Immigration Law Changes Predicted Under the Biden Administration

Here is my latest video discussing changes in immigration law and procedures that I, a Houston immigration lawyer and Miami immigration lawyer, predict will be coming in 2021, under the new administration. I talk about the Muslim travel ban, the public charge requirements, etc., all of which I predict will be extinguished in 2021.

Bruce Coane is Board Certified in Immigration Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has over 35 years of immigration law experience. He may be reached at 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800. The law firm website is http://www.coane.com.

Immigration Cases continue to be Processed

While many offices close and the population shelters in place, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is open for business (via mail and online filings) and continues to process cases.

Our office also remains open, although most consultations these days are done by phone, WhatsApp, FaceTime or Skype. The front desk in all three of our offices is still manned by our excellent staff who continue to receive in-person packages and materials from clients and vendors. We also continue  to do  in-person appointments.

The USCIS has stopped interviewing at local offices and has canceled naturalization ceremonies which is very unfortunate. But, with social distancing, such large ceremonies would have been impossible. Hopefully they will resume in the near future, otherwise their backlog of cases will be almost insurmountable with further delays in adjudications.

As for foreign visitors to the USA and others on non-immigrant visas, many are in quite a predicament. If a non-immigrant worker such as H-1B or L-1 worker gets laid off, they can’t exactly leave the country right now, and they can quickly fall out of status once their grace period expires. And, those on ESTA or B-2 visitor status with expiration dates fast approaching have a serious dilemma where they cannot leave the USA and where there are limitations on extending status.

This Houston immigration lawyer and Miami immigration lawyer continues to work tirelessly, both at home and at the office to preserve the legal rights of clients and to timely file applications so that clients do not miss critical deadlines.

As for immigration courts, the courts that handle jail cases are still operating on a daily basis. The regular immigration courts that handle cases for foreign nationals who are not in jail, have canceled cases through April 10. That will most likely be extended in light of the president’s announcement extending social distancing for another 30 days.

For further information, you may contact the  author, Bruce Coane, who is a lawyer Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is available 24/7 at bruce.coane@gmail.com. He may also be reached at 713.850.0066 and 305.538.6800 during the week. The website is http://www.coane.com.

Immigration Update: Travel Bans: Nigerians, Pregnant Women, Poor Immigrants

Here is my first Immigration Update of 2020, where this Houston Immigration Lawyer and Miami Immigration Lawyer talks about travel bans and new regulations dealing with foreigners accepting public benefits, Medicaid, etc.

For further information, I can be reached at 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800 or by email at bruce.coane@gmail.com.

Nigeria Travel Ban Hits Hard

The Trump administration announced a travel ban on citizens of Nigeria, to go into effect later this month. As soon as this was publicized, this Houston Immigration Lawyer and Miami Immigration Lawyer ‘s phone started ringing off the wall and the emails began to pile up.

Nigeria is Africa’s largest country and it is one of the top  oil-producing nations in the world. Most large oil companies like Shell, Chevron and others have a large presence in Nigeria. Moreover, these companies often move Nigerian petroleum engineers and other management employees back and forth between Nigeria and the U.S. But oil is not the only industry that will be affected by the all-out travel ban.

The tourism industry will be hit very hard. There are tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Nigerians traveling to the U.S. every year.Many come to visit family that live here and have immigrated here.

Just this morning I was thinking about the annual International Bar Association (IBA) conference which will be held in Miami later this year. Usually, the Nigerian delegation of lawyers and judges attending this international event is close to 1,000. With the new countries being added to the travel ban, I would have to think this will be the last IBA annual conference held in America. There are just too many lawyers and judges who would otherwise attend but are being barred by the current administration.

The number of flights that will be lost to the travel ban, and the effect on the Miami economy (hotel rooms, registration fees, restaurants, etc) from the loss of almost 1000 lawyers and judges coming from Nigeria for this event will be huge.

