Month: June 2010

Categories
Updates

USCIS Proposes Fee Increases for Immigration Applications/Petitions

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On June 9, 2010, USCIS proposed to raise fees for immigration
applications and petitions. These new fees will increase the average
cost of an immigration application and petition by roughly 10 percent;
there will, however, be no increases in fees for the application for
naturalization. USCIS has projected a $200 million deficit for 2010 to
2011; the goal of these fee increases is to close this budgetary gap.
According to USCIS, budget cuts of $160 million were not enough to
manage the agency’s $2.3 billion in annual costs. The agency projects
$2.1 billion in revenue without the fee increases.

Among the proposed fee increases is a rise in the cost of filing the following petitions:

1) I-140: Fee increase from $475 to $580
2) I-687: Fee increase from $710 to $1,130
3) I-765: Fee increase from $340 to $380

Comments on this proposed fee increase will be accepted by USCIS from June 11, 2010 to July 26, 2010.

Categories
Updates

CBP Deploys Remote Surveillance in the Detroit Border Patrol Section

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Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced last week the deployment
of the Remote Video Surveillance System in the Detroit Border Patrol
Section. This new system is part of CBP’s Secure Border Initiative’s
Northern Border project; the goal of the greater initiative is to use
technology to secure the northern border against any illegal activity.

“The Northern Border Project technology deployment provides immediate
capability to help Border Patrol agents expand their ability to detect,
identify, classify, respond to and resolve illegal cross border
activity,” said Mark Borkowski, Executive Director of the Secure Border
Initiative. “At the same time, this deployment will provide lessons
learned that will enable CBP to design better-tailored, longer-term
technology options for the northern border.”

Each of these new security systems includes two day cameras and two
night cameras, enabling 24/7 monitoring. Ten systems have been deployed
in the Detroit region; an eleventh will be officially completed by the
end of this year.

Categories
SideBar

Do I Qualify Under the Means Test?

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Most consumer debtors who file for bankruptcy generally prefer to do so under Chapter 7 as it allows them to totally wipe out all their debts right away. Chapter 13, on the other hand, generally requires a debtor to pay their debts (or a portion of it) over a 5 year period. Hence, given the choice, chapter 7 would be a more beneficial solution to most consumer debtors as all debts are wiped out now and the debtor can start with a clean slate right away ….. rather than 5 years from now.

To qualify for a chapter 7 bankruptcy, however, a debtor must first pass the “means test”. The means test is a formula that is designed to keep filers with higher incomes from filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. These higher income debtors may use Chapter 13 to repay a portion of their debts, but may not use chapter 7 to wipe out all their debts.         

The “means test” requires debtors to fill up a bankruptcy form showing their monthly income and expenses. A debtor enters his monthly income and expenses on this form and then makes calculations based on the information entered. Many of the information needed to complete this form comes from the debtor himself. However, other information comes from the Census Bureau and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  

If a debtor’s average income for the past 6 months is below the State’s median family income, then a debtor automatically passes the means test and would be qualified to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The median income is provided by the Census Bureau and is updated periodically.  In California, for example, the median family income for a single person is $47,969; for a 2-person family it is $64,647; for a 3-person family it is $70,638; while for a 4-person family it is $79,194.  Most consumer debtors in financial hardship who have been laid off from work, or have suffered reduced working hours, for example, would have no trouble meeting the median income threshold to qualify for Chapter 7.

If a consumer debtor, however, has an income that is above the median, then computations get more complicated. It then has to be determined whether the debtor has enough income left over after paying their “allowed” monthly expenses. The debtor may, or may not pass, the “means test” depending on how much income they have left over after paying for the “allowed” monthly expenses. It is not easy to make this determination because median income levels vary by State and by household size. Also, each county and metropolitan region has different “allowed” amounts for different categories of expenses such as basic necessities, housing and transportation. Luckily, there are software programs and online calculators to help with these calculations.

Pass the “means test” and a consumer debtor qualifies to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Fail and the option is limited to filing for Chapter 13.

(DISCLAIMER: material presented above is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended as professional advice and should not be construed as such. Rey Tancinco is a partner at Tancinco Law Offices, a professional corporation with offices in San Francisco, Vallejo, and Manila. The law office website is at: tancinco.weareph.com/old.  Rey Tancinco can be contacted at (800) 999-9096 or (415) 397-0808 or via email at: attyrey@tancinco.com

Categories
Updates

U.S. and Mexico Restart Voluntary Program to Repatriate Mexican Nationals Apprehended in Parts of Arizona

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The United States and Mexico have again restarted the Mexican Interior
Repatriation Program (MIRP), now active for its seventh consecutive
summer. The program, which is a bilateral effort of the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security and Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Ministry of the Interior, returns Mexican nationals found in the Sonora
Arizona desert back to where they are from in Mexico.

