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Statutes of limitation apply in criminal law. They were put into place to prevent the prosecution of an alleged wrongdoing after a certain number of years has gone by (usually 5–7 years). There are many reasons for this: evidence goes stale; witnesses are unavailable; memories fade; to allow for certainty and repose of the parties; and to prevent inconsistent decisions. But there is no statute of limitations in visa/immigration law. With some exceptions, until recently, this has not been a significant problem. But along with the anti-immigrant politics of the Trump Administration has come a new visa phenomenon: consular officers are now using the lack of a statute of limitations to “exhume” perceived past visa transgressions. They are re-opening and reconsidering suspected visa violations — with no limitation of time or past consular “exoneration”. Consular officers are now revisiting such transgressions from 5, 10, or even 15 years ago -…

The Trump Administration announced new rules regarding birth tourism, which took effect on January 24, 2020. Already, misinformation has cropped up. So to provide some clarity, the below FAQ is provided: Whom do the new rules affect? They only affect applicants for B visitor visas; they do not impact current holders of visas nor citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries who can enter the US without a visa. May current holders of visas and those who hold passports from Visa Waiver Program countries enter the United States to give birth? The Department of Homeland Security, which include Customs and Border Protection inspectors at ports-of-entry, has not announced any new policies or reinterpretations of allowing entry for those who enter to give birth. In the past inspectors permitted women to enter the US to give birth as long as they could show the ability to cover the cost of birth. However,…

One of the biggest misconceptions about immigration law is that a green card is the same as citizenship -only without a passport or the ability to vote. But what many permanent residents do not realize is that they can be deported. The reasons are many: not only for a conviction of a serious or drug-related crime, but also for abandoning their residency in the United States or becoming a “public charge”. The question of deportability can come up when applying for naturalization, or after an absence of more than 180 days from the United States. Imagine a situation where a green card holder who uses public benefits in the US leaves to visit his home country. During his visit, his father gets sick and he needs to stay to help take care of his father. After a 7 month absence from the US, he returns. Upon his arrival at the…

Visa refusals continue to skyrocket under the Trump Administration — and it doesn’t seem to matter whether the applicants are from countries considered “friends” or “foes” of the United States. While the refusal rates for some countries, such as Vietnam, Philippines and Pakistan, have remained relatively stable, other countries have seen a significant jump. Brazil, Nigeria, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and China have each seen increases of more than 25% over the past two years, with India and Mexico not far behind. Below are the visa refusal statistics for B visas for fiscal years 2017–2019. Country % of B Visa Applicants Refused in FY-2017% of B Visa Applicants Refused in FY-2018% of B Visa Applicants Refused in FY-2019% Increase from FY-2017 to FY-2019 Brazil 12.34 12.73 18.48 49.75 China 14.57 17 18.22 25.05 India 23.29 26.07 27.75 19.14 Mexico 22.5 24.93 26.66 18.48 Nigeria 44.95 57.47 67.20 49.49…

With the dramatic upsurge in consular decisions to permanently bar visa applicants from the United States, the question of applying for an immigrant or nonimmigrant waiver has become more and more acute. Many immigration lawyers will advise to just accept the decision, admit that you were wrong, say you are sorry, and apply for the waiver. They say that your chances of receiving the waiver will be increased if you admit your guilt and express remorse, even if you did not do anything wrong. But what if you are not “guilty”? What if you did not commit a material misrepresentation (Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i))? Or engage in alien smuggling (Section 212(a)(6)(E))? Or commit a crime of moral turpitude (Section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I))? Should you admit you were wrong? Of course not. There are legal mechanisms to challenge such lifechanging decisions, such as a Request for Reconsideration. Sometimes, the supervisor of the consular officer or…