Many of my clients from Nigeria are in the oil industry and worry about their families and separation from their families. Some are working in Nigeria for Chevron or Shell or Schlumberger, while their spouse and children are in the U.S. on student visas. The spouse working in Nigeria will typically come 3-4 times a year to visit with their family in Houston or California or Alaska, where they typically live in the U.S.

Our office will be able to continue the green card process of visa petitions for these workers, but the actual issuance of an immigrant visa (following approval of a visa petition) will be barred. For those oil and gas workers from Nigeria who are temporarily working in the U.S. right now, they will be able to finish their green card cases and receive a green card as long as they stay here. It is only those who must get a visa at a USA Embassy who will likely be affected by the ban. And, certainly lawyers, judges, tourists and students trying to fly to the U.S. with a temporary visa will be barred from entry.

For further information this Board Certified immigration lawyer may be reached at 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800, or via email at bruce.coane@gmail.com.

Immigration Update for 2019

In this video, I talk about the USA immigration situation through the first quarter of 2019. While illegal immigration gets much of the news, there have been serious attacks on legal immigration as well. Cases for citizenship and green cards are being denied in greatly exaggerated numbers. I discuss these issues, together with immigration delays, improper denials, and what the general public can do about it.

Bruce Coane is a Board Certified Immigration Lawyer with offices in Houston and Miami Beach. He may be reached at 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800 or via email at bruce.coane@gmail.com.

Separation of Immigrant Children

In this video Houston immigration attorney and Miami immigration attorney, Bruce Coane, speaks about the government‘s separation of immigrant children at the southern border of the United States. He also talks about what the Bible has to say about immigrants. Mr. Coane is Board Certified in Immigration & Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  Click to view video.

For further information, this Houston immigration lawyer and Miami immigration lawyer can be reached at bruce.coane@gmail.com, 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800.

2018 Immigration Delays in Work Permits and Visas

Here is my latest video where I talk about delays in the processing of immigration cases. Click to view video.

For further information, this Houston immigration lawyer and Miami immigration lawyer can be reached at bruce.coane@gmail.com, 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800.

Immigration decisions Threaten Rule of Law

With the President‘s proclamation of Buy American-Hire American and with “no tolerance” declarations coming from Homeland Security and the Attorney General, the immigration service (USCIS) has been issuing illogical decisions in many cases which fail to follow the rule of law.

Our immigration system is based on laws and federal regulations. As a Board Certified Immigration lawyer I am hearing reports  from immigrants and their attorneys across the country that the government is ignoring the law and denying otherwise approvable immigration cases. In cases of legal immigrants that were previously approved, such as non-immigrant investors, intra-company transfers and other temporary workers these people are seeing their renewal applications denied. The law has not changed, but the government is too often choosing to ignore the law or otherwise is giving the law a skewed interpretation never seen in historical precedent.

At my office, this Houston immigration lawyer and Miami immigration lawyer has seen cases based on clear evidence being denied. The USCIS in many cases is completely ignoring the evidence and denying cases with no reasonable or logical explanation, thereby making a mockery of the rule of law. I am seeing this trend across the board, from deportation cases, to business immigration cases, to immigration marriage cases and to student visa cases. It is also seeping into the political asylum process and every other type of immigration case.

It used to be that if a case is mistakenly denied or denied because the government overlooked certain evidence, a person could file a Motion to Reopen or Motion to Reconsider. Unfortunately, that process is also being made into a mockery. Either the USCIS chooses to ignore such motions to fix a denial, by letting them sit there for years with no decision (while the person remains subject to deportation while waiting), or they  deny the motion on improper and wrong technical grounds without considering the merits of the motion. At this point, I often tell my clients not to bother with such motions.

What is an American spouse or  sponsoring company to do when they follow all the rules and receive an unfair decision? For years, the final answer for my clients has been litigation. For many years, I have filed lawsuits against Homeland Security and other government agencies for wrongful denials of immigration cases. While these have been few and far between over the years, the recent uptick in illogical, unfair, and, dare I say–illegal—denials, warrants the need for more  immigration lawsuits to be brought.

