The U.S. Department of State has issued a warning relating to scam letters and emails being sent to Diversity Immigrant Visa program (DV) applicants.  These scammers are posing as the U.S. government in an attempt to procure payment from  DV applicants.  In fact, these emails and letters appear so real that someone who does not know any better could easily fall prey to these scammers.  For additional information on this recent alert and how to protect yourself, see the attached DV Scam Alert released by the Department of State, Office of Visa Services.

Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) Director, John Morton, recently released a memorandum on prosecutorial discretion.  The memo does not completely fix the country’s current dysfunctional immigration system, but it holds promise and does represent a good faith attempt by Mr. Morton to move towards smart immigration enforcement.
The memorandum will allow ICE agents and trial attorneys to concentrate the country’s limited law enforcement resources on going after dangerous criminals and terrorists instead of hardworking immigrants who just happen to be tangled up in our messy immigration system.
Many are skeptical about Morton’s memo and are afraid that it would have the same fate as the first memorandum on prosecutorial discretion known as the Meissner Memo.  The Meissner Memo came in response to a letter of protest from a bipartisan group to then Attorney General Janet Reno and INS Commissioner Doris Meissner regarding the Administration’s failure to use prosecutorial discretion on dangerous immigration violators.  The Meisner Memo limited prosecutorial discretion to cases that presented “substantial federal interest,” but it did not define that it meant.  The Morton Memo, on the other hand, provides more guidance by applying a standard to determine when to use discretion.  The question becomes whether a particular case meets the Administration’s enforcement priorities which were defined in another Morton Memo on March 2, 2011 and focuses on dangerous criminals and national security risks.
According to Morton’s memo, prosecutorial discretion can be used affirmatively by ICE at any stage of removal proceedings even when a case is being appealed in circuit court.  However, use of discretion is preferred at the early stage of proceedings to avoid unnecessary expense to the government.  Perhaps most compelling about Morton’s memo is that it gives ICE agents and trial attorneys the authority to do what is right by using discretion.  At the very least, the memo allows ICE agents and trial attorneys to focus our country’s resources on those dangerous individuals who pose a threat to our communities and country.
The memorandum can be found at:   http://www.ice.gov/doclib/secure-communities/pdf/prosecutorial-discretion-memo.pdf

March 2, 2011 Morton Memo: http://www.ice.gov/doclib/news/releases/2011/110302washingtondc.pdf

Meissner Memo:    http://www.scribd.com/doc/22092970/INS-Guidance-Memo-Prosecutorial-Discretion-Doris-Meissner-11-7-00

The Board disagreed with USCIS and the Immigration Judge who both determined that the son’s age at the time of the adjustment application controlled whether the son would have been eligible to adjust his status.  Rather, the Board decided that the son’s age at the time of his entry into the United States controlled.  The Board determined that a “minor child,” a term that has been undefined, is the same as a “child” according to section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) which defines a “child” to be an unmarried person under 21 years old.  The Board also determined that a fiancé derivate child does not have to qualify as a “step-child” of the fiancé petitioner in order for the child to adjust his/her status, but must only demonstrate that he is a “child” of his fiancé parent whom s/he is accompanying or intending to join.

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Indianapolis Immigration Lawyer Tiffany U. Vivo

Immigration & Naturalization Law- Personal Attention to Your Immigration Needs.

When you are relying on your attorney to help you resolve your immigration needs in an efficient and cost-effective way, the attorneys and support staff at the Vivo Law Offices are ready to help.  Our team of experienced immigration lawyers, paralegals and client service professionals handle a complete range of immigration services.  Our clients include individuals, families and business owners, including residents of cities throughout Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, and from the United States, Asia, Mexico, Latin America, Europe and Africa.

Our firm leader, Ms. Vivo, immigrated to the United States as a child.  So, we understand what our immigration clients experience as they battle through the emotional, logistical and financial hardships and complexities of the immigration process.  We have helped fiances, husbands, wives, and children reunite with family and loved ones.  We speak fluent Spanish and Tagalog.  Those experiences help us help our clients in their immigration needs.

Congratulations to Tiffany U. Vivo, who was named by Indianapolis Monthly as a 2011 Indiana Super Lawyers “Rising Star.”  Ms. Vivo was recognized as the only “Rising Star” in the category of immigration law.  Indianapolis Monthly identifies “Rising Stars,” as the state’s outstanding young lawyers in their respective fields.

Ms. Vivo is an Indianapolis-based immigration attorney with clients across the nation.  She provides family-based and other immigration law services to her clients.

The Military Families Act was recently introduced as a bill that would enable active military service members who have non-citizen immediate family members to apply for their green cards.  The new law would, if passed, be another way for the nation to support of our servicemen and servicewomen for their dedication to the United States during war time.   The law would provide a path to legalization for hundreds of military families whose immigration status have remained uncertain.  The law would enable reunification of those family members.

For more information, please read our Fiancee Visa Site- http://www.mynewfiancee.com/the-military-families-act-in-honor-of-our-servicemen-and-women

The State Department has indicated that the results of the lottery are not valid because the software glitch caused selection of 90 percent of the winners from entries submitted on October 5, 2010 and October 6, 2010 only- the first 2 days of the registration which ran for 30 days.  The registration period began on October 5, 2010 and ended on November 3, 2010.

