DHS OIG Issues Fraud Alert

On May 20, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released an important fraud alert warning individuals about a virulent scam [PDF version].

The DHS OIG explains that this scam involves the perpetrator “befriend[ing] a victim using a mobile app that has a built-in chat feature, such as Facebook Messenger or Words with Friends.” In other cases, “the perpetrator feigns romantic interest and pursues the victim through online dating services or chat rooms.” After the perpetrator gains the victims trust, the perpetrator solicits funds from the victim to remedy a purported minor hardship.

After a victim provides funds to the perpetrator, he or she receives a phone call from another perpetrator claiming to be from the DHS or another law enforcement organization. “The fraudsters will spoof the caller ID of a legitimate law enforcement phone number.” The fraudster then tells the victim that the funds he or she paid the day before went to a criminal organization or terrorist group and threatens the victim with arrest and imprisonment. The fraudster then tells the victim to contact a lawyer to help resolve the matter. If the victim contacts this fake lawyer, he or she will be instructed to pay the “lawyer” $1,000 or more as a “retainer.”

The DHS OIG advised people that law enforcement numbers can be spoofed by fraudsters. When an individual receives a fraudulent call from “law enforcement,” he or she should not provide any personal information. If an individual is unsure whether a call he received purporting to be from DHS or any other law enforcement organization is legitimate, the DHS OIG encourages him or her “to call the relevant field office number of the government agency and ask to be put in touch with the individual who called…” The DHS OIG made clear: “Legitimate law enforcement callers will never ask you to pay fines over the phone or request money from you.”

If an individual believes that he or she was the victim of the scam described in the news alert, he or she may call the DHS OIG Hotline at 1-800-323-8603 or file a complaint online at www.oig.dhs.gov. The DHS OIG added that “[b]y asking the perpetrators for a phone number or email address you can use to contact them to facilitate payment, you may be able to obtain valuable information that could assist DHS OIG [in investigating] the scam.”

The scam described by DHS OIG appears to target citizens and non-citizens alike. It is important to remember that many fraudsters target non-citizens by claiming to be representing Federal immigration enforcement or other law enforcement entities. As the DHS OIG made clear, legitimate law enforcement organizations do not ask individuals to pay fines or request money. Individuals should always err on the side of extreme caution if a call seems suspicious and not provide personal information. In addition to contacting the government agency for guidance, individuals with immigration attorneys or other legal representation may seek guidance on suspicious calls and how to proceed.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

Honduras Ratifies the Hague Adoption Convention

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) noted that Honduras ratified the Hague Adoption Convention on March 6, 2019 [PDF version]. The Hague Convention will take effect in Honduras on July 1, 2019. The DOS explains in the news update that it “is determining if the United States may process [Hague] Convention adoptions with Honduras pursuant to U.S. law.”

Honduras is the 101st nation to ratify the Hague Convention. We discussed Guyana's becoming the 100th signatory to the Hague Convention in a separate and recent post [see blog].

To learn more about intercountry adoption generally, please see our growing selection of articles on the subject [see category].

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

New Russian Bribery Enforcement Statistics

Hannes Lubitzsch published an interesting post on Russian bribery enforcement statistics at the FCPA blog [link].[1]

In the post, he discusses Russia's release of corporate bribery enforcement statistics in 2018. He noted that a brief survey of the Russian prosecutor's press releases regarding bribery indictments and convictions “reveal[s] a peculiarity of the Russian enforcement practice — that it is targeting almost exclusively small and mid-scale bribery in day-to-day business.” For example, he noted that most bribes in the public sector were made “to avoid the payment of administrative fines, or to receive state licenses or accelerate registration procedures.” He stated that most fines in the commercial sector to state-own entities “were given … to obtain supply contracts …, or to conceal administrative violations.” Most of the bribe totals and penalties were relatively small according to Lubitzsch's analysis. For this reason, he stated that “the main liability risk is not the penalty payment … but being exposed in the public register of offenders.” Companies may seek to protect themselves by “taking anti-corruption measures…”