Ultimately, a federal judge has the ability to order the reversal of a decision if it is arbitrary, capricious or not in accordance with the law. I encourage immigrants, non-immigrant workers, companies, American spouses of foreign nationals, immigrant students and others to challenge these improper denials by taking their cases to federal court and asking a federal judge to consider the evidence (something that USCIS is all-to-often failing to do).

For further information, this Houston immigration lawyer (713.850.0066) and Miami immigration lawyer (305.538.6800) may be reached by phone or via email at bruce.coane@gmail.com.

 

Dreamers and the End of DACA, with Board Certified Immigration Attorney Bruce Coane

Who are the “Dreamers” that we hear about in the immigration debate? What is DACA? I explain it all in this short video.

As a Houston Immigration Lawyer and Miami Immigration Lawyer, I use these words at work on almost a daily basis. There are hundreds of thousands of young people who got work permits under President Obama’s Executive Order called DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

These young adults, who came here illegally as young children and dream about one day being “legal” in the U.S. are known as Dreamers. Many of them already have a work permit thanks to DACA, but President Trump canceled the DACA program as of March 5, 2018, and these young adults can no longer get their work permits or their legal “DACA” status renewed.

For more, check out my video.

 

For further information, I can be reached at 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800, or by email at bruce.coane@gmail.com

Colapso Inmigratorio… ¿TPS? Soñadores? ¿Migración de cadena?

A medida que nuestro sistema de inmigración continúa siendo noticia de primera plana, he observado como todo el sistema se derrite literalmente. Como Abogado de Inmigración Certificado por la Junta directiva, mi trabajo consiste en encontrar soluciones como una barricada tras la barricada puesta ante mis clientes individuales y comerciales. En este reciente artículo en la revista Playboy, fui citado en relación con la revocación de TPS y permisos de trabajo para más de 200,000 personas de El Salvador en los Estados Unidos.

http://www.playboy.com/articles/what-could-happen-if-the-president-actually-tries-to-deport-200-000

No, estas 200,000 personas no son miembros de la pandilla MS-13, más bien han sido completamente investigados y pasaron todos los controles de seguridad. A medida que el presidente y sus designados revocan programa tras programa y cierran caminos para la inmigración, los ciudadanos regulares se defienden. Como mencioné en el artículo anterior, hay soluciones disponibles para los salvadoreños, pero ninguna será tan fácil como simplemente renovar su estatus TPS y permisos de trabajo como lo han hecho durante más de una década.

Con respecto a los Dreamers, el problema ha estado causando la amenaza de cierres del gobierno. Por supuesto, todo el asunto fue creado cuando nuestro Presidente revocó el estado Dreamer (DACA) para los cientos de miles de jóvenes que salieron de las sombras para solicitar este beneficio del gobierno, con la promesa de permisos de trabajo al registrarse. A diferencia de TPS, su servidor, abogado de inmigración de Houston y abogado de inmigración en Miami les informa que no hubo nada “temporal” sobre el programa DACA. Fue establecido por una orden ejecutiva del Presidente Obama, que el actual Presidente ha revocado, creando así el problema DACA.

No es mi trabajo criticar al presidente, así que permítanme señalar que estoy de acuerdo con él en que debería haber una solución permanente para DACA, pero revocar y cancelar el programa puede no haber sido la mejor manera de llegar a esa solución. Por otro lado, tal vez el Presidente lo vio como una forma de presionar al Congreso para tratar el tema, aunque a expensas de los cientos de miles de jóvenes que tienen que preocuparse diariamente por su estatus migratorio.

