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Humanitarian Parole — The Last Chance

The Department of Homeland Security’s Secretary has the authority to grant parole into the United States for foreign individuals in urgent medical or humanitarian situations or during emergencies. Humanitarian Parole is typically considered a final opportunity for entry into the US for individuals who do not qualify for a visa through standard means. The evaluation process for these requests is rigorous, with approximately three-quarters of humanitarian parole applications rejected. It is granted on a case-by-case basis and should not be used to bypass regular visa procedures or applications for refugee status. To illustrate the various situations in which humanitarian parole may be used, below we can provide a few case studies from our own experience. For example, after an encounter at the airport in the US, one client was paroled into the United States for one month. But he was not given a copy of his Record of Sworn Statement…

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests for Visa and Immigration Cases

A FOIA request can be extremely helpful to find out what information a government agency has; to clarify dates; and to “re-construct” a file in a case where documents were lost or misplaced. Such a request can be critical to overcome a finding of inadmissibility in visa cases, in particular, such as accusations of misrepresentations, alien smuggling and unlawful presence. All agencies of the Executive Branch of the United States Government are required to disclose records upon receiving a written request for them, except for those records protected from disclosure by exemptions (e.g., law enforcement, security, and privacy reasons). As a general rule, the Government does not charge fees for conducting the search, although it reserves the right to do so. What makes the FOIA process challenging is that there is no central office which processes FOIA requests for all federal agencies. Therefore, it is necessary to determine which agency…

Overcoming Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

On average, more than a million visa applicants are rejected every year under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Nonimmigrant visa applicants, excluding H-1B and L-1 visa holders, bear the responsibility of demonstrating their non-immigrant intent. Under 214(b), applicants must not only qualify for the visa but also agree to adhere to its terms upon entering the US. For B visa applicants, proof of a foreign residence and temporary visit intentions for business or pleasure is necessary. F visa applicants additionally need to demonstrate both qualifications for studies and the intent to return home after completion. Employment visa seekers must exhibit qualifications relevant to their visa type. Notably, there’s no time restriction on invoking 214(b); for instance, prolonged previous stays in the US leading to suspected employment violations more than 10 years ago can prompt its application. Consular officers commonly resort to visa revocation. This affects thousands annually…

Comparison of Immigrant Waivers

The journey to obtaining permanent residency in a new country can be fraught with challenges, and for many immigrants, overcoming certain legal barriers is a crucial step in this process. One such hurdle is the need for immigrant waivers, which allow individuals with specific grounds of inadmissibility to immigrate and continue their pursuit of a better life. Ideally, one would not need a waiver, and as illustrated throughout this site, if you believe that there was a factual or legal mistake made in the decision to bar you, you should certainly challenge that decision first. Here, we will delve into and compare three types of immigrant waivers, each of which are submitted on Form I-601. 212(a)(6)(C)(i) Misrepresentation A waiver for a willful, material misrepresentation is available to a spouse or child of US citizen (USC) or Legal Permanent Resident (LPR). The legal standard to qualify for the waiver is “extreme…

AzTech, Integra, Wireclass, Andwill Update: We Have Obtained Shocking Internal ICE Documents Concerning its Investigation. Part 2.

In Part 1, we described the materials recently received from a Freedom of Information Act request to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The materials are not only eye-opening but indeed shocking: they show that the students were let down by delinquent government and university actors that failed to warn them of the scam. Most mind-boggling: the US government is now using its own delinquency as a sword against these students in permanently barring them from the United States and using shell-game tactics to make it is as difficult as possible to challenge the bars. Here, we provide additional details from those ICE reports: The Homeland Security Investigations Wilmington office identified approximately 1,925 STEM OPT students associated with AzTech. HSI administratively arrested 15 STEM OPT students. (An administrative arrest is the arrest of a foreign individual for a civil — not criminal — violation of U.S. immigration laws. These cases are then…