Fraud in Obtaining US Visas

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos apply for a U.S. visa, whether it be for tourist purposes or to become an immigrant to live out the American dream. However, some have found the process to be too long or the risk of denial to be too great. To ensure approvals, they look to other avenues for help in getting their U.S. visas approved so they can enter the United States. 

Some make use of visa agents who assure the approval of U.S. visas. Some visa agents provide their clients with documents such as fake passports or identities with an approved U.S. visa. They assure their clients that it is okay to travel under the fake documents. Other visa agents provide fake documents such as bank books, bank certifications, deeds of sale of real property, tax documents and business registration certificates to prove financial capacity to travel to the United States and to establish legitimate ties to their country of origin. Those seeking U.S. visas pay fees ranging from exorbitant, non-refundable fees for orientation, coaching and the fake documents. If they are successful in their visa applications, the applicants are required to pay their visa agents a “success fee,” which is just as exorbitant, if not more. 

In scenarios like these, it is not just the visa agencies that may be criminally charged. The applicants will also face consequences such as deportation for their use of fake documents.

On the other hand, some make use of recruiters who take advantage of the applicant’s economic needs. As it could take years for visas to be approved, it is hard to predict what needs will have to be met by the workers. Recruiters have the advantage of being able to move people around according to the demand. However, applicants don’t realize the underlying risks of signing with a recruiter. There are some instances where the applicant signs contracts wherein their recruiters take a percent of their salary or they are paid less than the minimum wage. The recruiters hold them hostage to their contracts through the constant threat of deportation. The workers become especially vulnerable due to their lack of knowledge and understanding of what it takes to get a new contract to maintain their visa. 

Applicants from the Philippines should be wary of visa agencies and recruiters that are using illegal means to obtain a visa to the United States. They should be more circumspect in choosing immigration consultants lest they fall victim to unscrupulous groups. In doing so, applicants should be informed that only licensed attorneys can legally offer immigration assistance. 

Ryan Barshop

http://bridgewayimmigration.com/blog

Article Disclaimer: This article is made available by the lawyer publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. Use of this article does not create an Attorney Client Relationship. This article does not offer or dispense legal advice. By using the article, the reader agrees that the information does not constitute legal or other professional advice and no attorney-client or other relationship is created. The article is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. The information on the article may be changed without notice and is not guaranteed to be complete, correct or up-to-date. The opinions expressed at or through the article are the opinions of the individual author. The article should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your jurisdiction.

Changes in Immigration Policy

A series of small moves concerning the immigration policy of the US have been undertaken in the past week by the Trump administration. 

CNN reports the following actions made by the administration:

• Attorney General Jeff Sessions has issued a Decision directing the Board of Immigration Appeals to refer cases for his review when said cases have issues relating to when there is “good cause” to grant a continuance for a collateral matter to be adjudicated. Under this Decision, the Board’s decisions on the matter are automatically stayed pending the Attorney General’s review. 


• On 27 March 2018, President Donald Trump issued a Memorandum finding that the conditions in Liberia no longer warrant the extension of the Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED).  Due to the conflicts in Liberia, the DED was first authorized by President Clinton in 1999 to allow certain Liberian nationals and persons without nationality who last habitually resided in Liberia to remain in the U.S when they would otherwise have been deported. The DED for Liberians were repeatedly extended by President Bush and President Obama. 


• The Commerce Department announced that it will include a question on citizenship in the 2020 Census.


• The Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a new directive wherein immigration officers will no longer default to trying to release pregnant women in immigration custody but will instead require a case-by-case evaluation.


• The State Department proposed that applicants for visas and alien registration be required to submit five years of identifiers for certain social media platforms, previously used telephone numbers, email addresses, and international travel.


• The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the White House is reviewing a proposal requiring immigration caseworkers to consider a wider range of factors to determine whether an applicant is likely to become dependent on public assistance. The proposal seeks to define the term “public charge” as used in the Immigration and Nationality Act and to define the types of public benefits that are considered in the determinations. U.S. Law authorizes the rejection of immigrants if they are likely to become a “public charge.”