Finalmente, está la noción de inmigración en cadena, una frase que jamás escuché en mis décadas de experiencia como abogado de inmigración en Houston. Quizás debería comenzar por decir que me especializo en la migración en cadena, junto con mis otras especialidades de inmigración, pero a decir verdad, esa frase no existe en ninguna parte de la ley. Como Abogado de Inmigración Certificado por la Junta Directiva, no tengo idea de qué es la migración en cadena.

Según algunos de los discursos del Presidente, al parecer se refiere a nuestro sistema de inmigración basada en la familia. Según nuestras leyes, hay dos formas principales de inmigrar a los Estados Unidos, De acuerdo a nuestras leyes, la inmigración basada en negocios y la inmigración basada en la familia. También hay otras formas, como los refugiados, etc., pero estas son las dos formas principales de inmigrar.

La inmigración basada en la familia es nuestro sistema legal donde los ciudadanos estadounidenses pueden traer a su cónyuge, padres y / o hijos. Un ciudadano de EE. UU. También puede patrocinar a un hermano o hermana, pero esa categoría de inmigración generalmente toma de 15 a 25 años, dependiendo del país de origen. Por lo tanto, mediante la migración en cadena, ¿el régimen actual trata de evitar que un ciudadano estadounidense patrocine a su esposo o esposa nacido en el extranjero para que viva con el en los EE. UU? ¿Pretenden evitar que los hijastros nacidos en el extranjero o los abuelos que a menudo cuidan a los niños, vengan a los Estados Unidos? Esta es una cuestión aun sin responder.

Como la frase “migración en cadena” no existe en la ley, tal vez signifique revocar toda inmigración basada en la familia, o tal vez sea un concepto en desarrollo revocar la mayor cantidad de leyes posible que permitan la inmigración basada en la familia. Cabe recalcar que las mismas leyes basadas en la familia que permiten a mis clientes de Noruega patrocinar a sus padres o hijos para venir a Estados Unidos son las mismas leyes que permiten a mis clientes haitianos y filipinos patrocinar a su cónyuge e hijos y padres para que vengan a los Estados Unidos

Espero que este artículo les ayude a entender el debate actual sobre inmigración. Es importante saber exactamente qué dicen realmente la ley y las regulaciones federales, en lugar de generalizar y afirmar que todos los que cruzan la frontera ilegalmente son traficantes de drogas y pandilleros MS-13 (¡no podría estar más lejos de la verdad!), O que todos los inmigrantes (o un gran porcentaje) son criminales. Estoy seguro de que el mismo pequeño porcentaje de la población inmigrante que es criminal, coincide (o es incluso menor) con el porcentaje de estadounidenses nativos que son criminales. Notarás que aquellos que buscan detener la inmigración legal a este país no citan ningún estudio o estadística válida, sino que citan un accidente automovilístico o un asesinato cometido por un inmigrante, mientras que miles de incidentes similares, tristemente, son cometidos por estadounidenses nacidos aquí todos los días.

Finalmente, prometí mencionar el “colapso”. A medida que el régimen actual cancela los programas de inmigración y busca nuevas leyes para deportar a tantas personas como sea posible, también se están desacelerando y luchando contra la aprobación de casos legales de inmigración en todo el país. Para las empresas con trabajadores extranjeros aprobados, el gobierno ha anunciado que volverán a visitar esas aprobaciones y, en muchos casos, están reclamando errores en las aprobaciones y cancelando permisos de trabajo o revocándolos. Esto se ve en todo el país con los permisos de trabajo válidos H-1B y L-1. En nuestro bufete de abogados, afortunadamente, hemos tenido éxito en la lucha y en mantener a nuestros trabajadores extranjeros de nuestros clientes legítimamente empleados, pero no es fácil y es costoso. En otros casos, se acumularon grandes retrasos en la inmigración legal, mientras que al mismo tiempo, el gobierno ha insistido en acelerar los casos de deportación.

Para obtener más información, su servidor,  abogado de inmigración de Houston y abogado de inmigración de Miami puede ser contactado en bruce.coane@gmail.com, o al 713.850.0066 o 305.538.6800.