Immigration system – Sound Immigration

USCIS to roll back self-scheduled “InfoPass” appointments

USCIS Announced today that it will end the availability of self scheduled appointments at its field offices. The InfoPass System currently being used for people to sell schedule an appointment in order to check on case status, ask questions about…

USCIS updates policy on medical exams (Form I-639)

October 18, 2018
Greg McLawsen
Immigration system, Marriage-Based Immigration, Updates
3 Comments

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday that it is changing its rules on the validity period for medical exams. The new guidelines take effect almost immediately on November 1, 2018. The announcement changes how long a medical exam - completed…

Will the immigration officer know what I said to CBP – or – the case of the sandwich smuggler

I have a confession. Long before I was an immigration lawyer, before I was a judicial law clerk, before I had a law license... I was a smuggler. A smuggler of the worst type - a sandwich smuggler. But, before…

Changes to USCIS “public charge” determinations and use of the Form I-864

August 21, 2018
Greg McLawsen
Form I-864, Immigration system, Marriage-Based Immigration
32 Comments

*This article is now outdated* After this article was published, USCIS formally announced new rules for public charge determinations. Find an updated article about those changes here. USCIS is considering major changes to how it makes "public charge" determinations.…

What is the new 30/60/90 day rule? Now it’s just the 90-day rule.

October 2, 2017
Sound Immigration
Immigration system, Marriage-Based Immigration, Updates
67 Comments

Last month the State Department announced that it has eliminated the so-called 30/60/90 day rule. This was an extremely important rule both for visa applicants and those applying for adjustment of status. In this post we'll remind you what the…

Why our immigration system is like a TSA line

There you are again – the interminable TSA line at the airport. All that stands between you and a Hawaiian vacation is this snaking queue of grouchy travelers. You notice that it’s all families in this line. Obnoxious, smooching newly-weds.…

Want to end notario fraud? Take the law into your own hands

July 28, 2017
Sound Immigration
For lawyers, Immigration & other legal topics, Immigration scholarship, Immigration system, Updates
0 Comments

The following article, co-authorized with attorney Deborah Niedermeyer, is forthcoming by American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and Bender's Immigration Bulletin. Download the article free of charge here: Want To End Notario Fraud - Take the Law Into Your Own Hands. On…

Advising LPRs on foreign travel

April 18, 2017
Sound Immigration
Citizenship, For lawyers, Immigration scholarship, Immigration system, Marriage-Based Immigration, Updates
0 Comments

Whew – your client has finally made it through the lengthy immigrant visa process. Or she’s nailed the adjustment interview and at long last has her green card in hand. What’s the first thing the client wants to do? Often,…

Green card

April 8, 2017
Sound Immigration
Immigration system, Marriage-Based Immigration, Updates
4 Comments

Green card. It's a term that is used often. But people don't use the term very carefully. What does "green card" actually mean under the United State's Immigration and Nationality Act? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. "Green card" simply has no legal…

Understanding “administrative processing”

March 29, 2017
Jay Gairson
Consular processing, Immigration scholarship, Immigration system

The following materials are provided from a webinar hosted March 29, 2017 featuring guest speaker, Jay Gairson. Jay is an immigration and national security attorney in Seattle, Washington. His clients are primarily from the Middle East, East Africa, and South…

What goes into an I-864 Affidavit of Support lawsuit complaint?
I’ve been representing clients in lawsuits to enforce the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support for about a decade at this point. Over that time, I’ve made a lot of changes to the template that we use for federal lawsuit complaints. (A complaint is the initial case document that sets forth the plaintiff’s legal claim…
What is a joint sponsor’s liability under the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support?
A joint sponsor (also called co-sponsor) has the same liability under an Affidavit of Support as the primary sponsor. By signing the USCIS Form I-864, the joint sponsor agrees to “joint and several” liability on the contract. The sponsored immigrant can sue the joint sponsor for financial support in state or federal court. A joint…
Can you enforce the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support in a divorce case?
Yes – in most states the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support can be enforced in a divorce case. A family law court has the authority to enforce the I-864 either (1) as a breach of contract claim or (2) through spousal maintenance (also called alimony). But as discussed below, divorce court is not necessarily…
USCIS Form I-864 enforcement in divorce court – another cautionary tale (Marriage of Bychina)
It is a theme that I have written about many times on this blog and elsewhere. Yes, the Affidavit of Support can theoretically be enforced in family law proceedings. But in practice, beneficiaries frequently encounter problems in that forum. Here is another example. Marriage of Bychina was a family law case in Illinois. See No.…
How do you calculate damages under the I-864, Affidavit of Support
In an important ruling for one of our I-864 enforcement clients, a Court ruled today that damages under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support are determined based on taxable income. In Flores v. Flores, the Western District of Washington ruled that the term “income” is governed by the definition contained at 8 C.F.R. §…
How do you settle a claim under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support?
As I explain elsewhere on this blog, almost all claims under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support result in settlement. To get an idea of how long that process takes, read this post. Having settled many of these claims, here is an overview of how we generally approach settlement. What goes into an Affidavit…
Can you enforce the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support with a preliminary injunction?
Non-citizens needing to enforce the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support are usually in serious need of help. To have a claim under the Affidavit, their income needs to be below 125 percent of the poverty line. That’s about $1,400 per month for a household of one. But a lawsuit can take months or even…
What affirmative defenses are available to Form I-864 sponsors? None.
The Eleventh Circuit has held that the common law defenses of unclean hands, anticipatory breach, and equitable estoppel are unavailable to a sponsor who has signed a USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. Blevich v. Thomas, 17 F.4th 1048 (11th Cir. 2021). Belevich joins a growing line of cases that stand for the proposition that…
The federal right to immigration “alimony” under the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support
A version of this article first appeared in the Side Bar journal for the Litigation Section of the Federal Bar Association (Spring 2021). If you are like most federal litigators – this author included – you would never enter divorce court unless your name was on the case caption. The vitriol, the sabotage, the meanness.…
How long does the I-864 support last?
A sponsor's obligation under the Form I-864 lasts indefinitely. It terminates only upon one of five Terminating Events, including when the green card holder has 40 quarters of work or becomes a U.S. citizen. It *does not* terminate automatically after ten years, even though lawyers mistakenly