It is important for anyone doing business in Russia to be aware of the latest trends in Russian law enforcement, which itself is often politicized. In the immigration context, the export of Russian law enforcement policies and practices in the business context can come in many forms depending on the specific benefit or form of relief being sought. For example, an investor seeking a visa from Russia will have to carefully establish the lawful source of his or her investment funds. A petition for an intercompany transferee from Russia would have to include detailed information about the corporate entities involved. In some cases, those seeking asylum or withholding of removal from Russia may be able to support their cases by submitting evidence that they are being harmed by politicized law enforcement in Russia on a protected ground. These are just a small sample of the many ways Russian law enforcement policies could affect various immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions involving Russian entities or nationals.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

1. Lubitzsch, Hannes. “A look behind Russia's corporate bribery enforcement statistics.” The FCPA Blog. Apr. 23, 2019. http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2019/4/23/a-look-behind-russias-corporate-bribery-enforcement-statisti.html

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

President Trump Directs DOS to Develop Policies to Combat Visa Overstays

On April 22, 2019, President Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum titled “Presidential Memorandum on Combating High Nonimmigrant Overstay Rates” [PDF version].

President Trump issued the Memorandum to direct the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, to develop policies to address countries with large numbers of nationals who overstay their visas.

In this statement of policy, President Trump stated that aliens who fail to comply with the conditions on their visas “undermine the integrity of our immigration system and harm the national interest.” He stated that those who overstay their visas or period of admission under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) “place significant strain on Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security resources, which are currently needed to address the national emergency on our southern border.” Here, President Trump makes clear that he deems policy changes to address overstays necessary to free up resources to address the situation at the border, which he declared to be a national emergency on February 15, 2019 [PDF version].

To address the overstay problem, President Trump directed the Secretary of State to “engage with the governments of countries with a total overstay rate greater than 10 percent in the combined B-1 and B-2 nonimmigrant visa category based on the Department of Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2018 Entry/Exit Overstay Report.” The Secretary of State will work to “identify conditions contributing to high overstay rates among nationals of those countries and methods to address those conditions.”

The following countries had combined B1 and B2 nonimmigrant visa category overstay rates greater than 10 percent in 2018 [PDF version]:

• Afghanistan
• Angola
• Bhutan
• Burundi
• Cabo Verde
• Chad
• Republic of the Congo
• Djibouti
• Eritrea
• Georgia
• Laos
• Liberia
• Mauritania
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Nigeria
• Palau
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Syria
• Yemen

The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, will be required to provide President Trump with recommendations to reduce the B1 and B2 overstay rates from the identified countries within 120 days of the date of the Memorandum (April 22, 2019). President Trump provided that these recommendations “may include, as appropriate and to the extent consistent with applicable law”:

• A Presidential Proclamation under section 212(f) or section 215 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) suspending or limiting entry of nationals from the identified countries who hold B1 or B2 visas;
• Targeted suspension of visa issuance for certain nationals;
• Limits to the duration of admission of certain nationals, to be implemented by the Department of Homeland Security; and
• Additional documentary requirements.

Upon making these recommendations, President Trump provided that “[t]he Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall immediately begin taking all appropriate actions that are within the scope of their respective authorities to reduce overstay rates for all classes of nonimmigrant visas.”

President Trump directed the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to, within 180 days of the date of the Memorandum, “take steps to develop measures required for imposing admission bonds as a means for improving compliance with the terms and conditions of nonimmigrant visas.” The secretaries will provide a status report on their progress within 120 days of the date of the Memorandum.

Conclusion

We will not know what policies will develop from the Memorandum until the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Secretary of Homeland Security make their recommendations to the President. Regarding the countries with a B1/B2 overstay rate of at least 10 percent in fiscal year 2018, President Trump may impose entry restrictions, visa restrictions, or other restrictions in accordance with his Executive authority and the INA.

The most far-reaching policy change that may result from the Memorandum could be the broad imposition of admission bonds. President Trump's instructions to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security do not limit the admission bond guidance specifically to the identified countries with high B1 and B2 overstay rates. It remains to be seen how broad any new admission bond policies will be.

