Immigration and US Citizenship News

By Kieran C. O’Sullivan, Immigration CounselorUSCIS Rule change to benefit few IrishAttorney Chris Lavery assisting folks at the recent IPC Legal Clinic at the Banshee.We’ve had a lot of calls this week following news reports on the USCIS publication of the rule change with regard to I-601 waivers of the grounds of excludability.Because of visa fraud, unlawful presence, and the 3 and 10 year bars enacted by the 1996 immigration legislation, many US citizens filing immediate relative petitions have been faced with filing the Form 601 (Waiver of Grounds of Excludability). U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCIS) officials frequently enforce the “extreme hardship” element of the 601. In this process, the US citizen is referred to as the petitioner. The petitioner has to outline each extreme hardship in an affidavit filed with Form 601 and this is indeed a case where you need an experienced full time immigration attorney.The recent rule change allows for an I-601 waiver to be adjudicated here within the US prior to the departure of the undocumented immigrant for the consular interview which takes place abroad.A lady from Dorchester who had three minor children born here thought it might help her; a painter from Brighton with a four year old US born daughter thought it might help him. Unfortunately in each case, the US citizen child has to be 21 to sponsor the parent and that is many years down the road in each of the instances.Chris Lavery and Dan Harrington who attended Tuesday nights IPC clinic said they know of no Irish person at the present time who can benefit from this particular rule change.Bad adviceOnce again this past week I heard from a caller of an instance of bad legal advice. The caller was charged thousands of dollars for a petition process that was doomed from the outset. The petitioner was simply not eligible for the immigration benefit requested but an attorney not experienced on immigration eligibility matters suggested otherwise. Every month we run free legal clinics facilitated by experienced attorneys if you have a case question or seek a second opinion.Legal Clinic updateWe had a good turnout at our monthly clinic in the Banshee Tuesday night. Attorneys Dan Harrington and Chris Lavery provided free 1:1 consultations on a variety of complex immigration cases. The next clinic is on Feb. 5th at the Banshee, 934 Dorchester Ave. Dorchester, MA. Meantime readers are welcome to call or email with any questions on visas, green cards and US citizenship.Email me today with your immigration query or a topic you would like us to cover: Kieran@ipcboston.orgDisclaimer: Please note that the information contained in it is provided to inform generally, and is not intended as a substitute for individual advice. Immigration law is subject to frequent changes and individual circumstances can affect the application of certain legal provisions. For individual legal advice, please contact the Irish Pastoral Centre directly regarding upcoming legal clinics or consultation with an immigration attorney.