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On July 6, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that foreign students would no longer be permitted to enter or stay in the United States if their courses were to be offered exclusively online.  The policy was met with significant backlash and a number of lawsuits filed by colleges,...

The coronavirus pandemic has seen to the closure of academic institutions across the country.  As a result, colleges and universities have been forced to determine how they will reopen for the fall semester—do they offer in-person classes? Do they only offer classes online? Or do they opt for a h...

On June 30, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly struck down a Trump Administration policy that bars migrants from requesting asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.  The policy, which was instituted in July 2019, is often referred to as the “third-country transit asylum ban” because it disqualifies mi...

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee of California has ordered the release of all migrant children currently held in custody by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  The ruling, made on June 26, stems from the “unrelenting spread of the coronavirus” and ICE's failure to adequately protect...

In April, President Trump signed an executive order which blocks immigration to the United States. This order, signed on April 22, was set to be in effect until “Whenever appropriate, but no later than 50 days from the effective date of this proclamation” and was to be either continued or modifie...

Since its emergence, the novel coronavirus and its resulting disease, COVID-19, have spread across the globe.  The World Health Organization characterized the viral outbreak as a pandemic on March 11 of this year.  As a result of the pandemic, travel and border regulation has been affected. On Ma...

Detention Centers are far from immune to the coronavirus pandemic.  The La Palma Correctional Facility here in Arizona faces a growing outbreak of COVID-19.  On Tuesday, May 12, the Arizona Republic reported that “the number of detainees at [this] Immigration and Customs Enforcement Eloy facility...

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administers the country's system of lawful immigration.  It has declared to Congress that it faces unavoidable budget shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to a fall in applications for immigration services handled...

he provisional waiver program was implemented on March 3, 2013. Also known as a "stateside" waiver, or an I-601A waiver, this new program offers an exciting opportunity for immigrant families. The provisional waiver program allows spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for their green cards, or lawful permanent residency, without having to leave the United States, and being separated from their families, for long periods of time. It also allows parents of adult U.S. citizens the same opportunity, although the situation for parents, as opposed to husbands and wives, of U.S. citizens, may be a bit different. At Green | Evans-Schroeder, we know how long you have been waiting for this kind of extraordinary opportunity. Our immigration attorneys understand how important it is for you to get your green card as soon as possible. We also know how critical it is for you to avoid spending time away from your family, and we do everything possible to maximize our clients' chances of a smooth and successful application process. Over the years, we have shared in the joy of many of our clients who have won their green card cases through the provisional waiver program--and we look forward to many more provisional waiver green card wins in the future.

For over a year, the Trump administration has been developing a policy change to make it more difficult for immigrants to successfully obtain permanent residency in the United States, or their "green cards." The new public charge rule has come under intense criticism by immigration advocates. USCIS officials said the revised standards would apply to nearly 400,000 people seeking to adjust their immigration status per year, but the agency did not have an estimate of the total number of immigrants who would potentially be denied residency and other benefits. Advocates for immigrant rights said Monday that hundreds of thousands of immigrants are likely to forgo or withdraw from a federal assistance program they are legally entitled to receive amid fears that their families could be separated because some members would be deemed ineligible to enter or remain in the country.

Caterina (Cathy) Kretz joined the Green | Evans-Schroeder team in May, 2018. Cathy is an immigrant herself since she was born in Caracas Venezuela and was raised in New York City. Caterina was drawn to the practice of law through a family attorney. Since Caterina was born outside of the United States she had to obtain her citizenship. The attorney that helped Caterina gain her citizenship became a close friend of the family. Caterina always looked up to her and it became apparent she would pursue a career that would help immigrants. Caterina's main focus has been in family based immigration law and she enjoys helping families stay together. Many of her colleagues, judges and clients have used words like aggressive, tenacious, honest and hard working to describe her personality and work ethics. Caterina always has her client's best interest at heart and will do everything possible to fight for the rights of her clients.

A "fact sheet" was released earlier this month by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). The document is titled "myths versus facts about immigration proceedings." However, it contains inaccurate and misleading information.

Earlier this month, President Trump announced his new plan for reforming the immigration system.  The announcement was not particularly detailed, it was also short on any new ideas.  For example, the crux of the plan introduced a point system that would emphasize selection of new immigrants based...

