Kolken & Kolken. Results-oriented immigration lawyers - specializing in Green Card, Deportation Cases and Temporary Visas.

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Deportation and Removal Blog

  • Nov 20, 2009 9:06 pm
    BIA Decision: Clarification of Voluntary Departure Requirements The Board of Immigration Appeals has just issued a decision entitled Matter of Catherine VELASCO, 25 I&N Dec. 143 (BIA 2009). The Board has ruled that: (1) The voluntary departure regulations at 8 C.F.R. § 1240.26(c)(4), Nt. (2009), which took effect on January 20, 2009, and superseded Matter of Diaz-Ruacho, 24 I&N Dec. 47 (BIA 2006), do not apply retroactively. (2) Where an Immigration Judge granted voluntary departure prior to January 20, 2009, and the alien failed to timely post the voluntary departure bond required by section 240B(b)(3)of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1229c(b)(3) (2006), the former... Continue reading >>
  • Nov 20, 2009 1:47 pm
    Immigration Officials to Audit 1,000 More Companies The New York Times has reported that Immigration enforcement officials intends to expand the E-Verify auditing program to companies the Department of Homeland Security suspects to have engaged in the unlawful hiring of undocumented workers. The Times reports that 1,000 companies have been targeted for a review, and that a spokesperson of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) remarked that this initiative is part of President Obama's strategy to address companies that engage in illegal hiring practices. “ICE is focused on finding and penalizing employers who believe they can unfairly get ahead by cultivating illegal workplaces,” John Morton - Head of... Continue reading >>
  • Nov 19, 2009 4:42 pm
    BIA remands to Immigration Court for a determination if an individual presents a potential danger The Board of Immigration Appeals has just issued a precedent decision entitled: Matter of Urena, Interim Decision #3663, 25 I&N Dec. 140 (BIA 2009). The Board ruled that: (1) Dangerous aliens are properly detained without bond pending the completion of proceedings to remove them from the United States; (2) Only if an alien has established that he would not pose a danger to property or persons should an Immigration Judge decide the amount of bond necessary to ensure the alien’s presence at proceedings to remove him from the United States; and (3) Where an Immigration Judge characterized an alien seeking... Continue reading >>
  • Nov 18, 2009 3:49 pm
    2012 Dobbs-Menendez Match for Senate Seat in N.J.? The New York Times has reported that former CNN talking head Lou Dobbs has not denied speculation that he may consider challenging first term incumbent Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) for his seat in 2012. If this were to happen it will be essential for immigration reform activists to get behind Senator Menendez in 2012 when he is up for re-election. Senator Menendez is a key figure in the fight for comprehensive immigration reform, and is the co-sponsor of The Military Families Act, a bill that will authorize the adjustment of status for immediate family members of persons who served honorably... Continue reading >>
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Immigration Blog

  • Nov 19, 2009
    Brief Filed with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals I just finished my brief in support of a petition for review that we filed with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. I argued that the Board of Immigration utilized an improper standard when adjudicating my client's Motion to Reopen, and that the record reflects that there was reasonable cause for my client's failure to appear at his exclusion proceedings. When adjudicating my client's motion the Board departed from the “totality of the Continue reading >>
  • Oct 19, 2009
    Trade NAFTA Approved for Management Consultant Our client is a Canadian citizen.  She is a consultant with 30 years of experience in her field.  However, she is not degreed.  We have obtained Trade NAFTA status for her as a Management Consultant on nine previous occasions. She has now entered into a contract with a U. S. Fortune 500 company to provide consulting services in the United States .  We carefully prepared her application proving that she had more than five years of Continue reading >>
  • Oct 14, 2009
    H-1B Approval for a Lawyer Our client is a U. S. law firm. It employs a citizen of Korea as an attorney. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from a U. S. university and she is licensed to practice in the United States. Three years ago her employer petitioned for her in H-1B status. The petition was approved for a period of three years. The employer retained us to extend her status for an additional three years. We determined the actual wage for the position at the Continue reading >>
  • Oct 5, 2009
    H-1B Approved in Seven Days Our client is a manufacturer of industrial thermal furnaces. It employs a citizen of India who is a graduate engineer. He obtained his undergraduate degree in India and his Ph.D. in Engineering in the United States. Three years ago his employer petitioned for him in H-1B status. The petition was approved for a period of three years. The employer retained us to extend his status for an additional three years. We determined the actual wage Continue reading >>
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U.S. Immigration News

  • Nov 20, 2009
    Immigration Reform: A Call to Action [Video] Join the movement: Text "REFORM" to 69866 today! -Representative Luis Gutierrez says we are going to win the fight for real immigration reform in 2010. Together, we will make this goal a reality! Continue reading >>
  • Nov 20, 2009
    Hispanics blame Obama's Chief of Staff for anti-immigration policy "CHC Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez of New York and California Democratic Reps. Xavier Becerra and Lucille Roybal-Allard were rebuffed when they met with Obama at the White House, according to Velazquez. Emanuel was not present. But Hispanic lawmakers say there is little doubt in their mind where the president’s increasingly tough stance on undocumented workers and their families originates. “He still thinks immigration will defeat Continue reading >>
  • Nov 20, 2009
    Criminal Deportations Spike in Pacific Northwest "The data, from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009, shows that 10,793 people were deported from the Pacific Northwest, a drop of 117 compared to the previous year. That marks the first time in the last five years that deportations from the Northwest have dropped. Deportations had increased from more than 4,000 in 2005 to nearly 11,000 in 2008. But removals of people with criminal records went from more than 3,100 to nearly 4,500 between Continue reading >>
  • Nov 20, 2009
    Immigration Officials Investigating Vt. Dairy Farms "Federal immigration officials are investigating whether Vermont dairy farmers are employing illegal foreign workers. Many Vermont dairy farms hire Mexican farmworkers to help with milking and other chores. Farmers have acknowledged in the past that some of the workers are undocumented - or have entered the country illegally. Kelly Loftus is a spokesman for the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. She said that federal agents began arriving Continue reading >>
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