• The Department of Justice and the City of West Spring Palm Beach announced that it has reached an agreement regarding West Palm Beach’s Resolution Number 112-17. The City agreed to issue a memorandum stating its position that its local laws do not restrict information sharing with the DHS.

Immigration lawyers say that the greater scrutiny of visa applications have slowed down the process and have set the bar higher for longstanding categories of visas.

Ryan Barshop

http://bridgewayimmigration.com/blog

Article Disclaimer: This article is made available by the lawyer publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. Use of this article does not create an Attorney Client Relationship. This article does not offer or dispense legal advice. By using the article, the reader agrees that the information does not constitute legal or other professional advice and no attorney-client or other relationship is created. The article is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. The information on the article may be changed without notice and is not guaranteed to be complete, correct or up-to-date. The opinions expressed at or through the article are the opinions of the individual author. The article should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your jurisdiction.

Trump’s immigration proposal could dash Filipinos’ “American Dream”

Filipino anti-U.S. activists sent a clear message ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s arrival in the Philippines: No, he isn’t welcome. But while many other Filipinos may share their contempt for Trump, they don’t share the anti-U.S. sentiment.

“Everyone’s dream — naman — is to go to the U.S.A.,” said U.S. immigrant-hopeful Jonalyn Caliwag.

It’s a dream that Caliwag’s mother and siblings, as well as close to 4 million other Filipinos, are living now. Filipinos make up the second largest Asian ethnic minority in America.

For those wanting to move to the United States, there is no more important building than the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

Caliwag was already approved as a minor petitioned by a parent living in the U.S. But then she turned 21, at which point she had to be moved to another visa category. Now she fears she may never set foot in the United States.

“From what I’ve seen in the news, Trump does not want more foreigners to be living in the U.S. So I’m worried my mother’s petition for me might never materialize or that I might have to wait a lot longer,” she said.

Earlier this month, Trump told Fox News he plans to also put a stop to chain migration, a policy that has allowed legal immigrants to apply for relatives to come to the U.S., as part of a plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA program.

But Ryan Barshop, a U.S. immigration attorney based in Manila, says it’s not likely to be a doomsday scenario for petitioned relatives.

“If they did end it and it was passed by Congress, you would have a grace period,” he explained.

“Okay, we’re gonna allow 18 months, let’s just say 18 months to two years, we’re gonna push through all the backlog in that 18 months to two years, get everybody in, and you’re also gonna have 18 months to two years to file.”

But Barshop conceded that doesn’t mean people won’t be hurt.

“Now, if it does change the system, will there be innocent parties? Absolutely, there’s no question about it, people are going to be hurt. In that situation, there are no winners,” he said.

Caliwag has waited close to 20 years to be reunited with her mother. She says she wouldn’t mind waiting another ten, as long as her family can be together again.

(Source: https://america.cgtn.com/2017/11/11/trumps-immigration-proposal-could-dash-filipinos-american-dream)
http://bridgewayimmigration.com

Article Disclaimer: This article is made available by the lawyer publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. Use of this article does not create an Attorney Client Relationship. This article does not offer or dispense legal advice. By using the article, the reader agrees that the information does not constitute legal or other professional advice and no attorney-client or other relationship is created. The article is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. The information on the article may be changed without notice and is not guaranteed to be complete, correct or up-to-date. The opinions expressed at or through the article are the opinions of the individual author. The article should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your jurisdiction.

Adam Walsh Act!

What it might mean to you and immigration.

Walsh is known for his anti-crime activism and his extreme hatred of criminals, with which he became involved following the murder of his son, Adam, in 1981.

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (AWA) is a federal statute that was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on July 27, 2006 on the 25th anniversary of the abduction of Adam Walsh from a shopping mall in Broward County, Florida. Walsh, a six year old child at the time of the abduction was found decapitated 16 days after his abduction in 1981; his body was never found.

