How Immigrants can help the economy

 Check out this great report by the White House about how an earned path to citizenship can significantly help the US economy. 

DOMA’s impact on LGBT immigrant couples

In U.S. v. Windsor (the Supreme Court case challenging DOMA), the US Supreme Court held in part that federal benefits could not be denied to same sex couples. This has had tremendous impact (and shortcomings) for same-sex couples in many areas of law. In immigration law, same sex couples can apply for immediate relative status. The Department of Homeland Security looks to law of the place where the marriage occurred to determine validity for immigration purposes. 

New Office Location

Making Sense of Immigration Reform

There’s no  doubt that the immigration system is a nightmare, its outdated, it just doesn’t work.  Congress has been trying to pass some comprehensive immigration reform legislation but there are so many disagreements about parts of the legislation it is unclear when it will pass and what will be in it.

If you’re unfamiliar with the bill making process, the bill has to pass both the House and Senate as an identical bill, then it will be sent to the President who must sign it before the bill becomes a law. Now that both chambers are on recess for another month, immigration reform has been pushed out even further. At this point, there is a passed comprehensive bill passed by the Senate and four pieces of legislation proposed by the House Judiciary Committee in June and one by the House Homeland Security Committee.

A version of the bill “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act” passed the Senate in June, 68-32 in favor of the bill. Every no vote was cast by a Republican.

Passed by one chamber, the pressure shifted to the House to seal the deal, but the House version balks at the Senate bill.  To help underscore the differences between the House and Senate versions, I’m going to outline each:

Senate bill

Border Security: The bill focuses on achieving 100% surveillance of the border by spending around $46 billion and doing the following:

• Adds 700 miles of “pedestrian fencing” at the border.
• Nearly doubles the number of Border Control Agents.
• Installing a host of new security technologies, including implementing the use of drones.
• Implementing a system for employers to verify the status of all of their workers.
• Setting up a tracking system for people leaving airports and seaports.

Path to Citizenship: Non citizens who have entered this country before Dec. 31, 2011, who have maintained a continuous physical presence in the United States since entry. They cannot have a felony or three or more misdemeanors on their records. If they pay a $500 fine, they get what is referred to as “registered provisional immigrant status.” This can be renewed every five years and then after 10 years they can apply for a green card. During the provisional time, however, no access to federal benefits.

Skilled Work

-The bill substantially raises the cap on highly skilled workers. There would be exemptions  for extraordinarily skilled workers such as professors, researchers, multinational executives and athletes and STEM graduates from U.S. universities with job offers.

-The bill eliminates the Diversity Lottery Program, but instead, creates a merits visa. The merits visa caps at 250,000 a year and points are awarded based on education, employment, length of stay in the U.S., and other considerations.

-This bill requires all employers to implement E-verify within 4 years.

-Lower skilled workers: A new W visa would allow 200,000 applicants into the country each year for jobs in construction, long term care, hospitality and other industries. The agricultural worker program would be overhauled. Those working in an industry for at least two years could qualify for a green card if they stay in that industry for another five years.

Family Based Immigration:

The bill does two things to change current immigration policies. Currently, siblings can sponsor unmarried siblings. This bill takes away this avenue. Second, it extends the age from 21 to 31 for parents to sponsor unmarried sons and daughters.

 

House Bills

 As mentioned, the Houses Judiciary Committee has passed four piecemeal pieces of legislation: (H.R. 1773, the Agricultural Guestworker Act, H.R. 2278, the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act, H.R. 1772, the Legal Workforce Act (mandatory E-Verify), and H.R. 2131, the Supplying Knowledge Based Immigrants and Lifting Levels of STEM Visas (SKILLS) Act. The House Homeland Security Committee has passed one. (H.R. 1417, the Border Security Results Act of 2013).

So right now we have one comprehensive bill from the Senate and five separate patchwork pieces from the House committees with balking by House leadership. With the upcoming election in a couple of years and the fast growing and prominent Hispanic community, this puts House Republicans in a precarious position of keeping old timer conservatives happy and thinking forward to the next election.

Returning to the blog

Dear friends, colleagues, and clients: 

It is with great pleasure that I announce my return to this blog and to the practice.  Attorney Kravitz and I started our practice on January 2nd. On January 10, I was diagnosed with leukemia. For the past almost 7 months I have undergone intensive treatment and a bone marrow transplant. I’m in remission and improving everyday.

 

Please follow the blog again as I will be posting more frequently. 

 

Attorney Shapiro

Solutions needed for shadow population

Of the estimated 14 million or so undocumented people in the U.S., it is important to adopt humane policies not just for the shadow population but for their U.S. citizen families – parents, sons & daughters.

