The Department of Homeland Security said thousands of refugees displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have traveled to Mexico hoping to gain refuge in the United States, including one teenager trying to get placement with his aunt and uncle who live in the Southland.
Ivan Yerashov is a typical 14-year-old, whose into sports and his computer. As of a week and a half ago, he also became a Ukrainian refugee. His aunt, Iryna Merezhko, picked him up in Kharkiv after her sister said she and her husband wanted to stay and fight, but they wanted their son brought to safety, a move the family did its best to spin, according to Merezhko. "I told him it will be like a long summer break in California for you, yeah. Don't think about the divided with parents, like a long summer break." After 30 hours on an evacuation train and 40 hours on a plane, the teen and his aunt made their way to a refugee camp in Mexico, where she'd heard the best and easiest way to get her nephew into the country was to go to the border and ask for humanitarian admission. A new book on immigration appeals to Americans’ hearts. A book by Ali Noorani, president & CEO of the National Immigration Forum, uses stories, history and the unsettling present to convince Americans that enacting humane immigration reform would be in line with the best traditions of America. Nearly everything Ali Noorani writes about in his new book Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants describes a place he visited personally, giving the book a journalistic sensibility and the benefit of a longtime observer’s touch. This pays benefits on the book’s first page when he describes a trip to Honduras: “In our effort to learn about the root causes of Central American migration to the United States, we expected a sense of fear and hopelessness to run through our meetings. Instead, we met people of determination, focus, and pride. Who wanted more for their country. Who didn’t want to leave their homes. But were leaving because of the failure of institutions—in Honduras and the United States.”
Noorani shows that violence is a significant driver of migration from Central America: “In 2017, El Salvador had the highest homicide rate in the world. Honduras ranked number four, with Guatemala at fourteen. Overall, at least 17 of the top 20 most homicidal countries in the world are located in Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.” In March 2022, there were “87 gang-related killings over weekend” in El Salvador, according to National Public Radio. Some of Trump's Immigration Policies Are Now Being Challenged in Court by the Biden Administration3/16/2022
The president's statements at the podium and the government's behavior in the courtroom, according to immigration groups and Democrats, are at odds. President Biden has promised to make President Donald J. Trump's immigration policy a "moral and national humiliation," but his legal team failed to make that argument in a federal courtroom earlier this year. In January, a three-judge panel of the United States Supreme Court heard the case at the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A Trump appointee, Judge Justin R. Walker, was baffled. Government lawyers were attempting to defend a Trump-era public health rule that permits the US to deport migrants without giving them the opportunity to request asylum in Judge Walker's courtroom. He says that the administration is moving too slowly on promised reforms and is far too willing to rely on Trump-era efforts as a stopgap measure. "Looking at the signature block is the only way I know if I'm reading a Biden or Trump administration brief," said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU lawyer. Winners of a visa lottery, particularly those in Ukraine who are becoming increasingly vulnerable, were surprised to hear that their green cards were still being processed by federal lawyers. He claims that the administration is moving too slowly on promised improvements and is far too prepared to rely on Trump-era initiatives in the interim. "The only way I know if I'm reading a Biden or Trump administration brief is by looking at the signature block," said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU lawyer. Winners of a visa lottery, including those increasingly at risk in Ukraine, were astonished to learn that their green cards were still being processed by federal lawyers. When it comes to immigration, are Biden and Trump on the same page? Mr. Biden has taken steps to undo most of his predecessor's immigration policy. Mr. Biden has worked to undo most of his predecessor's immigration policies, including broad bans on Muslim-majority countries and a statute that permits officials to deny green cards to immigrants who need government help. He has signed roughly 300 executive acts on immigration, according to the Migration Policy Institute. No, according to Mr. Gelernt, who represents families who were separated at the border in 2018.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children and teenagers are safe from the Trump-era border regulation. "Making the required adjustments isn't going to happen tomorrow," White House spokeswoman Vedant Patel adds. Mr. Biden warned weeks before taking office that overturning Trump-era practices would take time, in part because he feared that doing so too soon might encourage migrants to cross the border. She was denied entry to the United States, however, due to the Trump administration's pandemic restrictions. Mr. Biden had lauded the visa lottery throughout his campaign and even proposed expanding it by 25,000 visas, so she had high hopes when he was elected. Two judges have ordered the Biden administration to deal with the visa backlog this year. Lawyers for the Justice Department have challenged the court orders. They argue the government still lacks the resources needed to process visa applications without delaying future lottery winners. Last month, the lawyers said that the orders would threaten the president's ability to impose future travel restrictions on other visa applicants, such as Russian officials sanctioned by the US for their role in the invasion of Ukraine. "We always have our suitcases ready and our clothing ready to go," Mr. Demchenko said from his home, before his wife persuaded him to call off the interview. While Vice President Joe Biden established a task force last year to assist in the reunification of juveniles separated from their parents as a result of President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policy, the government abandoned settlement talks with the families of some of the 5,500 