AWA Litigation in US Federal Court Is Evolving

Generally, a US citizen or permanent resident green card holder must file a petition to immigrate foreign family members to the United States. Such family members include spouses and children. However, the AWA prevents a family member from immigrating if that U.S. citizen or permanent resident petitioner has been convicted of a specified sexual offense against any minor child under 18. The AWA limitation also applies to fiancee petitions by US citizens.

Under the AWA, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must first determine that the US citizen or green card holder poses no risk of harm to the foreign family member before the petition to immigrate may proceed. Foreign family members cannot immigrate to the U.S. based on the family relationship if an application for a "no risk" determination pursuant to AWA is denied. Since 2011, the USCIS has denied the vast majority of applications to waive the AWA bar. Many petitioners who fall under AWA provisions are stuck.

According to the USCIS, a successful AWA waiver application requires that the U.S. citizen or resident petitioner show beyond a reasonable doubt he poses no risk of harm to the foreign family member. Often, a US citizen believes he has enough evidence to satisfy the USCIS because it seems obvious he is not a threat to his family member. However, USCIS has set the bar very high to the point that nearly all cases are denied. In its current state, the process seems unfair and unbalanced.

When USCIS receives an AWA Case, it will consider the following questions:

• Whether the classification of a particular conviction as a “specified offense against a minor” was to be done using a “categorical” analysis, in which only the elements of the state crime were analyzed, rather than the actual conduct of the United States citizen petitioner;
• Whether USCIS was correct in interpreting the “no risk” element of the AWA to mean that petitioners must provide evidence showing “beyond a reasonable doubt” (which is the standard used in criminal proceedings) that they weren’t a threat to their own relatives, or whether the ordinary “preponderance of the evidence” standard should be used;
• Whether it was the government’s job to prove the existence of a disqualifying petition, or if that job fell to the petitioner;
• Whether a petitioner could appeal certain legal aspects of a “no-risk” determination, or whether the BIA lacked jurisdiction even over these non-discretionary issues; and
• Whether the AWA would apply to an individual whose disqualifying offense happened before the new law took effect.

Obviously, you should seek advice from an Immigration Attorney as soon as you can before you begin the process. Urinating in public when you were 19 years old at a Rock Concert might be enough to cause you problems today from the AWA when petitioning for your spouse in the Philippines to join you in the USA.

Ryan Barshop

http://bridgewayimmigration.com/blog

Article Disclaimer: This article is made available by the lawyer publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. Use of this article does not create an Attorney Client Relationship. This article does not offer or dispense legal advice. By using the article, the reader agrees that the information does not constitute legal or other professional advice and no attorney-client or other relationship is created. The article is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. The information on the article may be changed without notice and is not guaranteed to be complete, correct or up-to-date. The opinions expressed at or through the article are the opinions of the individual author. The article should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your jurisdiction.

US IRS Debt: Can you travel?

INTRODUCTION
If you are a U.S. Citizen in the Philippines and owe back taxes, you may have heard that your passport may be revoked. That is true, so if you are in this situation this article will be of interest to you.

The Law
Tax code Section 7345 is labeled, “Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Tax Delinquencies.” The law isn’t limited to criminal tax cases, or even cases where the IRS thinks you are trying to flee. The idea of the law is to use travel as a way to enforce tax collections. It was proposed and rejected in 2012. But by late 2015, Congress passed it and President Obama signed it.

The IRS web Site says this...

IRS Site
Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Unpaid Taxes
The IRS has not yet started certifying tax debt to the State Department. Certifications to the State Department will begin in 2017, and this message will be updated to indicate when the process has been implemented. The content presented here is for informational purposes only.
(as of today June 10, 2017, it has not changed)

If you have seriously delinquent tax debt, IRC § 7345 authorizes the IRS to certify that debt to the State Department for action. The State Department generally will not issue a passport to you after receiving certification from the IRS.

