Hot Topics in Immigration Reform

and Family Immigration Law

IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS
CARL SHUSTERMAN
ANU JOSHI

Proposed Immigration Reform Bill (S.774)

Passed by the Senate on June 29
What will happen in the House?
No single bill as yet
Forcing a Vote?
Discharge Petition?

Legalization
Entered U.S. before 12/31/2011
Registered Provisional Immigrant

(RPI)

Pay a penalty, back taxes

Receive work authorization
May travel abroad
LPR after 10 years
Citizen after 3 more years
Generous provisions for DREAMers,
agricultural workers

Family-Based System

Move FB-2A into immediate relative category

Allow for derivatives of immediate relatives
Eliminate the FB-4 category
Married children of U.S. citizens eligible until 31
Return of the V visa

Employment-Based System

Exempt from quotas:

EB-1 immigrants
Doctoral degree holders,
Physicians who have completed the
foreign residency requirement
Derivatives

EB-6 category for certain start-

up investors

Temporary Workers

W-1 visa for lesser-skilled workers

W-2 visa for contract-based workers
W-3 visa for "at-will" E-B workers
W-2/W-3 visas to replace H-2A program

Asylum
Eliminate the one-year filing deadline
Authorize asylum officers to grant asylum during

credible fear interviews

Mandatory E-Verify

All employers to be on the system after 5 years

Biometric Work Authorization Card
Biometric Green Card

H-1B Visas
Increase general cap to

110,000. 180,000 max

Raise advanced degree cap to
25,000

Limited to STEM grads

Recruitment requirement for

all H-1B LCAs

EADs for spouses
60-day grace period after H-1B
job termination

Fraud

Crime to knowingly defraud an

immigrant or falsely claim to be an

attorney or accredited representative
ID required for individuals helping
immigrants with their forms
Attorney General to prosecute
fraudulent "immigration service
providers" at federal level

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

What is DACA?
Not a Law, Does Not

Lead to Green Card or

U.S. Citizenship
Not the DREAM Act
DHS Prosecutorial
Discretion

Who is Eligible to Apply?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Under Age 31 on June 15, 2012

Came to U.S. before 16th Birthday
Resided Continuously in the U.S.
since June 15, 2007
Physically Present in the U.S. on June
15, 2012 and Day Application is Made
EWI or Overstay before June 15, 2012
In School, Completed High School or
GED, or Military Veteran
No Conviction or Felony, Significant
Misdemeanor, or 3 Misdemeanors

Immigration Forms
Forms

I-821D, Consideration of DACA

I-765, Employment Authorization
I-765 Worksheet

Fee: $465

DACA and Work Permit

Travel Permits Only in Limited

Circumstances
Background Checks

Absences from U.S. Permitted

Brief, Casual, and

Innocent
Not Due to Deportation,
Exclusion, or Removal
Proceedings
Not for an Unlawful
Purpose

Criminal Convictions
Felony only if Punishable by Term of Imprisonment Exceeding

One Year
Significant Misdemeanors Include Crimes of Domestic Violence,
Sexual Abuse or Exploitation, Burglary, Unlawful Possession or
Use of a Firearm, Drug Distribution or Trafficking, DUI or where
Sentence was for 90+ days

Criminal Convictions
3 Misdemeanors
Traffic Violations including

Driving without a License are not

Misdemeanors
Expunged or Juvenile
Convictions are not Necessarily
Disqualifiers
Public Safety Threat May
Include Gang Membership or
Criminal Activities

Acceptable Evidence
Official Records: Financial, Medical, School,

Employment, and Military Records, etc

2 or More Affidavits May be Acceptable to Close Gaps
in Documenting Continuous Residence and Physical
Presence Requirements
Affidavits not Acceptable to Prove Other Requirements
Circumstantial Evidence

Removal Proceedings and Detention Bars

Persons in Removal Proceedings May be Eligible
Persons with Pending Applications for Relief from

Removal Okay
Persons in Detention Need to Apply for DACA with
ICE, not USCIS

What if an Application is Denied?

No Appeal
No Motion to Reopen or

Reconsider
Review of Certain Denials Based on
RFEs Permitted
Reapply?

Questions?