Monday, July 27, 2009

TPS for Somalia

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18-Month Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Somalia.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Somalia from its current expiration date of Sept. 17, 2009 through March 17, 2011.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Reopen In Absentia after Departure Deportation

The Board of Immigration Appeals - BIA, has held that an alien’s departure from the United States while under an outstanding order of deportation or removal issued in absentia does not deprive the Immigration Judge of jurisdiction to entertain a motion to reopen to rescind the order if the motion is premised upon lack ofnotice.

See: Matter of Olivia BULNES-Nolasco, RespondentFile A074 374 363 - Hartford, ConnecticutDecided July 23, 2009, http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/vll/intdec/vol25/3651.pdf

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Thursday, July 9, 2009

Am I a Citizen of the United States?

Am I a Citizen of the United States?

By Immigration Lawyer Minnesota Vincent Martin

Many people are citizens of America by birth or through some other part of the immigration law and don’t even know it. If you are a citizen by law, you do not need to take the citizenship and naturalization test through the INS or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Even if you have no documentation or consider yourself an “illegal alien” for example, no green card, no visa, no immigration paperwork, if you are citizen by law, your lack of documentation does not change the fact that you are a citizen – you just need proof of it.

Keep in mind that this article does not address amnesty or other types of laws that grant people immigration status. This article talks about the possibility that you may be a citizen by virtue of your parents’ or grandparents’ U.S. citizenship, or your place of birth.

The laws that determine whether you are a citizen automatically under the law have changed over the years. Under most circumstances, if you were born in the United States, you are a U.S. citizen. But in some instances, even if you were not born in the U.S., you may still be a citizen.

If you were born outside of America, the law typically looks to the law that was in effect at the time of your birth, your parent’s birth, your grandparent’s birth, etc. In some instances, merely being the child of a U.S. citizen makes you a citizen no matter where you were born, but in other instances the law requires that your American parent have resided in the United States for a period of time before citizenship can be automatically bestowed on you. Another factor to consider is whether your parents were married at the time you were born. The immigration law regarding children born out of wedlock can determine whether you received citizenship automatically or not.

If you were not a citizen at birth, you may have acquired citizenship through your mother or father when he or she became a citizen or naturalized. This typically requires that your parent naturalize before your 18th birthday. For example, if you have a green card and you are under 18 at the time that you parent becomes a U.S. citizen, you may have received citizenship automatically along with your parent, even though you don’t have documentation of it. In this case, you would not need to take the citizenship test, you would simply apply for a certificate of citizenship. The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) would be the applicable law.

If you think that you may already be a citizen by law, you should contact an immigration attorney to get a legal opinion about your case. If you simply show up at the border, airport or other immigration office and merely try to claim citizenship without proper proof, the immigration service will send your case to the immigration judge and essentially place you into deportation. You will then have to prove your claim to the judge. With proper planning, if you have a legitimate claim to citizenship, you may be able to avoid the deportation process by receiving a certificate of citizenship or U.S. passport.

Vincent Martin is an immigration lawyer at Cundy and Martin, LLC, in Bloomington, MN. As an immigration attorney, his practice is devoted exclusively to immigration law. Vincent may be reached at 952-746-4111 or www.cundyandmartin.com .

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Possession of Child Pornography and Immigration

By Minneapolis Immigration Lawyer

Child pornography is a crime involving moral turpitude for which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - ICE - can revoke an immigrant's U.S. citizenship. This is according to a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. You can find the case at:

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/04/20/0755470.pdf

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