While the Memorandum may lead to significant policy changes, it is worth noting that, outside of the section on admission bonds, it is limited in scope by its own terms. The instant Memorandum by its own terms only targets select countries with high visa overstay rates in the previous fiscal year in the B1 and B2 nonimmigrant visa categories. It does not address overstay rates in other nonimmigrant visa categories and it does not suggest taking any immediate action toward countries with B1 and B2 overstay rates below 10 percent.

We will update the website with more information if and when new policies are implemented as a result of the instant Memorandum.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

DOJ Charges Judge and Court Officer With Assisting Alien In Evading ICE Arrest

On April 25, 2019, the United State Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced charges against a local judge and a court officer for helping an alien who was in the United States illegally escape the court building without being apprehended by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph, a state judge in Newton, Massachusetts, was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, aiding and abetting, and obstruction of a federal proceeding. Wesley MacGregor, a former court officer, was charged with those same three counts in addition to perjury. Both defendants pled not guilty to all of the charges.

Stephen Dinan of the Washington Times reported on the details of the indictment [link].[1]

Judge Joseph had been presiding over judicial proceedings involving Jose Medina Perez, an alien who was in the United States illegally and who was appearing in court a few days after being arrested on criminal drug charges. Perez had been removed from the United States twice before, in 2003 and 2007. ICE issued a detainer request and warrant of removal and an ICE officer appeared at the proceeding to arrest Perez in the event that he was released from criminal custody.

According to the indictment, Judge Joseph ordered the ICE officer from the court room while telling him to wait in the lobby, where Perez would ostensibly be released in the event that he was not held on the state charges. The indictment then details that Judge Joseph being was recorded by the court's recording system discussing how to keep Perez from being arrested by the ICE officer — before turning off the recording system for a period of 52 seconds. After the lapse in the recording, Judge Joseph ordered Perez released and reassured her clerk that she would not allow ICE into the courtroom to take custody of Perez. The indictment then alleges that MacGregor, who was the courtroom officer for Judge Joseph on that day, used his keycard to allow Perez to exit the building through a rear entrance, thereby avoiding detection by the ICE officer who had been told to wait in the lobby. MacGregor's perjury charge stems from allegations that he lied to a grand jury, claiming that he did not know that an ICE officer was there and denying that he knew of an outstanding ICE detainer request for Perez.

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts stated: “We cannot pick and choose the federal laws we follow, or use our personal views to justify violating the law. Everyone in the justice system — not just judges, but law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and defense counsel — should be held to a higher standard.” However, Dinan quoted the state Attorney General for Massachusetts criticizing the decision as “a radical and politically motivated attack on our state and the independence of our courts.”

The case is likely to be publicized due to the debate about ICE enforcement activities in local courts. In a separate article, we discuss ICE's policy on enforcement actions inside federal, state, and local courtrooms [see article]. The instant charges are unusual in that local authorities are being charged with actually obstructing ICE enforcement activities and abetting an alien in evading arrest. We will update the site with more information on the case once it is resolved.

Any alien who is arrested and charged with inadmissibility or removability should consult with an experienced immigration attorney immediately, regardless of the place and manner of the immigration arrest.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

1. Dinan, Stephen. “Sanctuary court: Massachusetts judge charged with obstruction after helping illegal escape ICE.” The Washington Times. Apr. 25, 2019. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/apr/25/massachusetts-judge-charged-obstruction-after-help/

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

Acting DHS Secretary Designates New Senior Official at CBP

On April 15, 2019, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan designated John P. Saunders as the senior official performing the functions and duties of the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) [PDF version]. Saunders is the CBP's Chief Operating Officer. Despite being designated as the Acting Secretary of DHS on April 11, 2019, McAleenan remains the Commissioner of the CBP. Because of his new responsibilities as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, McAleenan designated Saunders to run the CBP in his stead. As of this date, President Trump has not announced a nominee for the post of Secretary of Homeland Security.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

USCIS Ending Forms Request Line Service on June 1

On June 1, 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will end its Form Request Line service [PDF version]. The Form Request Line allowed individuals to order USCIS forms by phone. While individuals may still request copies of USCIS form by mail by calling the USCIS Contact Center or by using the USCIS website's Forms by Mail request tool, the USCIS encourages them to download and print forms for free from the USCIS website.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

Visa Bulletin for May 2019

Introduction

On April 8, 2019, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) published the Immigrant Visa Bulletin for May 2019 [PDF version]. The Visa Bulletin for May 2019 contains filing dates and final action dates for filing for immigrant visas based on approved immigrant visa petitions in the employment-based and family-sponsored preference categories for that month. On April 15, 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determined that adjustment of status applicants with approved family-sponsored petitions must use the Visa Bulletin's more favorable filing dates whereas those with approved employment-based petitions must use the final action dates for May 2019 [PDF version].