An in-house programming error caused the problem which the State Department reassured, has been fixed.  A new drawing will be held from the current pool of entries with winners to be announced in mid-July.  Applicants who have previously submitted their entries do not have to re-enter and new entries will not be accepted.

Congress established the diversity visa lottery program in 1994 in an attempt to increase immigration to the U.S. by individuals from the developing world and from countries with traditionally low rates of immigration to the U.S. The lottery has exclusively been conducted electronically in the past 15 years and this is the first time in its history that such a problem has been encountered according to the State Department.
The results of the lottery became accessible online on May 1, 2011 and 1.9 million people had already checked to see if they had won before the problem was finally discovered on May 5.

The State Department anticipates the results of the lottery do-over to be available online on or about July 15, 2011.  Applicants received confirmation codes which will remain valid for use on the lottery website.

The State Department assures lottery participants that no unauthorized party had access to their personal data and maintains that the problem was not due to an intentional act, but simply a computer programming error.

To check lottery results, go to www.dvlottery.state.gov.

The timing of the Indiana immigration bill is interesting, as Indiana just opened an expended convention center in Indianapolis, after razing the RCA Hoosier Dome and building the Lucas oil Stadium, as part of a multi-million effort to draw more conventioneers to Central Indiana.  Then, there is the anticipated 2012 Super Bowl, which is currently at issue with the NFL labor dispute dragging on through court-ordered mediation.  Local officials have not been pleased that the immigration law has been openly debated in the press, while those officials are struggling to attract new conventions, trade shows and tourism to Central Indiana to fill a new and very large convention center during the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Ironically, all these factors have probably made the passage of the bill more difficult, despite high unemployment and growing frustration that the federal government is not adequately addressing illegal immigration.  As a result, the bill has been changed substantially.  The bill now focuses on imposing tax penalties against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.  The final bill might contain a provision that would require Indiana to determine the costs of illegal immigration and seek reimbursement from the U.S. Congress.

1. The applicant must submit Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status on or before December 9, 201
2. The applicant must have been inspected and paroled into the U.S. under the humanitarian parole policy issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security on January 18, 2010 and closed to new parole requests on April 15, 2010;
3. The applicant must be deemed admissible to the U.S. as an immigrant.  Visa and passport requirements are waived;
4. The applicant must be physically present in the U.S. when Form I-485 is filed AND on the date that USCIS decides his/her case.

It is important that the application be received by USCIS on or before the deadline.  Otherwise, it will be rejected.

In addition to submitting Form I-485, the applicant must pay a filing fee of $985.00, which is not waivable .  There is also a biometrics fee of $85.00 if the applicant is 14 years old or older.  Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, completed and issued within one year of the application must be completed by a designated civil surgeon and submitted in its original sealed envelope.  A copy of the applicant’s Form I-94 card must be included along with evidence of the applicant’s identity and nationality.  Evidence of such include the applicant’s Haitian Birth Certificate and passport; their national identity document or any other documents issued by the Haitian Government verifying the applicant’s identity.  Unless specifically requested, copies of documents may be submitted with the application and any documents not in English must be accompanied by a full English translation which includes a certification from a competent translator.  Because applicants under Help Haiti are not considered “immediate relatives,” there is no requirement to submit Form I-864 Affidavit of support.  Please consult the instructions for Form I-485 for additional guidance.

For U.S. Postal Service deliveries, the application must be sent to the USCIS Phoenix Lockbox:
USCIS
PO Box 21281
Phoenix, AZ 85036

For Express or courier deliveries, the application is sent to:
USCIS
Attn: AOS
1820 E. Skyharbor Circle S
Suite 100
Phoenix, AZ 85034

After the application is filed, the applicant will be notified to appear for biometrics collection which will involve the taking of the applicant’s picture, signature and index fingerprint.  If the applicant is at least 14 years old, an FBI fingerprint check will be performed as well.  The information gathered from this process will be used for the creation of the green card as well as to create employment authorization and/or advance parole document.  An appointment notice will be sent if an interview is required.  If the application is approved, the applicant should receive the green card within 2 weeks after Form I-485 is approved.
Travel outside of the U.S. while the adjustment of status application is pending should not occur until the applicant requests a travel document, also known as advance parole, by filing Form I-131.  Form I-131 can be filed concurrently with the adjustment application or at anytime while the application for adjustment is pending.  The travel document should be obtained PRIOR to departing the U.S.  If not, USCIS will consider the adjustment application abandoned and the applicant will not be able to return lawfully to the U.S.

Those who obtain permanent residence under the Help Haiti Act of 2010 will be eligible for U.S. citizenship under INA Section 320 and 322 if before the applicant’s 18th birthday, he/she

1. Obtained permanent resident status under the Act AND
2. Is adopted by a U.S. citizen.

Under normal circumstances, a child must be adopted before their 16th birthday to obtain citizenship through their adoptive parents.  Help Haiti Act, however, enables children up to 18 years old to be adopted.