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Special Detention Facilities for Transgender Detainees

5/26/2016

It appears that not only Target retail stores is changing its transgenders policy. A detention facility for immigrants opening later this year in Texas will include a special unit for transgender people.

Transgender immigrants often face particular challenges, including a higher risk of sexual assault, an inability to get hormone replacement treatments, and dealing with guards unfamiliar with gender identity issues.

Under Federal guidelines, detention staff should ask incoming detainees about their chosen gender identity and make accommodations based on their preference. The guidelines include instructions on conducting searches, providing clothing based on a detainee's stated gender identity, and maintaining safety.

However, as long as there are no mechanisms to enforce these guidelines, it is unlikely that transgender people will be not subjected to abuse and mistreatment.

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TPS Extended for Nicaragua and Honduras

5/17/2016

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Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Nicaragua and Honduras (and those without nationality who last habitually resided in Nicaragua) for an additional 18 months, effective July 6, 2016, through Jan. 5, 2018.To re-register, current TPS beneficiaries must submit:
Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status (re-registrants do not need to pay the Form I-821 application fee);
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, regardless of whether they want an EAD;

The Form I-765 application fee (or a fee-waiver request) only if they want an EAD. If the re-registrant does not want an EAD, no application fee is required; and
The biometric services fee (or a fee-waiver request) if they are age 14 or older.

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Immigration Fees on the Rise

5/12/2016

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Earlier this month USCIS announced they have completed their “fee study” and have proposed raising fees across the board by an average of 21 percent.

The fee hike that will have a large impact on aspiring citizens is the increase in the already-high naturalization fee which is set to go up 6.6 percent. Currently the application fee is $680, including $85 for biometrics which will increase to $725.

Also, a 42 percent increase is proposed for the Form I-129 used for the most common work visas, including H-1B professional, O-1 extraordinary ability, and L-1 intracompany transfer visas, as well as E-1 treaty trader, E-2 treaty investor and E-3/FTA H-1B1/TN treaty professional visas processed in the United States rather than at an American consular post or Preflight Inspection Unit abroad. A 42 percent increase is also proposed for the Form I-140 used for EB1, EB2 and EB3 employment-based immigrant visas.

Proposed fee increases will become effective most likely later this summer.

For more information, contact us at Schonberg & Timerman, PL.

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5 Signs you Have Hired a Bad Immigration Lawyer

5/10/2016

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If you are in the market to hire an attorney, chances are that you are feeling vulnerable, worried and stressed about the underlying problem/situation that requires you to look for professional legal assistance. If you add to this mix, not being fluent in English, fear of being separated from your family for a prolonged period of time, and/ or stress that your sponsor will drop you mid-way in the process, it is not surprising that so many immigrants fall for a quick-fix solution, and end up hiring a BAD immigration lawyer!

I personally have hired my fair share of BAD lawyers during my first few years in this beautiful country. But, to be fair, I also understand the pressure that my fellow colleagues have to get answers to desperate clients who believe immigration lawyers have superhero powers (or have good friends at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.)
So, let me tell you about 5 Warning signs you have hired a BAD immigration lawyer:

1.YOUR LAWYER QUOTES OVER THE PHONE BEFORE AN INITIAL CONSULTATION
Lawyers receive daily phone calls of potential clients shopping around. When you call asking “how much for a marriage adjustment?” “How much for an H1-B?” you are not only doing a disfavor to yourself by treating your future attorney as the attendant at your supermarket Deli, but if your attorney dares to give you a price over the phone without knowing ANYTHING about your specific situation, it is 99.9% likely that the estimate will be wrong!!
When it comes to immigration law, the essence resides in the details! So, you will lose all trust on your attorney when you are asked for more money down the road, or when your attorney starts cutting corners in preparing your case because you have been undercharged.

2. YOUR LAWYER GUARANTEES THAT THE CASE WILL BE APPROVED
One of the questions immigration lawyers hear more often from their clients is “which are the chances of my case being approved?” The emotional and financial toll of getting a visa/benefit denied is sometimes so high that immigrants looking to hire an attorney feel desperate to hear some degree of assurance. Attorneys based on their knowledge and previous experience, can genuinely advise a client if a case appears to be a plain vanilla one or if issues are foreseen. But, unfortunately, an attorneys who gives you guarantees that your case will be approved is not being honest to begin with. All what real pros can guarantee is the quality of their work and their commitment to their clients.

3.YOUR LAWYER ACCEPTS MONEY FROM YOU WITHOUT SIGNING A CONTRACT
Except for payment for consultation fees, you are allowed (and even encouraged) to forget your checkbook when you meet your attorney for the first time. Before an immigration attorney accepts any money from you, the scope and terms of representation have to be agreed on, and you have to formally become a “client”. Although you are probably in a rush for your attorney to start working on your case, be wary of a lawyers who are taking money from you without clearly stating what exactly they will be doing for you.

4.YOU END UP MEETING A PARAPROFESSIONAL AT THE INITIAL CONSULTATION
During an initial consultation, an immigration lawyer usually assesses your situation, tries to learn all the relevant facts about your case, makes sure your goals are understood, and starts brainstorming a strategy to attain them. If the person conducting the initial consultation is not an immigration lawyer, is likely that important facts that can be crucial to define a path to get your visa will be missed. It is not enough for the person meeting you for the first time to follow a questionnaire prepared by an attorney. Not two cases are exactly the same, and a trained immigration lawyer knows it! This doesn’t mean that good lawyers always get it all figured out on the first meeting, but they will know what to look for, and will probably spot any area of concern before a case is filed (and pending denial!)

5.YOUR LAWYER IS NEVER AVAILABLE TO TALK TO YOU AFTER THE CONTRACT IS SIGNED
Depending on the size of the law firm you chose to represent you, you should expect to have more or less direct contact with the attorney who you (hopefully) met on the initial consultation. Often, larger firms have senior attorneys doing all the initial consultations and later delegating the cases to associate attorneys, while smaller firms have less staff working on each individual case, so that the same attorney who does the intake will later on prepare the case for filing. In either case, the lawyer who you initially met, trusted, and hired to represent you should ALWAYS be available to talk with you and answer your questions! This doesn’t mean that your attorney is not entitled to charge for it (as specified in the contract – refer to Item #3), or that your attorney will be available on a Sunday 10:00 am to answer “what’s the processing time for your F-1 change of status.” But your lawyer should be reachable. So, if there is a pattern where your lawyer is taking several lunch breaks a day, is sick every other day, tends to have family emergencies weekly, and/ or is usually with another client and unavailable to talk to you, it is likely you have hired a BAD lawyer!

So, next time you are shopping around for an immigration lawyer keep these 5 tips in mind, and remember that if what your lawyer promises seems too good to be truth, it probably is!

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About the Authors

Laura Schonberg and Andrea Timerman developed their passion for immigration law through their own experience immigrating to the United States. Laura received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Juris Doctor Degree from Florida International University. Andrea received a Bachelors in Business Administration from Pace University, NY, and her Juris Doctor Degree from Florida International University. Both attorneys obtained ample experience in the immigration field before partnering to work as immigration attorneys at Schonberg & Timerman, P.L.

Schonberg & Timerman, P.L.

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Special Detention Facilities for Transgender Detainees

TPS Extended for Nicaragua and Honduras

Immigration Fees on the Rise﻿

5 Signs you Have Hired a Bad Immigration Lawyer

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