|
Disclaimer: Information on this web site are of general nature; for specific cases consult an immigration attorney of your choice. Thanks. |
|
We have moved to our own new office building in Las Colinas….. closer to you and to serve you better! Law Offices of Lal Varghese, PLLC Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law 1111 Kinwest Parkway, Suite 120 Las Colinas, Irving, Texas 75063-3409 Phone: (972) 788 - 0777 (Main) (972) 788-1555 (Direct) Fax (972) 556-1109 E-Mail: attylal@aol.com |
|
Current Immigration Laws (Contd.)
1996 Laws - the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) and the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) : · Significantly expanded the categories of offenses (including non-violent crimes) for which an immigrant could be deported. The immigration definition of "aggravated felony" now includes more than 30 crimes, including such offenses as shoplifting and check kiting. · Allowed criminal deportation provisions to be applied retroactively, causing long-term legal residents to be deported for minor crimes committed decades ago. · Eliminated certain waivers of deportation and curtailed the ability of long-term residents to show community ties and extreme hardship to obtain relief from deportation. · Established a summary removal procedure, without review, for persons arriving to the United States without documents or with fraudulent documents, or who an immigration inspector believes is attempting to enter the United States by misrepresentation. This provision allows for limited screening of persons who claim a credible fear of persecution if returned to their country. · Created special deportation provisions and courts to hear "secret evidence" against foreign nationals deemed to be terrorists. · Eliminated judicial review of most deportations for persons convicted of criminal offenses. · Required creation of an automated entry-exit control system at all land, sea and air ports-of-entry to track all non-U.S. citizens. · Significantly revised the administrative judicial process for removal of aliens from the United States. · Created new and far-reaching grounds of inadmissibility, including a 3 year or 10 year bar to readmission for persons "unlawfully present" in the United States for lengthy periods of time, for persons who have not received vaccinations against vaccine-preventable diseases, for health care workers who do not have appropriate certifications, for persons who falsely claim U.S. citizenship or vote in an election, for persons who renounce their U.S. citizenship for tax reasons, for foreign students who attend public school without permission, and others.
Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT 90)
Representing the first major overhaul of the legal immigration system since 1952, IMMACT 90 substantially changed the preference system for immigrants by establishing separate categories, with separate annual caps, for employment-based immigrants and family-sponsored immigrants. It removed from annual quotas immigrants who were immediate relatives (spouses, minor children, and parents) of U.S. citizens, and established a diversity immigration program by lottery for applicants from underrepresented countries. IMMACT 90 also made significant changes to the temporary (nonimmigrant) visa categories, including the H-1B category for temporary workers in specialty occupations, which, for the first time received an annual cap of 65,000, and required employers to file a labor attestation with the Department of Labor regarding wages and working conditions. An annual cap was also placed on the H-2B category for temporary or seasonal workers. Other changes included the creation of new categories (O and P) for foreign nationals of extraordinary ability in their field, athletes and entertainers, a new Q visa for intercultural exchange, and an R visa for religious workers, among others. The law established a relief from removal called Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that enables the Attorney General to designate nationals of certain countries from areas suffering from political or environmental upheavals to remain in the United States for temporary periods. The law refined and broadened the provisions concerning deportable and excludable criminal offenses. IMMACT 90 also reorganized and removed outdated grounds of exclusion and deportation. Because of the breadth of IMMACT 90, the next year two technical amendments laws were enacted to solve "holes" in IMMACT 90, the Armed Forces Immigration Adjustment Act of 1991, which created a special immigrant status for individuals who had served honorably in the armed forces and allowed grandfathering for those who had filed petitions under the pre IMMACT 90 scheme. The Miscellaneous and Technical Immigration And Naturalization Amendments of 1991 (MTINA), reinstituted court ceremonies for naturalization which had been removed in IMMACT 90, and made technical changes to the H-1B, O and P categories.
Immigration Nursing Relief Act of 1989 (INRA) This law established a new temporary visa category for Registered Nurses (H-1A) for a period of five years, which included strict requirements for employers to demonstrate efforts to recruit and retain U.S. workers, including a labor attestation for H-1A nurses. The law also allowed for immediate adjustment of status to permanent residence, without regard to quotas, for nurses who had been employed for three years. This law sunsetted in 1994.
The Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986 (IMFA) Although less-well known than IRCA, this law aimed to prevent illegal marriages for "green cards." Among other provisions, it established a two-year period of "conditional permanent residence" for foreign nationals who married U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents ("LPRs"), at the end of which time the couple must prove to the INS that the marriage is legitimate, and was not entered into for the sole purpose of getting a green card.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) IRCA introduced the concept of penalties against employers for knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants. IRCA requires all employers to verify the employment eligibility of all new hires, but prohibited discrimination in employment based on citizenship status or nationality. IRCA also established several amnesty programs for various groups of undocumented immigrants in the country, in an effort to "clear the slate." These included a general amnesty for immigrants who had arrived before January 1, 1982, an amnesty for Cuban and Haitian refugees, an amnesty for immigrants who had been present in the U.S. for long periods of time prior to 1972 (called "registry"), and two programs for agricultural workers. |
