New York Lawyer's Legal Updates
USCIS Changes Guidelines On Detainers: Only Serious Misdemeanors And Felonies Will Trigger Detention
30 December 2012Author: US Immigration Lawyer Alena Shautsova USCIS reconsider its policy on detainer issuance and on December 21, 2012 issued a new Memo confirming that only serious misdemeanors and felony charges and/or convictions will trigger issuance of immigration detainers. It is a well-known fact that when a person who is not a US citizen is charged with ...
Basis For Asylum: Membership In A Particular Social Group
22 December 2012Author: US Asylum Lawyer Alena Shautsova United States asylum seekers may qualify for asylum on five grounds: race, nationality, religion, political opinion, and membership in a particular social group. Refugees or asylum seekers are aliens who are unable or unwilling to return to their native country “because of persecution or a well founded fear ...
Impact Of Criminal Conviction Of Domestic Violence On Adjustment Of Status
18 December 2012Author: US Green Card Lawyer Alena Shautsova A non- US citizen who has a criminal conviction in the United States may still be eligible to adjust status to one of a permanent resident. Every criminal conviction must be analyzed separately and together with the any other criminal convictions that an alien has. When applying for an adjustment of st ...
The ICE Investigates Marriage Fraud: Operation Knot So Fast: Green Card Or 5 Years In Prison?
07 December 2012Author: US Green Card Lawyer Alena Shautsova The Immigration authorities continue to fight marriage fraud. Recently they announced new criminal convictions based on the charge of marriage fraud for immigration purposes. The accused were provided with a jury trial, and juries found three of the accused guilty. Judging by the last names, at least ...
Do I Have To Prove I Am Innocent For Immigration Purposes (Shoplifting)?
07 December 2012Author: US Deportation Lawyer Alena Shautsova I receive frequent inquiries from non US citizens (people who are in the US on F1 or B1 visa; or those with a green card but no citizenship) who ask me the same question: if they were charged with a shoplifting charge, do they have to prove their innocent to avoid deportation? First, a person accused ...
Domestic Violence And Asylum
03 December 2012Author: US Asylum Lawyer Alena Shautsova Very often, the laws of the foreign countries do not protect women- victims of domestic violence. If the acts of violence and abuse happened in the US, the protections afforded are quite strong and vary from Orders of Protection to possibility of receiving VAWA based green card, or a U visa. However, may a ...
How Can I Win A Sexual Harassment Case
26 November 2012Author: Employment discrimination attorney Alena Shautsova Sexual harassment at work is prohibited. Very often, however, female employees are afraid to go forward with the claims and complaints against their employer because they are afraid to lose their jobs, afraid that the employer will make a “bad name” for them and they will have hard time ...
Continuous Presence For Cancellation Of Removal For Non-permanent Residents And EWI
22 November 2012Author: New York Deportation Attorney Alena Shautsova You probably have heard that if a person entered the country illegally, “nothing can help him” to obtain legal status in the United States even if she/he marries a US citizen. Well, it is not quite true. It is very difficult for such a person to obtain a status, to wit: most of the time they ...
The Conflict In Middle East Affects The US Embassy Operation In Tel Aviv
21 November 2012Author: New York Attorney Alena Shautsova www.usembassy.gov/israel/ The US Embassy in Tel Aviv operated in an emergency mode on November 16, 2012. The same warning was issued for November 19, 2012. The Embassy temporarily relocated its personnel to a safer area, and it hopes that its advance security measures will be sufficient to avoid loss. T ...
5 Deadly Mistakes That May Cost You Your Immigration Status
20 November 2012Author: New York Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova Many of perspective clients who come to my office for a consultation ask me: does having a lawyer really help my case? Will the Immigration think that I did something bad and need a lawyer because of it? Can I file myself? While you can certainly try to file / apply for benefits yourself, here ...