See https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/revocation-or-denial-of-passport-in-case-of-certain-unpaid-taxes for more details and links.

Upon receiving certification, the State Department shall deny your passport application and/or may revoke your current passport. If your passport application is denied or your passport revoked and you are overseas, the State Department may issue you a limited validity passport good only for direct return to the United States.

Certification Of Individuals With Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt

Seriously delinquent tax debt is an individual's unpaid, legally enforceable federal tax debt totaling more than $50,000* (including interest and penalties) for which a:

• Notice of federal tax lien has been filed and all administrative remedies under IRC § 6320 have lapsed or been exhausted or
• Levy has been issued

Some tax debt is not included in determining seriously delinquent tax debt even if it meets the above criteria. It includes tax debt:

• Being paid in a timely manner under an offer in compromise accepted by the IRS or a settlement agreement entered into with the Justice Department
• For which a collection due process hearing is timely requested in connection with a levy to collect the debt
• For which collection has been suspended because a request for innocent spouse relief under IRC § 6015 has been made

So what can you do?

1. Seriously - Don’t be 'seriously delinquent.' A seriously delinquent tax debt is a key term. If you don’t have one, your passport is safe. So if you owe the IRS back taxes, keep your debt below $50,000. This however includes penalties and interest, so beware. A $20,000 tax debt could eventually grow to $50,000. And be careful, once your tax debt is labeled 'seriously delinquent,' you paying it down to $49,999 may not help. The IRS will not reverse a certification because the taxpayer pays the debt below $50,000.
2. Keep it going - Keep your dispute with IRS going. You can usually contest tax bills if you do so promptly. The IRS usually sends multiple notices for any tax debt, and you should respond. Explain why the IRS is incorrect, and keep protesting. If you receive an IRS Notice of Proposed Deficiency or Examination Report, respond. It is sometimes called a "30-day letter," because of the deadline for response. Prepare a protest, and sign and mail it before the deadline. Keep a copy, and proof of mailing, preferably certified mail. Normally a protest will land you in the IRS Appeals Office, where you have another chance to resolve it.
3. Go To Court - Go to Tax Court. If you fail to protest or you don’t resolve your case at IRS Appeals, you probably will receive a Notice of Deficiency. An IRS Notice of Deficiency comes via certified mail. It is often called a "90-day letter," because you have 90 days to respond. Only one response to a Notice of Deficiency is permitted: filing a Tax Court petition in the U.S. Tax Court clerk’s office in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Tax Court cannot hear your case if you miss the 90-day deadline. You want to keep your tax dispute going so the tax debt does not become final.
4. Extend - Get extensions. You can sometimes get extensions from the IRS, so keep communicating. For many notices, the IRS will grant an extension of time to respond. In some cases, though, they can’t. For example, when you receive a Notice of Deficiency (90-day letter), you must file in Tax Court within 90 days, and this date cannot be extended. Most other notices are less strict. If you do ask for an extension, confirm it in writing. In fact, confirm everything you do with the IRS in writing.
5. Communicate - Communicate with IRS. If you get a certification that your debt is 'seriously delinquent' contact the phone number listed on the IRS Notice. If you’ve already paid the tax debt, send proof to the address on the Notice.
6. Need Proof - Prove you need your passport. If you need your U.S. passport to keep your job, once your seriously delinquent tax debt is certified, you must fully pay the balance, or make an alternative payment arrangement to keep your passport. Once you’ve resolved your tax problem with the IRS, the IRS will reverse the certification within 30 days of resolving the issue.
7. Agree - Make an installment agreement. It is often not too hard to get an installment agreement with the IRS to pay your tax debt over time. If you sign one, stick to its terms. Even if your debt is huge, the IRS doesn’t call it 'seriously delinquent' if you are paying the installments on time.
8. Settle - Offer in compromise or settlement. You can also try this route too to settle with the IRS. If the IRS accepts an offer in compromise to satisfy the debt, the rest of it can be forgiven. See IRS Offer in Compromise and IRS Payment Plans, Installment Agreements. In some cases, the Justice Department too can enter into a settlement agreement to satisfy a tax debt.
9. Innocent - Innocent spouse relief. If the tax debt was your spouse’s, and you are saddled with it because of joint tax returns, you might qualify for innocent spouse treatment. This is a separate big topic, and rules are more complex than you might think. See IRS Tax Topic 205, Innocent Spouse Relief. However, it's significant that the IRS can suspend collection efforts if you request innocent spouse relief (under IRC Section 6015)
10. Due Process - Due process. There are many taxpayer protections when it comes to IRS collections. One set of protections is collection due process hearings. If you make a timely request for a collection due process hearing in connection with a levy to collect the debt, you may at least buy time to work out a deal with the IRS. See Taxpayer Advocate 2016 Annual Report to Congress, Appeals From Collection Due Process Hearings Under IRC §§ 6320 and 6330.

