Immigrant succeeds on civil rights claim

A Nashville woman will receive a substantial settlement after being shackled to her hospital bed while giving birth.

Nobody likes a traffic ticket.
Photo credit @woodleywonderworks on Flickr; used under Creative Commons license.

Ms. Juana Villegas was taken into custody during a 2008 traffic stop. As part of an agreement between Tennessee law enforcement officials and federal immigration enforcement, local police had the power to detain people whose immigration status was in question. At the time, Ms. Villegas was nine months pregnant. She went into labor during her six-day stay in immigration detention. While she gave birth, she was kept in handcuffs and leg chains. After she delivered her child, she was denied the use of a breast pump, which caused an infection.

Ms. Villegas filed suit to protest this treatment. A federal judge ruled in 2011 that the jail officials had shown "deliberate indifference" to Ms. Villegas' medical needs. In an unusual step, the judge also recommended that Ms. Villegas be given immigration status, under a visa type for crime victims. Appeals ensued, but the city settled with Ms. Villegas to avoid further litigation.

Ms. Villegas' case has clarified rights for immigration detainees, and also opened a new possible route to legal status for people whose civil rights have been violated.

If someone you know is in immigration detention, or if you have questions about which visas you might be eligible for, please contact us to see if we are able to help.
 

Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Immigration Bill

After intense debate, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the "Gang of 8" immigration reform bill. Now that it has been approved in committee, it will go to the entire Senate for approval.

The committee debated over two hundred amendments to the bill, and compromised on some important points. The main purpose of the bill, to provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, remains in the text. However, the availability of this pathway is conditioned on the success of border security measures. Technology companies cheered a provision that would increase the number of H-1B technical worker visas allowed each year, while labor unions opposed the measure. 

The bill does not include a provision that would have allowed gay and lesbian U.S. citizens to petition for their same-sex spouses to gain status. Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy wrote the amendment, but withdrew it amid fears that Republicans would use it to block the passage of the bill.  Multiple senators expressed great regret at the decision to remove the amendment, with Sen. Chuck Schumer calling it "rank discrimination" to treat same-sex spouses differently under immigration law. Although this amendment will not be included in the language of the bill, there is a possibility that same-sex spouses could receive the same immigration opportunities as opposite-sex spouses currently do, if DOMA is overturned in the Supreme Court.

Some harsh provisions were removed from consideration, including Senator Ted Cruz's suggestion of barring immigrants for life from receiving public assistance.  Senators also added some measures to protect immigrants' rights, such as a ban on raids in schools, hospitals and places of worship.

Glickman Turley's attorneys are closely following the debates in Congress. We are thinking ahead about options for our clients under the new laws. Contact us today if you have immigration questions.

How to Read a USCIS Processing Time Report

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) publishes a monthly report on processing times at its service centers.  The Service Centers may vary according to which type of application you are submitting.  In New England, a variety of applications are processed at the Vermont Service Center, which released a new Time Report on April 3 with processing dates as of 2/28/13. 

So, how do you read a Time Report?  There are four columns:  “Form,” “Title of Form,” “Classification or Basis for Filing,” and “Processing Timeframe.”  Make sure you have the right form number and classification.  The processing dates represent the receipt dates of petitions and applications currently being processed by the Service Center.  If a certain type of application is being completed within USCIS target timeframes, the timeframe of days, weeks, or months will be shown.  If a USCIS service center doesn't meet the target timeframe, a date will be shown (January 1, 2009) to indicate what cases they are currently processing. 

For example, USCIS set a goal to complete an I-765 Employment Authorizations for Asylum Seekers within 3 weeks, and the service center is meeting this goal, so the processing report shows “3 weeks.”  Notice that the processing times may vary greatly for the same form, but a different classification.  For example, the processing time for an I-765 for someone who has a pending adjustment of status application (I-485) is three months.

For an example where USCIS is not meeting its processing goal, look at the processing time for an I-130 Petition for a U.S. citizen filing for a spouse, parent, or child under 21.  In the column for “Processing Timeframe,” the date listed is “August 6, 2012,” which means that USCIS is processing applications received on August 6, 2012.  

