After more than a decade with virtually no positive news for illegally present immigrants, a new industry began to flourish across the country. Called "notarios" fake lawyers have created a cottage industry of fraud, bilking immigrants on millions of dollars with promises to deliver immigration benefits that simply aren't going to happen. Notarios in Latin America are actually lawyers, but in the US it takes little more than a few dollars and an application to qualify to be a notary public.

In the wake of good news on prosecutorial discretion as well as I-601 waivers, notarios are starting to get more brazen in marketing their services even though only a relatively small percentage of those in the US illegally are likely to benefit from the changes.

My friend Paul Parsons passed on the link to an article that provides good information on notario fraud and how to avoid being scammed. Hopefully, it will help stop individuals from becoming victims.

A surprisingly (and worrying) drop in EB-2 filings in the EB-2 category for advance degree professionals (masters degrees and higher) will jump another full year in February to January 2010 filings. That's a two and half year advance since the beginning of this fiscal year in October. The State Department is warning that its being aggressive in moving up numbers to spur demand and that numbers could stop advancing or even retrogress very soon. So if your number has become current, don't dawdle. By the way, I say worrying because knowledge workers at this level should be our prime target group for immigrating. Strong demand for EB-2 visas is needed if the US is to remain at the top.

Most people think that if you are married to a US citizen and have demonstrated that the marriage is genuine, you get a green card. Right? Wrong. If your immigrant spouse entered the country without inspection (be it recently or when he or she was a young child), the spouse is required to leave the country apply for an immigrant visa. Leaving immediately triggers a bar of 3 or 10 years and then you have to go through the process of applying for a hardship waiver in order to be able to get the immigrant visa and return. That could mean waiting for months or even years outside the country. An unknown number of families - probably in the hundreds of thousands - are unwilling to be separated. And given the dangerous situation in some countries (e.g. Ciudad Juarez, the murder capital of the world), its more than just the emotional pain of separation driving the decision.

The proposed change to immigration rules announced yesterday would allow people to apply for that hardship waiver in the US which means that the wait outside the US for the immigrant visa will be quite short - a matter of days or a few weeks.

The antis who are decrying this move as an amnesty really don't do themselves any benefit if their goal is to win the hearts and minds of the American public. Only extremists support the idea of forcing these couples to live apart or make the American spouse have to go in to exile.

Most people think illegally present immigrants should be punished for violating immigration law. But just as we don't impose life in prison for public drunkenness or sentence one to the death penalty for shoplifting, we shouldn't make a decade - or possibly a lifetime - barred from returning to the US the only available punishment for violating immigration laws. Fines, forcing immigrants to take English tests, pay back taxes, do community service, etc. are all alternatives that are proportionate to the offense.

The folks going on the airwaves to attack the President on this move benefiting US citizens (as well as DREAMers, members of the military and other sympathetic groups) just come off as jerks (actually, a few stronger words come to mind). President Obama is turning out to be a better politician than many initially assumed. He is coming up with administrative remedies that are highly tweaked to benefit the most sympathetic individuals. The pro-immigration community has moved away from the ideal, but politically impossible, comprehensive immigration all or nothing push to endorse smaller achievable improvements and we're finally seeing progress.

By the way, here's a clip from Erin Burnett's show on CNN last night featuring a debate between my friend David Leopold and Kris Kobach, the fellow who wrote that lovely law in Arizona. A perfect illustration of what I'm talking about. David comes off as sympathetic and the voice of reason. Grumpy Kobach wants those kids to get off his lawn.

Alert readers posted about the new reentry bar waiver policy in the comments just as the news was breaking this morning. For those who missed it, here's the announcement from USCIS:

Underscoring the Obama Administration’s commitment to family unity and administrative efficiency, this morning U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services posted a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to begin a regulatory change that would reduce the amount of time that U.S. citizens are separated from their families while their family members go through the process of becoming legal residents of the United States. 

Currently, children and spouses of U.S. citizens who have accrued a certain period of unlawful presence in the U.S., and have to leave the country in order to become a legal permanent resident of the U.S., are barred from returning to their families for as long as 3 or 10 years.  They can receive a waiver to allow them to return to their families before that period by showing that their U.S. citizen family member would face extreme hardship as a result of the separation.  But under current procedures, in order to obtain the waiver, these individuals must apply from outside the United States after they have been found inadmissible by a Department of State consular officer. This process can be lengthy and discourages individuals who are currently eligible for this waiver from applying.  To address this problem, the USCIS proposal would allow eligible immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to apply for and receive "provisional waivers" of unlawful presence before they leave the United States for consular processing of their immigrant visa applications, significantly reducing the time U.S. citizens are separated from their spouses, or children.

Not only will this proposal further the Administration’s commitment to family unity, but the change would improve government efficiency by increasing the predictability and consistency of the application process.

The policy will change will no doubt encourage many people who are likely eligible for green cards to apply since the ability to file for the waiver in the US will largely reduce the risks of long separation of families.

A number of organizations have praised the move by the Administration. The National Immigration Law Center called the new policy "common sense" and warned immigrants not to fall prey to notarios and reminded people that the announcement regards a proposal and not the final rule.

The National Immigration Forum praised the White House for showing that it "understands the value of family unity" and called the plan a "tremendous victory." They also noted that the new rule would help by allowing people to avoid prolonged stays in extremely dangerous locations like Ciudad Jarez.

The American Immigration Council believes the plan will benefit hundreds of thousands of people by creating a faster and safer process for securing waivers. AIC Executive Director Ben Johnson noted

By proposing new rules for processing waiver applications for spouses and children of U.S. citizens, USCIS has shown a commitment to addressing one of the most notorious implementation problems in our current immigration system.  Improving this system, within the framework of the law, is the legitimate role of any administration.  We commend USCIS for embarking on this rule change and its other attempts to bring efficiencies and fairness to the immigration system.

Eleanor Pelta, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association [note - I serve on AILA's Board of Governors] also praised the Administration:

“Although this is just a small part of dealing with the dysfunction of our immigration system, it represents a significant change in process for many individuals,” said Eleanor Pelta, president of AILA. “It’s a move that will be less destructive to families and bring about a fairer and more streamlined waiver process. Right now people who have accumulated unlawful presence in the U.S. who leave the country to apply for a green card have to wait abroad, often for months or years. 

“This adjustment to the rule is important,” Pelta added, “because it will literally save lives. Unfortunately, most waiver applications are filed in Ciudad Juarez on the U.S.-Mexico border, an extremely dangerous city these days, and more than one applicant has been murdered or seriously harmed while waiting there.”

About The Author

Greg Siskind is a partner in Siskind Susser's Memphis, Tennessee, office. After graduating magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University, he received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago. Mr. Siskind is a member of AILA, a board member of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and a member of the ABA, where he serves on the LPM Publishing Board as Marketing Vice Chairman. He is the author of several books, including the J Visa Guidebook and The Lawyer's Guide to Marketing on the Internet. Mr. Siskind practices all areas of immigration law, specializing in immigration matters of the health care and technology industries. He can be reached by email at gsiskind@visalaw.com.

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