Finally
Before denying a passport, the State Department will hold your application for 90 days to allow you to:

• Resolve any erroneous certification issues
• Make full payment of the tax debt
• Enter into a satisfactory payment alternative with the IRS

By all means, contact an attorney to help you before you find yourself stranded.

Ryan Barshop

http://bridgewayimmigration.com/blog

Article Disclaimer: This article is made available by the lawyer publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. Use of this article does not create an Attorney Client Relationship. This article does not offer or dispense legal advice. By using the article, the reader agrees that the information does not constitute legal or other professional advice and no attorney-client or other relationship is created. The article is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. The information on the article may be changed without notice and is not guaranteed to be complete, correct or up-to-date. The opinions expressed at or through the article are the opinions of the individual author. The article should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your jurisdiction.

Getting Married to an American citizen on a Tourist Visa: Know the risks

If you are applying for a US tourist visa for purposes of marriage to an American citizen in the United States during your brief stay in the country and hope fast track your legal status from tourist/ visitor to immigrant, then you must think twice before doing it.

While love does move “in mysterious ways”, proving the validity of a whirlwind marriage to the probing eyes of United States Department of State can be extremely difficult and may hold unfavorable and devastating consequences to you and your fiancé/ fiancée.

Similarly, if your intention to obtain a tourist/ visitor visa is to marry an American citizen in the United States with the promise of coming back after your limited stay expires, that may still not guarantee you an approval from the US Embassy.

What are the risks?

Although you may reason that true love is the ultimate cause of your whirlwind marriage to your American citizen fiancé/fiancée, the Embassy is not easily get convinced that you are telling the truth. Due to the number of cases of visa fraud involving non-immigrants using their US tourist visas to hasten the process of applying for permanent residence by marriage to their American citizen lovers during their brief stay in the United States as tourists, your case, more than likely, will be an item for investigation.

Once the Embassy conducts a field investigation and you fail to prove that your intention to get married is not to hasten the process of obtaining immigrant status by immediately applying for permanent residence after the marriage, allowing you to have a reason to extend your stay in the United States, then you may face fraud charges and possibly be banned from entering the United States. Your US citizen fiance at the same time may be subjected to criminal prosecution if it is proven that he/ she took part in assisting with fraud.

What is the better option?

Because nothing is impossible, coming to the United States on a tourist visa and meeting someone who is an American citizen and marrying that someone during the tourist visa holder’s brief stay can happen. It can even be a viable reason for the tourist to adjust their status from a visitor to permanent residency after the marriage but the potential risks of proving that the couple’s intentions are pure and not fraudulent can still be a looming possibility.

There are many other ways to get married and obtain immigrant status in the United States but they have certain requirements that involve a lengthier process. Sometimes, for various reasons ranging from poor health to financial constraints, applicants trying to get to the United States on a permanent basis through marriage find ways to shorten the process by resorting to illegal and fraudulent means such as using a tourist visa instead of properly applying for a K1 or Fiancé/ Fiancée Visa.

