In 2021, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, issued a memo regarding what types of cases the federal immigration officers should focus their efforts on for detention and removal from the United States. By listing groups of non-citizens who immigration officers were to focus on, this automatically created a group of non-citizens who became “non-priorities.” Multiple states like Texas did not like the “Mayorkas Memo” and sued in federal court to stop the federal immigration officers from using this memo in making detention and removal decisions. The first two federal courts who heard the case agreed that states like Texas were harmed by immigration officers prioritizing certain non-citizens for removal and thereby potentially ignoring other non-citizens who were subject to detention and removal but were not priorities. The courts initially stopped the Department of Homeland Security from using the memo in immigration enforcement decisions.

The Mayorkas memo remained sidelined until the Supreme Court decided that NO court has jurisdiction to even hear this case, let alone strike down the Mayorkas Memo. The Supreme Court held that the federal courts were not the place for states to sue the federal government to force them to use their “prosecutorial discretion” to detain and deport every non-citizen they could. The Supreme Court listed multiple other ways that this perceived non-enforcement or prosecutorial discretion issue could be addressed, including through elections and in the Congressional oversight and funding context.

bigstock-Hurricane-Also-Called-Tornado-461662201Hurricane Ian affected the lives of Floridians in countless ways. Homes were destroyed and many people’s personal belongings were lost forever.  For individuals who are in the process of changing their immigration status, these losses have more than just sentimental value. The loss of certain personal items can have an adverse effect on their immigration case.

Loss of Government Documents

Some of these belongings lost due to the hurricane include important governmental documents needed to continue an immigration case. If you have lost any important government documents, many of these can be replaced. It is a matter of finding the proper agency or person to help you in replacing them.

TPSThe Biden administration has extended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, providing approximately 143,800 immigrants from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Cameroon additional protections, allowing them to remain temporarily in the United States.

The TPS program gives immigrants from these countries the chance to apply for time-limited permission to live and work in the U.S. and avoid deportation.  This program is overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

To be covered by the TPS program, immigrants must apply through DHS. The TPS program offers temporary protection from being deported for qualifying immigrants who are residing in the U.S. and came here from designated countries that are otherwise deemed unsafe to return. These unsafe conditions could be because of war, hurricanes, earthquakes, or any other potentially hazardous circumstances in those countries.

When applying for a green card, whether the application be for a marriage green card or an immediate relative, you should assume that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will conduct a thorough background check. bigstock-U-s-Deportation-Immigration-Ju-383236865Filing an accurate and thorough green card application is all the more important if you have a criminal history.

USCIS will conduct a criminal background check not only on the green card applicant, but also the sponsoring U.S. citizen or the green card holder who is sponsoring his or her family member attempting to receive a green card.

This criminal background check will look for every interaction the applicant had with law enforcement in both the person’s home country as well as in the United States.

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Getting married to a U.S. citizen does not always mean that you will be approved for lawful permanent residence via a marriage visa or green card. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) carefully reviews each and every marriage visa and green card application. Even if your marriage is the real deal, certain mistakes can result in your application being denied.

The following are common reasons marriage visas and green card applications are denied in the United States:

  1. Entering into an Invalid Marriage

If my N-400 Application for Naturalization (U.S. Citizenship) has been denied by USCIS, what should I do now, what can I do now? What chances do I have to still become a U.S. citizen?  What will happen next? Will I be deported? Do I lose my status and my green card?

These are all very common questions that lawful permanent residents ask themselves after they receive a denial letter after an N-400 citizenship interview. Receiving a denial letter from USCIS telling you that you will not become a citizen may be heartbreaking to people who have held a life-long dream to become a U.S. citizen. But an N-400 denial letter is often not the end of the road and there are many options available to people who receive an N-400 denial letter.

The first thing to remember is that you do not only get one opportunity to apply for U.S. citizenship. That’s right, even if you are denied, most of the time, you can reapply; you do not get just one bite at the apple. So depending on why you were denied, you may be able to wait a few days, months or years and apply again.

