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The Supreme Court stated its June 14, 2010 decision in Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder that “Second or subsequent simple possession offenses are not aggravated felonies under §1101(a)(43) when … the state conviction is not based on the fact of a prior conviction.” “[O]nly recidivist simple possession offenses are “punishable” as a federal “felony” under the Controlled Substances Act, 18 U. S. C. §924(c)(2)” Citing its earlier decision, the […]

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The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced on May 20, 2010 that it has improved the transparency of its system for addressing complaints about immigration judges. For more about the complaint process or how to file a complaint, visit the EOIR website or click here.

Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) reports the number of cases awaiting resolution before the Immigration Courts reached a new all time high of 242,776 matters at the end of March 2010. TRAC’s latest report on the Immigration Courts can be viewed at this address: http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/232/

If a non-citizen is married to a U.S. Citizen for less than 2 years at the time of the Immigration (Green Card) interview, the foreign national is granted Conditional Permanent Resident Status (CPR).  After two years, the CPR must file a petition to remove the conditions on form I-751 with USCIS. This application is to be filed jointly, by both husband and wife or the foreign national […]

Temporary Protected Status is a humanitarian benefit provided by the Department of Homeland Security to nationals and citizens of a foreign country due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately. Immigration recently granted and continues to […]

USCIS released guidance on how to apply for Late TPS in a question & answer format.  The relevant sections are as follows: Q1.  Can a someone who was in the United States when their country was first designated for TPS, register for TPS now? Yes, late initial registration is available in limited circumstances if you: are a national of the […]

The U.S. State Department has released the Visa Bulletin for June 2010. New is the oversubscription of Dominican Republic chargeability. To view the latest bulleting click: June 2010 Visa Bulletin.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has redesigned the Permanent Resident Card, also knows as a “Green Card” to incorporate several major new security features. In keeping with the Permanent Resident Card’s nickname, it will now be colored green for easy recognition. Ricky Malik Attorney at Law www.rmlegal.com

H-1B Cap Count for Fiscal Year 2011 (Updated May 2010) FY 2011 H-1B CAP COUNT Cap Type Cap Amount Cap Eligible Petitions Petition Target Date of Last Count H-1B Regular Cap 65,000 18,000 5/6/2010 H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000 7,600 5/6/2010 There are only 65,000 H-1B allowed each year under the regular cap and 20,000 under the Master’s exemption.  There are […]