17th “This is my Mexico” Children´s Drawing Contest
In celebration of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad’s 10th anniversary, the IME is sponsoring important events throughout 2013, including the prestigious Children’s Drawing Contest. For the first time, the contest will have an artist mentor – the world-famous Mexican artist, Jorge Marín, who specializes in painting and sculpting. Using his exhibit, “Wings of Mexico,” as […]
Piecemeal Immigration Reform is a Bad Idea
During a Fox News online telecast, Judiciary Chairman Robert W. Goodlatte stated that legislation must be passed to tackle the issues regarding millions of undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S., the workforce’s demand for more high- and low-skilled labor and more.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform…The Time is Now
by Rekha Sharma-Crawford, Esq. The last time Comprehensive Immigration Reform was on a President’s agenda was in 2006. George Bush was President. The people were rallying in the streets and Congress was stubbornly resisting any efforts to address immigration as an issue. What a difference an election makes.
Naturalization Test Preparation Resources
To qualify for naturalization, applicants must speak, read, and write basic English and understand U.S. history and civics. There are age-based exemptions and a disability waiver. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History collaborated to create a new educational website to help naturalization applicants prepare for the […]
Two Bites of the Apple
Sometimes one set of facts can give rise to multiple legal issues. For example, a DUI can result in criminal penalties and a loss of one’s driver’s privilege’s. If an accident is also involved, then there may also be a case for civil damages against the drunk driver. One set of facts would then result […]
Why are hundreds of students from India facing deportation?
Federal authorities have filed, last week, criminal charges against Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton, a major suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area. These charges include misuse of visa permits, indulging in money laundering and other serious crimes. The students, over 1500 of them mostly from India, also, face deportation based on immigration related fraud. The […]
Navigating Through the Criminal Courts
Being charged with a crime is always a scary experience. Regardless of their guilt or innocence, non citizens face the additional stress of having to navigate through the waters of an unknown system. Sometimes simply knowing the process helps to ease the tension and understand that it will take time to resolve the matter. The […]
What’s the Fuss Over the Arizona Law?
The Arizona law regarding immigration has become the topic of many debates. Proponents and opponents have lined up in defense of their respective positions. So what is all the fuss? At the center of the debate is the notion that this law has, for the first time, allotted to the State the power to enforce […]
In Defense of the Criminal Non-Citizen
The effect of criminal convictions on immigration status is a twisted law school exam question. While this article is meant to provide a foundation for representing non-citizen defendants facing criminal charges, it is not exhaustive. Aligning yourself with a competent immigration attorney may be your best defense as you defend a non-citizen client. To begin […]
How Immigration Effects Families
Commonsense Arrested 1. A British citizen with a U.S. citizen spouse and children can be denied legal permanent resident status because she had once been convicted of possession of 2 joints of marijuana in the U.K.? (Assume the conviction was later expunged under U.K. law.) True or False? 2. A Canadian Citizen who has been […]