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Beginning on December 1st, 2020, applicants for naturalization will be required to take an expanded civics test at their naturalization interview.  The current test requires the applicant to answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly to pass.   Applicants study from a list of 100 possible questions.  The new test will require the applicant to answer 12 out of 20 questions correctly.  There will be 128 questions that the applicant will study and USCIS will choose 20 questions out of those 128 possible questions.  The applicant will have two chances to pass the test.  If the applicant does not answer 12 questions correctly at the first interview, they will be rescheduled for an additional interview where they will get one more opportunity to pass the test.  If the applicant does not pass the second time, he or she will have to start the entire naturalization process over by filing a new N-400 form along with new filing fees.


What kind of questions will they ask me during the civics exam at my naturalization interview?


The civics exam is designed to test your knowledge of  U.S. government and history topics.  Here are some of the questions that might be asked:

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So, you worked for years and years to become a Lawful Permanent Resident.  Spent hundreds or thousands of dollars.  Endured endless delays.  Finally filed your application to become a United States Citizen and…nothing.  Crickets.  Silence.  Not an approval.  Not a denial.  Nothing.  You’ve called the 1-800 number.  You’ve checked the status online.  You may have even made Congressional inquiries.  And still…nothing.  No explanation.  No timeline. Just radio silence.  So what can you do?


What can I do if USCIS refuses to adjudicate my Naturalization Application?


There has been a nationwide push among immigration lawyers to hold USCIS accountable for their inaction.  SUE!  Sometimes the only option is to litigate in Federal Court.  Simply filing a lawsuit in Federal Court is often enough to nudge your case loose from the bureaucratic vice within the bowels of USCIS.

adobe-spark-post-1As an immigration attorney, when I talk to my immigration clients about their future, the first thing I tell them is to become a United States citizen as fast as they can, if they want to spend the rest of their life in the United States.  I tell them to run, not walk, to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Office to file an N-400 Application to naturalize.  I pick up the bulky Immigration and Nationality Act and tell them they can have a bonfire and burn that book after they naturalize, because the Immigration and Nationality Act no longer applies to them.  They will become full fledged United States citizens with all the bells and whistles.  But with everything in life, especially in the law, there are exceptions.  And one of those exceptions is through a process called denaturalization.


What is Denaturalization?


Denaturalization is the process of undoing a person’s naturalization and stripping that person of United States citizenship.  This process is typically initiated pursuant to an allegation that the person obtained their citizenship through fraud or misrepresentation or that they were not eligible for naturalization.  It is very difficult for the government to denaturalize someone as the burden of proof is very high and it must be done in federal court.

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Orlando immigration attorneys and Jacksonville immigration attorneys know the frustration of the Infopass system.  Appointments are few and far between.  When an appointment becomes available, there is a mad rush to reserve your spot.  Clients often get frustrated that an appointment cannot be made more quickly. And once an appointment is finally made, the answers are often not very useful.

There are few agencies that are more tightly wound in red tape than the United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS).  You can’t just pick up a phone and give them a call.  You can’t simply drop in and ask a question.  There is a process.  Not a very good process.  But there is a process.  If you have a question about your pending application or petition, you can set what is called an “Infopass appointment.”  An Infopass appointment is the vehicle you can use to get answers to your questions.  Unfortunately, you will often get vague or conflicting answers, but sometimes these appointments can be very helpful.

The most common use of the Infopass appointment is to answer the question, “What is taking so long on my application or petition?”  Customers often ask when a decision will be made.  Sometimes, simply having the Infopass appointment can jog the case the loose and get it back in line for a decision.  The adjudicator who you meet with at the Infopass appointment won’t be the adjudicator that decides your case, but they often can look up the status in the system, see where the file is, determine where in the process the case is, and offer other useful information.

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