What’s the difference between a tourist/ visitor visa and a K1 visa?

There are two kinds of visitor visas, a "nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence".

A tourist/ visitor visa is obtained by people who want to stay in the United States on a temporary basis.

Technically, a tourist visa falls under three categories.

The B-1 tourist visa is obtained for business purposes. The B-2 tourist visa is obtained for pleasure such as tourism, vacations or for visiting purposes. The B-1/B-2 tourist visa is a combination of both.

According to the US Department of State, obtaining permanent residence is not allowed on visitor visas.

To find out what are permitted and not permitted on visitor visas, here.

On the other hand, K-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows the applicant to get married with his or her American citizen fiancé/ fiancée for a limited time in the United States. This type of visa allows the applicant to obtain permanent residence after the marriage ceremony has taken place and the proper application for permanent residence had been filed.

To get more information about K-1 visa, you may visit the USCIS website or click here.

I want to know more about my options, who can I contact?

Consulting a licensed immigration attorney is the best option if you want to know more about getting married in the United States with your American citizen fiancé/ fiancée without fear of facing potential legal risks and consequences.

Ryan Barshop
http://bridgewayimmigration.com/blog

Article Disclaimer: This article is made available by the lawyer publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. Use of this article does not create an Attorney Client Relationship. This article does not offer or dispense legal advice. By using the article, the reader agrees that the information does not constitute legal or other professional advice and no attorney-client or other relationship is created. The article is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. The information on the article may be changed without notice and is not guaranteed to be complete, correct or up-to-date. The opinions expressed at or through the article are the opinions of the individual author. The article should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your jurisdiction.

Expert: No reason to fear US travel amid Trump win

MANILA - Filipinos planning to travel or immigrate to the United States have nothing to worry about despite US President-elect Donald Trump’s promises to deport illegal immigrants, a lawyer said on Monday.

American immigration lawyer Ryan Barshop said Filipinos planning to travel, invest, and immigrate in the United States should not worry at this point since policies in the United States have not changed yet. 

“I see no problems with Filipinos applying for a US visa,” Barshop said in an interview on “Mornings @ ANC.”

US Embassy spokesperson Molly Koscina on Monday clarified that there has been no changes so far in the US visa policy and in the alliance between the two countries.

Barshop added that Filipinos who are worrying about immigration in the US should “wait and see” since there is nothing that can be done at present.

“Don’t act irrationally, wait and see what happens. Right now there is nothing we can do right now,” Barshop said.

Trump, during his campaign, promised to “put America first” which includes establishing new immigration controls and a crackdown on undocumented foreigners and stricter rules on issuance of visas.

The real estate mogul turned Republican nominee, has been criticized by Filipino and Filipino-Americans earlier this year after he tagged the Philippines as a terrorist country whose citizens should be barred from immigrating to the the US.

Barshop said legal immigrants have nothing to worry about at this point since Trump’s words on immigration are mostly campaign rhetoric and that the Republican nominee is “simply anti-illegal immigration.”

He also clarified that illegal immigrants in the US will not just be easily deported and will still be accorded due process which includes the right to be heard from an immigration lawyer, right to present evidence, and the right to present an argument on why you should not be deported.

(Source: http://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/11/14/16/expert-no-reason-to-fear-us-travel-amid-trump-win)
http://bridgewayimmigration.com

Article Disclaimer: This article is made available by the lawyer publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. Use of this article does not create an Attorney Client Relationship. This article does not offer or dispense legal advice. By using the article, the reader agrees that the information does not constitute legal or other professional advice and no attorney-client or other relationship is created. The article is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. The information on the article may be changed without notice and is not guaranteed to be complete, correct or up-to-date. The opinions expressed at or through the article are the opinions of the individual author. The article should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your jurisdiction.