children late last year. They needed to go to the bomb shelter, he told them. George Lynden Melmed was the head counsel for the government's legal immigration agency during President George W. Bush's administration. He argues there was a misalignment between the agenda of a presidential candidate and his legal team's approach while in office. He continues, "Writing talking points is easy; running an agency is significantly more difficult." Lynden Melmed, who served as chief counsel for the government's legal immigration department under President George W. Bush's administration, said there had been a gap for years between a presidential candidate's platform and his legal team's approach while in office. The administration, on the other hand, withdrew from the discussions in December and has been working to persuade judges to reject family law cases brought against a variety of individuals, not just the government. During his presidential campaign, Mr. Biden did not say if he would repeal the restriction, but he did promise to reinstate the asylum process, which was rejected to many migrants who were subject to the public health order. According to a federal appeals court, the administration can no longer utilize the regulation to deport migrant families to places where they risk being persecuted or tortured. Vice President Kamala Harris, who was a senator at the time, went even farther, accusing the Trump administration of utilizing a limited public health power as a broad immigration tool when she was in the Senate. Judge Walker reminded Ms. Swingle that the Biden administration had previously argued that returning migrants to Mexico while they await asylum cases would not "align with the administration's values" due to the risk of violence and sexual assault on the Mexican side of the border from cartel members. Ms. Swingle, on the other hand, used the public health crisis as justification for Mr. Trump's border limitations. The immigration courts are about to take a giant leap into the digital era. Immigration attorneys, accredited representatives, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawyers will be required to file immigration court papers electronically in new cases beginning February 11, 2022. The immigration court system will not become completely paperless as a result of this upgrade. Unrepresented people, in particular, continue to be unable to file electronically. Mandatory electronic filing, on the other hand, will create much-needed efficiency for both persons who appear in immigration court and the court system as a whole. The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which houses the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), began an electronic filing pilot program at the San Diego immigration court in the summer of 2018.
The program, known as the EOIR Courts & Appeals System (ECAS), has grown beyond San Diego in the previous four years. All 66 immigration courts, as well as the BIA, now accept electronic filing. In the federal court system, electronic filing has been accessible for a long time. All attorneys and BIA-accredited agents will be required to file court submissions electronically for all matters with an electronic record of procedure, according to a new rule that goes into effect on February 11. In practice, this means that ECAS will be used for all new cases, but many existing cases will continue to be handled on paper as EOIR gradually converts cases to ECAS. With almost 1.5 million cases on the backlog, it's unlikely that EOIR will go totally digital very soon. Electronic filing has numerous advantages. Without the expenditure of printing and sending documents, practitioners will be able to file huge, time-sensitive records. This is especially true for lawyers who work in remote immigration courts where filing in person is impossible. People with legal representation in deportation proceedings will benefit from quick access to essential court files. Due to delays in paper delivery, their attorney may have less time to prepare and respond to their case. And the immigration court system, which is now dealing with a massive backlog, will be able to process new cases more quickly, acquire the information needed to analyze each case, and transfer cases to other immigration courts as needed. People with legal representation in deportation proceedings will benefit from quick access to essential court files. Due to delays in paper delivery, their attorney may have less time to prepare and respond to their case. And the immigration court system, which is now dealing with a massive backlog, will be able to process new cases more quickly, acquire the information needed to analyze each case, and transfer cases to other immigration courts as needed. Has your visa been denied by a consular officer under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act? Millions of visas are denied each year under this section of law. If this is your scenario, you may be confused and wondering what that means and if there is any way to get around it. U.S. immigration law is set up where the burden falls on the visa applicant to demonstrate that they do not intend to stay permanently in the United States and meet the requirements to receive the visa. The “presumption of immigrant intent” is a major hurdle you may face if you received a 214(b) visa denial. Much like being guilty until proven innocent, you will have to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that your intentions are honest and not to overstay the authorized length of the visa you receive. While some visa ineligibilities can be overcome, and the Department of Homeland Security can authorize a waiver, that is not the case for all immigration cases.
Common Denial Reasons Under Section 214(b) Below are some possible reasons your visa may have been denied under Section 214(b):
It is necessary to mention that if you are reapplying for your visa after receiving a 214(b) denial, you will be responsible for paying the application fees again. They are non-refundable whether or not that visa is approved. You will also need to have an interview with a consular officer again. Always prepare for the interview process with your lawyer to anticipate any questions that may arise in light of the new information you are providing for your case. The verbal answers you provide during the interview with the immigration official will weigh heavy on the decision. Always be polite to immigration officials and if you do not understand a question, ask them to clarify. Frequently Asked Questions about INA 214(b)
Read more here: https://www.immi-usa.com/214b-visa-denial/ |