Visas and Same-Sex Spouses of US Citizens

The federal government continues to take important steps to ensure equality for all people in the US. Recently, the Board of Immigration Appeals issued four decisions that indicate that the US government should issue visas for same-sex spouses of US citizens. This is a huge victory for countless LGBT families who are excluded from the benefits of family-based immigration. See the Board decisions at http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=40271.  Stay tuned with Glickman Turley LLP on the progress of this important issue!

Glickman Turley's experienced attorneys represent individuals on a wide range of immigration matters, as well as other legal issues. Please contact our attorneys if you wish to discuss representation on immigration matters, real estate purchase and sales, condominium associations, criminal defense, non-profit law, civil litigation, business litigation, business law, trademark law, probate matters including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxy, same-sex co-parent adoptions, guardianships, animal law, or LGBT legal matters.  

Foreign Artists Encounter Obstacles When Applying for Visas

U.S. visa rules for performers and artists are preventing cultural exchanges with the international community, according to an article in The New York Times. The process has become expensive, arbitrary, and lengthy in the past decade. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that requests for standard performer's visas dropped by 25 percent in the period between 2006-2010. Foreign performers and ensembles are finding that it is not worth the effort to navigate the frustrating visa process. A foreign artist must apply for a visa through DHS and appear for an in-person interview. If the petition is granted, the State Department will issue the visa at an embassy abroad.


The typical filing fee is $325 per application, but DHS offers a "premium processing fee" of $1,225 that purports to guarantee a response in two weeks. But DHS often will request additional requests for evidence, which results in delays up to 6 months. Additionally, foreign artists are required to sign tour contracts before being eligible to apply for a visa, made even more difficult when combining American dates with tour dates in other countries. The result? Cancelled U.S tour dates and financial loss for artists and their management teams, concert promoters, as well as disappointed fans. By comparison, foreign artists are able to obtain Canadian visas in two weeks and British visas in 8 to 10 days. 


For more on foreign artist visa applications, click here for USCIS eligibility criteria for O visas and P visas. 


Glickman Turley's experienced attorneys represent individuals on a wide range of immigration matters, as well as other legal issues. Please contact our attorneys if you wish to discuss representation on immigration matters, real estate purchase and sales, condominium associations, criminal defense, non-profit law, civil litigation, business litigation, business law, trademark law, probate matters including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxy, same-sex co-parent adoptions, guardianships, animal law, or LGBT legal matters. 

Lawsuits Challenging DOMA Are Filed in Appeals Courts

The New York Times and GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders) reported that today the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston will hear arguments in a case challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional because it prevents same-sex couples married in Massachusetts from qualifying for federal benefits. 


DOMA was enacted in 1996. The New York Times article stated that the Obama administration pledged in February 2011 that it would not defend the "central provision of the marriage act" in courts because it is "unconstitutionally discriminatory" but will challenge arguments with respect to other claims in the case. The House of Representatives has appointed a conservative group to defend DOMA in court. 


Meanwhile, Immigration Equality, a group that advocates for gay rights focusing on immigration law issues, filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Monday, on behalf of five legally married same-sex couples challenging DOMA "based on its effect on gay or lesbian immigrants who want to gain legal residence through marriage to American citizens." The complaint recounts the stories of the five couples, most of whom are facing expiration of their temporary visas. For more on this story, click here. 


Glickman Turley's experienced attorneys represent individuals on a wide range of immigration matters, as well as other legal issues. Please contact our attorneys if you wish to discuss representation on immigration matters, real estate purchase and sales, condominium associations, criminal defense, non-profit law, civil litigation, business litigation, business law, trademark law, probate matters including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxy, same-sex co-parent adoptions, guardianships, animal law, or LGBT legal matters.   

More Mexicans Obtaining US Visas

July 11, 2011 - The New York Times has reported that officials at the United States Embassy in Mexico City are permitting more Mexicans to obtain visas to visit and work in the United States.  As a result, rejections of visa requests has dropped dramatically.  Waiting times for visas has also decreased and some H-2B visas are issued on the day of application. Consular Officer McKeon stated that persons who are subject to the 3 or 10 year bar to re-entry because they have previously overstayed their visa may be able to successfully seek permission to re-enter the United States with a waiver.  Officer McKeon stated: "It's not easy going through this process and I think people who are willing to go through all of that and risk going back to the United States where they have to pay taxes, and withholding, I think we should look favorably on them.  The New York Times article is available at  www.nytimes.com./interactive/2011/07/06/world/americas/immigration.html.