Immigration column in newspaper

[Valigator]

For the heck of it, my newspaper carries a column written by an immigration attorney,,,questions and answer segment...read some of these:

Q. Will my having been arrested keep me from getting permanent residence?

I am married to a U.S. citizen. My daughter's father and I got into a dispute. The police came and took us both away. The police photographed and fingerprinted me, but then released me without charging me.

-- Name Withheld, New Britain, Conn.

A. Since it appears the police did not charge or convict you of a crime, the incident with the police shouldn't keep you from getting permanent residence. Still, I suggest you try to get whatever court records may exist about the incident.

Q.. A judge found me guilty of financial identity fraud. Will that keep me from getting permanent residence?
A. Maybe. Whether a criminal conviction is a bar to permanent residence depends primarily on the nature of the crime and the sentence the court imposed.Many different types of crimes can bar you from getting permanent residence, but the two most common are "crimes involving moral turpitude" and drug crimes.


A. An undocumented immigrant can get health insurance. Many private insurance companies issue policies to undocumented immigrants.

One concern is that many undocumented immigrants don't have a Social Security number. That number is asked for on insurance applications. Some insurance companies will make up a nine-digit number for the applicant for recordkeeping purposes.
Further, in some situations, undocumented immigrants can get free medical assistance at community clinics and hospitals -- the availability varying from state to state.

In every state, however, undocumented immigrants are eligible for emergency medical treatment. So, with or without insurance, if you face a medical emergency, go to the hospital. You'll be treated regardless of income or immigration status.

Q.Will my prior marriage to an undocumented immigrant keep me from getting permanent residence? I came here from Brazil six years ago. I am married to an undocumented immigrant, and I am undocumented as well. My wife and I are separated and plan to divorce soon. Then I hope to marry my new girlfriend, a U.S. citizen.
A.If you wait until your divorce is final before remarrying, your prior marriage shouldn't impact your right to get permanent residence. As with all applicants for residence based on marriage, you should be prepared to prove that your second marriage is bona fide

Q. My father is working with a fake Social Security card. Will that prevent him from getting permanent residence?

A.Your father shouldn't have a problem getting permanent residence because he worked with a false Social Security card. Using a false card is not a bar to permanent residence. Further, the government only very rarely brings criminal charges against someone solely for using a false card.

Q. I'm 92, and I have no interest in working or traveling. Must I renew my green card when it expires? I don't have any transportation, and the nearest CIS office is 20 miles away

A.You need not get a new green card. An expired permanent-resident card is fine for identification and work -- though I hope you are retired by now.


"No Wonder we are so screwed up"!

[fabsroman]

Trust me Val, it isn't just the immigrants. I have a born here American whose parents and grandparents were born here.

He has a rental house in Maryland and he is currently living in West Virginia because the "rent" is cheap. However, he works in Maryland and has put 180,000 miles on his truck in 3 years. Anyway, I am digressing, but you can already see how bright he is (i.e., gas and cost of new truck could have paid for a mortgage in Maryland, he would have saved several hours a day driving, and he would have built equity in the home).

So, he is thinking about selling the rental property, but he hasn't lived in it for any of the last 5 years. So, he would not get any capital gain exlcusion on it and after explaining capital gains to him, he thinks his would be $350,000 on the place. I told him that would equate to $52,500 in taxes. Then, he asks me how would the IRS ever know if we don't put it on the tax return. My answer, it is on prior tax returns as a rental property, his current mailing address is a PO Box #, the mortgage would suddenly be gone, the IRS has the ability to push a button and see everything you own, and I wouldn't prepare the return if I knew he sold the house and he didn't want to report it. Mind you, this guy hasn't filed tax returns or paid taxes since 2000. Granted, he might not owe anything, but he just hasn't prepared anything.

I have a personal injury client that I am trying to settle a case for, and while the offer is a good one as far as the length of treatment and dollar amount of medical bills, he doesn't think it is a good offer because he needs to be able to pay off his credit card bills with it. Since when did the amount of debt a person have determine the worth of a personal injury/auto accident case? This guy is 36 years old, the only thing he owns is a 1992 Chevy Beretta that might be worth $500. He just finished culinary school and has been working 2 jobs since September, yet he just cannot pay off two credit cards that he owes on. One is for $800 and the other is for $2,000. He pays interest on them at 20%. On top of that, he has never had health insurance, but he got sick right before Christmas and had to go to the hospital. These were no accident related injuries and he owes the hospital $3,500 for that. Well, I did his tax return this year for free, under the impression that he would take the $800 refund and pay off one credit card. Found out yesterday that he took the refund, took his sister and niece on vacation, and actually increased the balance on the credit card after spending all of the refund. Now I ask you, why did I do that tax return for free. I must have been out of my mind.

Both of these dicussions occurred yesterday, and made my Friday a miserable one.

Personally, I have no problem with the immigrants that want to come here, work, and obey our laws, but our country should limit the number or we will have way too many people in this country way too quickly (i.e., everybody from third world countries will be moving in). However, I think anybody on a Visa that is found guilty for any felony or crime of violence should be deported immediately. No questions asked. Plain and simple.

I have also come to the conclusion that I am down on society in general because I deal with some of the bad parts of society, but these people do not represent the majority. I have heard something like this about police officers. They deal with the dregs of society on a daily basis, but the great majority of the population obey the laws or the police would never be able to deal with it. Likewise, I think the majority of immigrants aren't bad people, it is just the ones that make the news that get us fired up. You won't hear much about the hard working, law abiding construction worker that built your house or the hard working, law abiding crop picker that picked the salad and vegetables you are having for dinner.

Since attorneys usually deal with the unsavory part of society, the stories they tell and the questions they answer usually will not be things normal people would do.

[Valigator]

{Since attorneys usually deal with the unsavory part of society, the stories they tell and the questions they answer usually will not be things normal people would do.}

Oh I agree with that alright, but its a shame some of the laws and policies they enforce or interpret the law to mean effects the rest of us......

"However, I think anybody on a Visa that is found guilty for any felony or crime of violence should be deported immediately. No questions asked. Plain and simple."

Crime of Violence? How about any crime? Drug dealers, insurance scammers, identity thieves...we have a whole crew down here that do nothing but stage car accidents and make claims or practice medicine out of their back doors, you don't even wanna know the monies lost on construction scams...I could go on and on and on and over all its a bunch of frickin illegals, boot'm all out and start from scratch. Do you know that I have over a 100,000 Hondurans and Guatemalans alone who have overstayed their emergency visa's? You know how they got here? The US had them slip in because of an earthquake years ago...so they got temporary status...temp my butt...

[BILLY D.]

i just came home to get my boat anchor, because some dumb a$$ forgot it this morning.

see ya later.

i got a few things to add to this.

[fabsroman]

Val,

I also had felony on there. Do I think they should be sent back for speeding or jay walking, not really. A felony is a harsher crime in the eyes of society than the misdemenour of speeding, jay walking, theft below $500, DUI, etc. I think most of the crimes you listed above would be considered felonies. Hence, I stand behind my previous statement.

Billy,

Can't wait to hear your response and still waiting to hear back from you on my PM about Michael Schumacher.