We are excited to announce that Law Offices of Matthew H. Green is changing its name to Green | Evans-Schroeder. The name change reflects the fact that Jesse Evans-Schroeder has joined Matthew Green as a partner in the firm.

On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued one of the most significant immigration opinions in decades. In Pereira v. Sessions, the Supreme Court addressed the legal sufficiency of a Notice to Appear (NTA). Mr. Pereira argued, and the Supreme Court ultimately agreed, that the plain language of that statute unambiguously defines an NTA as specifying where and when the noncitizen must appear for removal proceedings. The Court concluded that NTAs that do not contain at least this basic information do not meet the definition of an NTA under 8 U.S.C. § 1229(a)(1) for purposes of the stop-time rule and remanded Mr. Pereira’s case for further proceedings. Because non-LPR cancellation of removal is one of the most common forms of waivers filed by non-citizens in immigration court, Pereira is very important. Or, more to the point, it is probably the most common waiver that many people in immigration court in the past two decades would have been eligible for if they had been able to establish ten years of continuous physical presence. The Pereira case also supports arguments for challenging the immigration courts' jurisdiction over cases that were initiated by defective NTAs that lack the required information of time and place of the court hearing.

On May 17, 2018, in a move that will affect the deportation cases of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, Attorney General Jeff Sessions essentially ordered a full stop to the practice of administrative closure. This new pronouncement comes after Sessions referred the case of Matter of Castro-Tum to himself last January. The main issue in the case addressed whether immigration judges have the authority to employ a tool that has been historically recognized as a legitimate practice of managing an immigration court's docket. As one article accurately explained, "Sessions' ruling doesn't just prevent judges from closing cases in the future. He also opened the door to reopening the cases of the 350,000 immigrants whose cases had already been closed — many of whom had been assured by the Obama administration they wouldn't be deported. The attorneys at the Law Offices of Matthew H . Green will continue to defend our clients whose cases have had their cases administratively closed. Any legally illegitimate attempts by ICE to recalendar those cases will be met with aggressive advocacy, challenging the constitutional authority of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General, to circumvent the legitimate power of immigration judges to close--and keep closed--the deportation cases of immigrants who, in the final analysis, are not properly considered deportation priorities.

The attorneys at the Law Offices of Matthew H. Green are no strangers to challenging unconstitutional practices by the Department of Justice. For our part, we intend to challenge Matter of A-B- and the July 11, 2018 policy memorandum head on. Doing so will likely require a much more thorough and aggressive approach to defending asylum-seekers, and it will likely require challenges in a variety of immigration courts, U.S. District Courts, and Circuit Courts of Appeal. However, with the proper strategy, we feel confident that thoughtful litigation strategies will ultimately be successful in rolling back and limiting the scope of Matter of A-B-, and will open the gates again to legitimate domestic violence and gang-based asylum claims.

Our elected leaders have no excuse not to compromise in the short term, and over the long haul, on immigration reform. And the simplest part of the process should be the beginning. Their options are literally staring back at them, from the pages of a bill that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, only a few short years ago.

Much of the discussion regarding the recent immigration changes focuses on those who are unlawfully in the country.  Deferred status will allow these people to be freed from the fear of immediate deportation, and provide work authorization.  However, there is also a group of people who are in the...

In the weeks after President Barack Obama presented his immigration executive action, many have voiced their opinions on the policy changes. Republican lawmakers have spoken out against the action as being illegal and bad policy. Some immigration activists have criticized the action for not going far enough. However, the country at large remains very divided on the issue.

Republican lawmakers have been speaking out against President Barack Obama’s immigration plans since they were announced over a month ago, but so far have taken no meaningful action against the policy changes. Instead, it was Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio who has attempted to strike the first blow against the immigration executive actions. Now his lawsuit against the immigration orders has seen its first day in court.

Immigrant detention centers have faced harsh criticism from immigrant advocates, and human rights groups for their harsh conditions. As one temporary facility in New Mexico is shuttered early, a new center opens in Texas. The Texas detention facility will be for immigrant families, and will be the largest of its kind in the country. However, the harsh conditions at the facility and past claims of abuse continue to follow the private prison operator who will take over the new detention center.