In this article, we will examine the pertinent charts from the May 2019 Visa Bulletin for family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant visa and adjustment of status applicants. To see a list of our visa bulletin articles, please see our index [see index]. To learn how to use the visa bulletins, please see our informational article on that subject [see article].

Family-Sponsored Cases

The USCIS has determined that beneficiaries of approved family-sponsored immigrant visa petitions must use the dates for filing charts from the Visa Bulletin for May 2019. This is good news for prospective adjustment applicants in the family-sponsored preferences because the filing dates are generally more favorable to applicants than are the final action dates. In order for the beneficiary of an approved family-sponsored immigrant visa petition to apply for adjustment of status in May 2019, the beneficiary's priority date must be before the applicable filing date cutoff for his or her preference category and chargeability area. The individual must also be otherwise eligible for adjustment of status under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the pertinent implementing regulations.

The priority date for a family-sponsored immigrant visa petition is generally the date on which the petition was properly filed with the USCIS.

The following are the filing dates for family-sponsored cases in May 2019 [see here].

For informational purposes, the following are the final action dates for family-sponsored cases in the Visa Bulletin for May 2019 [see here].

Employment-Based Cases

The USCIS has determined that beneficiaries of approved employment-based immigrant visa petitions must use the final action date charts from the Visa Bulletin for May 2019. In order for the beneficiary of an approved family-sponsored immigrant visa petition to apply for adjustment of status in May 2019, the beneficiary's priority date must be before the applicable final action cutoff for his or her preference category and chargeability area. The individual must also be otherwise eligible for adjustment of status under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the pertinent implementing regulations.

The priority date for an employment-based petition that required labor certification is generally the date on which the labor certification application was approved by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The priority date for employment-based petitions that did not require labor certification is generally the date on which the petition was properly filed with the USCIS.

Before examining the employment-based charts from the Visa Bulletin for May 2019, please note that “C” stands for “current.” Beneficiaries of approved employment-based petitions in a preference category and chargeability area with a date of current for May 2019 are eligible to apply for adjustment of status in May 2019 provided that they otherwise meet the generally applicable statutory and regulatory requirements for adjustment.

The following are the final action dates for employment-based cases in May 2019 [see here].

For reference purposes, the following are the filing date charts for employment-based cases in May 2019 [see here].

Visa Bulletin Update Regarding China and India E1

The DOS notes in the Visa Bulletin for May 2019 that “there continues to be an extremely high rate of demand for E1 numbers [for China-mainland born and India], primarily for USCIS adjustment of status applicants.” Because of this demand, the “situation may require the retrogression of this final action date in an effort to limit future number use.” The DOS added that if it determines that retrogression of the China and India E1 final action dates is necessarily, it would be temporary and return “to the latest reached during fiscal year 2019 for October, the first month of fiscal year 2020.”

Chinese and Indian beneficiaries of approved E1 petitions should be prepared for the possibility that their final action dates may be retrogressed in the coming months. The DOS did not provide definite information for when or to what extent this may occur. Potential date retrogression in these categories will depend on the continuing demand for visas and adjustment of status.

Conclusion

It is important for the beneficiaries of approved immigrant visa petitions in the family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories to stay abreast of the immigrant visa bulletin. It is especially so for adjustment of status applicants who must affirmatively apply for immigrant status. Beneficiaries should consult with an experienced immigration attorney for any and all necessary case-specific guidance, including for information about how the visa bulletin works and seeking status as an immigrant either through consular processing abroad or through the adjustment of status process in the United States.

We will update the website with information about the Visa Bulletin for June 2018 once the DOS releases the bulletin and the USCIS determines which dates adjustment of status applicants must use.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com