If you have an application for permanent residency pending, you need to be cautious when traveling outside the country. I recommend to my clients not to leave the country while your immigration status is pending. The reason is because immigration could deem that you abandoned your application when you left the country. Obviously this wasn’t the immigrant’s intent however US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may deem it abandoned.
Obtaining Relief
The remedy is an application for writ of habeas corpus
With as much talk as there has been over the last few years about immigration, you would think most criminal defense lawyers are sensitive to the potential consequences of a conviction for defendants who are not United States citizens. Unfortunately, I continue to see lawyers who believe certain dispositions will protect a client against removal proceedings. Generally, this occurs where the client is placed on deferred adjudication, or placed in some type of pre-trial diversion program. They mistakenly believe that if there is no conviction, there are no immigration consequences.
In an effort to catch students enrolling in graduate programs after not being selected in the H-1B lottery, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been discreetly operating a number of fake universities targeting these migrant students abusing the system.Immigration officials have been monitoring universities for students whose only intentions for enrolling in graduate programs is to obtain additional Optional Practical Training (OPT) and Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Enrolling qualifies them for work authorization and allows them to extend their lawful presence in the U.S despite not being picked in the H-1B lottery.
The standard U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) protocol would be to issue Requests for Evidence (RFE) regarding H petitions of suspect students. USCIS, however, appears to have turned to more drastic enforcement measures, putting up nonexistent universities to entrap students.
The first sting operation of this kind happened in Michigan in 2015. USCIS set up the “University of Farmington,” promising flexible schedules and relatively low tuition fees for both undergraduate and graduate students. This went on until 2017, with immigration agents posing as university officials leading the operation that raked in 130 arrests for civil immigration charges out of over 600 suspect enrollees across the country.
Among these, eight were arrested on conspiracy and harboring charges for pretending to be “recruiters.” These individuals were found to have allegedly assisted immigrants in creating and acquiring what both parties knew were false documents for a price.
Another operation was conducted in 2016, resulting in the arrest of recruiters who brought in foreign students to a nonexistent university called the “University of Northern New Jersey.” The recruiters were taken in for allegedly implementing a “pay to play” scheme.
An attorney representing one of the arrested recruiters claimed that the sting operation that led to their arrests was unfair entrapment. They pointed out that nearly all of those arrested for “recruiting” were Indian nationals – all of whom were lawfully present in the U.S. under valid F student status. The Indian government has been urging for their immediate release.
They also claimed that those arrested in the sting operations were deceived or entrapped. The Farmington prosecution responded to this claim in the indictment, arguing that the migrant students arrested were fully aware that they were involved in illegal activities under the university.
The Trump administration has no plans to make changes to the F-1 Student Visa Program. This, paired with the sting operations and new guidance published last year making it harder for migrant students to avail of OPT and CPT work authorization, has made it clear that the government isn’t keen on expanding the program anytime soon.
If you want to learn more about the F-, J-, and M- visa programs, or need assistance in applying for a H-1B visa, We are ready to help.
The Trump Administration announced that it will no longer be hiring additional immigration judges and will implement a number of cost-saving measures to the U.S. immigration system, despite the tremendous backlog the court system is currently struggling to resolve.
Reasons why the E-2 Treaty Investor Visa is the Next Best Thing to a Green Card, See our previous articles for Part 1, 2, & 3.
Reasons why the E-2 Treaty Investor Visa is the Next Best Thing to a Green Card, See our previous articles for Part 1 & 2.
Reasons why the E-2 Treaty Investor Visa is the Next Best Thing to a Green Card, See our previous article for Part 1.
The E-2 nonimmigrant classification permits a national of a treaty country (a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation) to be admitted to the United States when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business. Certain employees of such a person or of a qualifying organization may also be eligible for this classification.