First started in 2004, the goal of MIRP is to reduce the loss of lives
caused by the smuggling and trafficking of aliens across the
Arizona/Mexico border. Candidates for MIRP include persons who are
identified as at risk and vulnerable to heat or victimization by
criminal trafficking operations.

Under the program, Mexican nationals that are caught by U.S. border
patrol agents in the Yuma and Tucson regions of Arizona are taken to
DHS facilities and are offered the opportunity to voluntarily
participate in the program. Participants are then returned to their
home regions via plane and bus.

Over the past 6 years, more than 93,000 Mexican nationals have been repatriated under MIRP.

Categories
Updates

USCIS to Continue to Transition Form Intake to Its Lockbox Network

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In late May, USCIS announced that it will continue the process of
transitioning the intake part of a number of additional forms from
various Service Centers to its Lockbox network. This transition is a
part of USCIS’s larger goal to improve consistency and integrity in the
form intake process.

Forms scheduled to be transitioned to the Lockbox network include:

  • Form I-817, the Application for Family Unity Benefits (If you are filing this under section 301 of the Immigration Act of 1990)
  • Form I-526, the Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur
  • Form I-539,the Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status
    (applicable only for those forms filed separately from an I-129 form)
  • Form I-129F, the Petition for Alien Fiancé
  • Form I-140, the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker

USCIS began this transition process in mid-May. At that time, Service
Centers began forwarding these applications to the Dallas and Phoenix
Lockbox facilities. In June, USCIS will post revised filing
instructions for these forms and will officially announce the revised
process.

Categories
Immigration Round Table

Child Turning 18 May File as Derivative Citizen

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Dear Atty. Lou,

I just became a US citizen last May 18, 2010. I have a daughter who is 17 years old and she will be 18 years old on October 25, 2010. She is also a green card holder. Right now, she is in the Philippines and studying.

We became permanent resident last September 1, 2004 when my mother petitioned me as a single mother. My daughter went back to the Philippines last July 2006. She has a re-entry permit which expired last December 2008. After that, I let her come here in the US for every six months. Last December 16, 2009 up to January 8, 2010, she was living with me here in Los Angeles.

Now, my problem is her citizenship. Is she carried or does she need to file her separate application for naturalization? My relatives said that I have to apply her citizenship before she turns 18 years old. Please help me Atty. Lou.

Thank you and God bless.

MRM

Dear MRM,

Your child who is still below 18 years old derives citizenship from you. As a US citizen parent, you may file for a certificate of citizenship for your minor child.

The requirements for the child to be issued the certificate are: (1) at least one parent is a citizen of the United States, whether by birth or naturalization; (2)the child is under the age of 18 years; (3) the child is residing outside of the United States in the legal and physical custody of the citizen parent, is temporarily present in the United States pursuant to a lawful admission and is maintaining such lawful status; and (4) (a) the US citizen parent of the child must have been physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or period totaling at least five years, at least two of which were after the parent reached 14 years of age, or (b) the US citizen parents of the US citizen parent  must meet the 5 years/two years physical presence requirement.

You may obtain a certificate of citizenship for your child by submitting an application on Form N-600 to the local USCIS office, together with the filing fee. The USCIS will then require the certificate of citizenship applicant, or the parent acting on the child’s behalf, to appear for examination under oath.

In the case of your daughter, the application must be filed soon so that the USCIS may act on the application before she turns 18 years old. If she is still in the Philippines, you may file on her behalf but that she has to appear during her examination. Your relatives are right when they informed you that you have to apply for her citizenship before she turns 18 years old. In the event that this application for certificate of citizenship is not filed before she turns 18 years old, then your daughter may still apply on her own behalf but should meet all the eligibility requirements including the physical presence requirement.

I hope this information is helpful.

Atty. Lou

(Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq is a partner at the Tancinco Law Offices, a Professional Law Corp. Her office is located at One Hallidie Plaza, Ste 818, San Francisco CA 94102 and may be reached at 415.397.0808; email at law@tancinco.com or check their website at tancinco.weareph.com/old. The content provided in this column is solely for informational purpose only and do not create a lawyer-client relationship. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. This column does not disclose any confidential or classified information acquired in her capacity as legal counsel. Consult with an attorney before deciding on a course of action. You can submit questions to law@tancinco.com)