One positive step is the recent Department of Homeland Security ruling that will allow certain family members of U.S. citizens physically present to remain in the country while applying for a waiver to become permanent residents. Previously, families would be torn apart waiting for periods, sometimes a year or more, while the waiver was adjudicated.  Though the applicant for the waiver still needs to leave the U.S. and apply for a visa abroad, the separation pain is lessened significantly from this ruling.

Let this policy stand as an example of the types of sensible and humane policies that need to be instituted. It is our great hope that in Obama’s second term, he will follow through on promises to address sensible immigration reform. There are so many communities with a blend of U.S. citizens, legal residents and undocumented immigrants who would be hurt and torn apart by policies that don’t recognize and address these important community ties and the impact on Americans.

Holistic, Compassionate Lawyering

As Attorney Kravitz and I are about to incorporate  our immigration practice, our philosophy of “holistic, compassionate lawyering” is persistent in my mind. I think in practice, that while it is important to make enough money to stay afloat and be comfortable, helping the client in a richer and deeper way is the crux of why we do this work and is so distinguishing for the client. It is a way of treating others, a business model, and a way to sustain yourself in this work. This  concept is so important to me that it is underscored on business cards and on the website.

 

Our goal is to treat the whole person. It is my privilege to be the person who can provide hope to the client when they walk into my office.  When I worked in the Immigration Clinic at our law school, as did Attorney Kravitz, and in work post-law school, I have met people from all over the world with different journeys to the United States; yet, the unifying themes of suffering, fear, and instability drove them to us.  I’ve found the guiding principles of patience, attentiveness, and care provide the client with a more positive experience, while improving their legal cases.

There are often many other issues that are occurring in the client’s life besides a fear of deportation; social, medical, and other legal issues can be tangential to their immigration case. That is why we practice a holistic approach. We try to identify these surrounding issues and improve upon the client’s overall existential experience.  While our focus is on the immigration law, we try to address other legal issues, such as domestic violence, family law, education law, housing law, and the effects of criminal records. Medical, social and psychological issues also come up and can affect the client’s case and life. Our goal is also to provide the clients with resources to deal with these issues.

It is our hope that when the client has been through our office, they are more whole and confident. Further, by helping the clients to improve upon other aspects of their life, we hope that they can pay it forward. It has taken a lot of hard work for us to get to the point where we are, and we hope that with the clients’ successes, they can help guide others along the way.

 

Compassion and attentiveness, particularly in our asylum, VAWA, and SIJs cases, is key. It is a great act of courage for the clients to tell us their stories, that often involve painful memories of abuse or terrible events in their home countries.  As Oliver Wendell Holmes once said: “It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.” We both respect their courage and understand the level of trust they are putting in our hands.  One mechanism I’m trying to implement to effectuate this goal is to utilize the AudioNote app for the I-Pad. This app is great because it serves both as a recorder and a notebook. It allows you to memorialize client sessions and maintain eye contact and stay present in the conversation. Our clients are more than just facts laid out on a yellow legal pad and I’m grateful for new technology that can help us gain the information we need while maintaining the attentiveness that can help the clients soak in a deeper level of care.

 

 

 

The waiting game

There are a lot of things that have been one big waiting game since July and now continuing forward. 

First, there was the wait for bar results – that thank god I passed the bar the first time so I know that I can go ahead with this plan to open up an immigration firm with my business partner. 

Second, now we are waiting on her bar results (not that I have any doubt that she passed). 

Third, the wait to see who would win the election which could make a tremendous impact on immigration reform in the coming term. President Obama overwhelmingly swept the minority vote, which leads me to believe, not only is there a changing face in our country’s composition, but, further, that people believe more in President Obama’s ability to bring about immigration reform. Immigration issues, quite clearly, are a major issue for minority groups. I’m hopeful that during this term, cooperation across party lines can be achieved. The immigration system is a nightmare and its reform, with an estimated 12 million plus undocumented immigrants in this country, requires a direct and humane solution. 

Fourth, now that I’ve passed the bar and we have a launch date for the firm of January 1, 2013, there are many “business” matters to be dealt with – how to incorporate, an agreement, setting up accounts, paying bar dues, obtaining software, setting up a filing system, on and on and on… Marketing, networking, and preparations. 

 

The next four years

I’m thrilled that President Obama won another four years and I am hoping that during this time we have a serious overhaul to the immigration system. It’s a mess. It just doesn’t work.

Sometimes it is great – like yesterday when an attorney I was working with and I obtained asylum for a woman who really deserved it. But that is a drop in the bucket. Oftentimes, people are getting deported for arbitrary reasons and what you wind up arguing about is so ridiculous.

Obama winning last night has me even more eager to start practicing. I get sworn in on November 30th and my business partner and I plan on opening shop on January 1st. Can’t wait!

Things are looking up!

I’m back. I passed the bar! 🙂 Now we are on schedule to open up Shapiro & Kravitz, an immigration firm January 1st. Will post more soon – hunkering down for Hurricane Sandy!