Naturalization/Citizenship

How Criminal Charges Affect Immigration Proceedings

Published on: September 19, 2022 | by Shorstein, Lasnetski & Gihon

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-383236865 Filing 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.

Mistakes Commonly Made While Applying for a Green Card through Marriage (Which Can Easily Be Avoided)

Published on: September 7, 2022 | by Shorstein, Lasnetski & Gihon

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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:

Entering into an Invalid Marriage

My N-400 Application for Naturalization was denied, what can I do now?

Published on: March 24, 2021 | by Shorstein, Lasnetski & Gihon

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.

USCIS Launching New Expanded Civics Test For Naturalization Applications Filed On or After December 1st, 2020

Published on: November 20, 2020 | by Shorstein, Lasnetski & Gihon

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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:

How can you get USCIS to Grant or Deny Your Application for Naturalization? Sue ’em!

Published on: July 19, 2019 | by Shorstein, Lasnetski & Gihon

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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.

Denaturalization: How You Can Lose Your United States Citizenship After You Naturalize.

Published on: November 28, 2017 | by Shorstein, Lasnetski & Gihon

adobe-spark-post-1 As 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.

How Do I Get Information On My Immigration Case From USCIS?

Published on: November 9, 2017 | by Shorstein, Lasnetski & Gihon

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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.

I Want to Become a U.S. Citizen, but I am not sure what Good Moral Character means

Published on: October 21, 2016 | by Shorstein, Lasnetski & Gihon

If you are a lawful permanent resident and you want to become a U.S. citizen, congratulations, you have made a wise decision. Becoming a U.S. citizen as soon as you are eligible is almost always the right choice for every lawful permanent resident. Becoming a citizen means no more renewing your green card, no more waiting in the longer line at Customs on the way back into the country and no more worrying about losing your status and getting deported.

Now that you have made the decision to apply for your citizenship, you must now determine if you are eligible. To apply for citizenship, you would use a form called an N-400 Application for Naturalization. The law on citizenship requires that an applicant meet the following criteria:

has been a lawful permanent resident for at least five years (three years if you obtained your green card through a U.S. citizen spouse and are still married);

What Can Happen To Me If I Claim To Be A United States Citizen Before I Become One?

Published on: August 9, 2016 | by Shorstein, Lasnetski & Gihon

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Claiming to a United States citizen when you are not one may not appear to be that horrible of an act, but under immigration law, it is one of the worst things you can do as a non-citizen. Falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen for almost any reason, can lead to a permanent denial of lawful permanent residence (a green card), a denial of your Application of Naturalization (citizenship), you can be detained and put in immigration removal proceedings, denied other forms of immigration relief and ultimately deported. Yes, that’s right, unless and until you are a U.S. citizen, you should never tell anyone you are a U.S. citizen for any reason.

If you are not a U.S. citizen, the circumstances that you may claim to be a citizen can vary. Most people who get in trouble for claiming to be a U.S. citizen did so in the context of registering to vote or when filling out the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification. Others may have claimed to be a citizen to obtain federal benefits such as student loans, a home mortgage, Medicare, Medicaid or food stamps. Some people falsely claim to be a U.S. citizen so that they can get a U.S. passport. This is not only something that can get you deported, its also a federal crime. Some people falsely claim to be a U.S. citizen to avoid being deported when they are interviewed by immigration officers at the U.S. border or when arrested on a criminal offense.

Regardless of the circumstances under which a non-citizen claims to be a U.S. citizen, the penalties and consequences are severe-the U.S. government takes false claims very seriously.

Why Every Criminal Defense Attorney in Florida should have a Trusted Immigration Attorney they can Talk to Anytime

Published on: January 7, 2016 | by Shorstein, Lasnetski & Gihon

Last month I had the honor of speaking at the Florida Public Defender Association’s 30th Annual “Trial with Style Conference” in unfortunately rainy Fort Lauderdale. While in one of my former lives as a state prosecutor and I like to think I always tried my cases with style, during this conference I did not talk about anything specifically to do with trying a case.

My topic was “Crimmigration: the intersection of Criminal and Immigration Law.” Let me preface this piece with the following caveat; not all immigrants are criminals (sorry Donald Trump) and recent research has shown that foreign-born residents are less likely to commit serious and violent crimes than native-born citizens.

That being said, this subject is of great interest to most criminal defense attorneys in Florida. Florida has the fourth-highest foreign-born population in the U.S. Almost 20% of all residents in Florida were born in another country. Because Florida is now the third largest state with a total population of over 20 million, that means we have roughly four million foreign-born people living in Florida. Florida is also top 10 in the country in crime rate. You combine all of these factors, and you see why criminal defense attorneys need to know immigration law.