About dangers of a "free legal consultation": article in Russian from my Moscow colleagues.

Article from my Moscow colleague in Russian below: how to avoid making mistakes when choosing and retaining an attorney, lawyer, immigration attorney; or when deciding whether to file anything, and what steps should be taken to protect and secure your legal rights. 

Why an offer of a "free first consultation" or "free chat with our representative through our website" is usually an indication of a scam and an unqualified lawyer (or even a non-lawyer who pretends to be an attorney) who is ready to "promise" and "guarantee" success to anyone as long as the client is paying, no matter the consequences to a client.

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Как известно, нередко недобросовестные юристы и юрфирмы клиентов привлекают через интернет, где обещают провести бесплатную консультацию (заманивают бесплатными консультациями). 

Например, человек заходит на юридические сайты, где пытается найти ответы на свои вопросы бесплатно. Всплывает окошко чата, где виртуальный оператор предлагает его проконсультировать. Человек излагает проблему. Но будьте уверены, что исчерпывающе и пошагово никто его консультировать не собирается. Его попросят оставить номер телефона. Когда ему перезвонят, то вся суть разговора сведется к тому, что ему пообещают, что *обязательно помогут* и *гарантирую успех* за определенную сумму денег.

Не секрет, что многие предпочитают слышать то, что лишь хотят услышать. Так происходит и при обращении к юристам. Некоторые люди, как им кажется, "знают все сами", а иногда и больше специалистов. Так вот, если некоторым людям добросовестный юрист говорит, что шансов мало или их нет вовсе, они уверенно отправляются к тем юристам, из уст которых они услышат слова поддержки и гарантию успеха.

Следует помнить: 1) бесплатный сыр бывает только в мышеловке, 2) добросовестный адвокат не имеет право гарантировать успех, 3) хороший адвокат не предоставляет бесплатных консультаций, так как зачем ему/ей это нужно, и на это просто нет времени, к тому же хороший адвокат понимает, что самое главное, это предварительно изучить дело клиента и дать ему правильный совет, а только затем переходить к действиям и заключать договор.

Очень полезная статья по-русски от моих московских коллег тут.
Here is this article on my website.
To schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney, please email us first in English or Russian.

LIST OF USEFUL LINKS: USCIS, Processing Times, Visa Bulletin, Priority Dates, Case Status, Case Inquiry.

USCIS or DHS where you can find USCIS contact number, webforms and download all applications and forms for free is here.

USCIS Case Status: you can check status of your pending case online here.

USCIS Processing Times: you can see how fast cases are being adjudicated or decided by different USCIS / DHS offices around the United States here.

USCIS Change of Address Form Online: you can submit your change of address form online here.

USCIS Case Inquiry Webforms: you can submit your questions or case inquiry directly to USCIS by using one of the webforms here.

US Department of State Monthly Visa Bulletin: you can find monthly visa bulletin and check how fast your priority date is progressing here.

You can find out current Visa Fees for various visas to USA here.

To schedule a consultation with an experienced immigration attorney who speaks English and Russian, please email to schedule.

USCIS Announces Revised Procedures for Determining Visa Availability for Applicants Filing for Adjustment of Status, I-485. Two Charts in Monthly DOS Visa Bulletin.

On September 09 2015, USCIS Announces Revised Procedures for Determining Visa Availability for Applicants Waiting to File for Adjustment of Status.

USCIS, in coordination with Department of State (DOS), is revising the procedures for determining visa availability for applicants waiting to file for employment-based or family-sponsored preference adjustment of status. The revised process will better connect USCIS procedures with the US Department of State (DOS) procedures, which are used for foreign nationals who seek to become U.S. permanent residents by applying for immigrant visas at U.S. consulates and embassies abroad.

The Visa Bulletin revisions implement November 2014 executive actions on immigration announced by President Obama and Secretary of Homeland Security Johnson, as detailed in the White House report, Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21st century, issued in July 2015. 

What is Changing.

Two charts per visa preference category will be posted in the DOS Visa Bulletin:

• Application Final Action Dates (dates when visas may finally be issued); and
• Dates for Filing Applications (earliest dates when applicants may be able to apply).

Each month, in coordination with DOS, USCIS will monitor visa numbers and post the relevant DOS Visa Bulletin chart. Applicants can use the charts to determine when to file their Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

To determine whether additional visas are available, USCIS will compare the number of visas available for the remainder of the fiscal year with:

• Documentarily qualified visa applicants reported by DOS;
• Pending adjustment of status applications reported by USCIS; and
• Historical drop off rate (for example, denials, withdrawals, abandonments).

DOS publishes current immigrant visa availability information in a monthly Visa Bulletin. 

See here. 

New L-1B Specialized Knowledge Intracompany Transferee Memo - August 17, 2015.

A new USCIS August 17 2015 L-1B policy memorandum issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), provides guidance on the adjudication of the L-1B classification, which permits multinational companies to transfer employees who possess "specialized knowledge" from their foreign operations to their operations in the United States. It provides consolidated and authoritative guidance on the L-1B program, superseding and rescinding certain prior L-1B memoranda. Some practitioners expressed concerns that the memo still gives adjudicators broad discretion to issue requests for evidence (RFEs) and denials.

The memo notes the following "non-exhaustive" list of factors USCIS may consider when determining whether a beneficiary’s knowledge is specialized:

• The beneficiary possesses knowledge of foreign operating conditions that is of significant value to the petitioning organization's U.S. operations.
• The beneficiary has been employed abroad in a capacity involving assignments that have significantly enhanced the employer's productivity, competitiveness, image, or financial position.
• The beneficiary's claimed specialized knowledge normally can be gained only through prior experience with the petitioning organization.
• The beneficiary possesses knowledge of a product or process that cannot be easily transferred or taught to another individual without significant economic cost or inconvenience (because, for example, such knowledge may require substantial training, work experience, or education).
• The beneficiary has knowledge of a process or a product that either is sophisticated or complex, or of a highly technical nature, although not necessarily unique to the petitioning organization.
• The beneficiary possesses knowledge that is particularly beneficial to the petitioning organization's competitiveness in the marketplace.

>>Specialized knowledge generally cannot be commonly held, lacking in complexity, or easily imparted to other individuals. 

>>Specialized knowledge need not be proprietary or unique to the petitioning organization. 

>>The L-1B classification does not involve a test of the U.S. labor market.

>>Specialized knowledge workers need not occupy managerial or similar positions or command higher compensation than their peers.

See August 17, 2015 memo at http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2015/L-1B_Memorandum_8_14_15_draft_for_FINAL_4pmAPPROVED.pdf

What to do and how to return to USCIS your erroneously issued 3-year DACA EAD or work permit. USCIS promises to use even home visits.

Practice Alert: USCIS Taking Extreme Measures to Retrieve Erroneously Issued 3-Year DACA EAD

AILA Doc No. 15070802 | Dated July 14, 2015

As a result of the judge's July 7, 2015 order threatening contempt citations in the ongoing litigation in Texas v. United States, USCIS advised stakeholders in a telephone call on the evening of July 13, 2015, that it is implementing additional, and in some cases extreme, steps to retrieve approximately 2,500 3-year EAD cards and DACA approvals that were erroneously issued after the court's February 16, 2015 injunction temporarily halting implementation of expanded DACA.

Following is a summary of the steps to date, and the steps now being implemented

Group 1: 2,000 3-year EADs that were erroneously mailed after the injunction:

·        First Letter: In May 2015, USCIS began sending letters to these 3-year EAD recipients. This first letter instructed the recipient to return the 3-year EAD and made it clear that only 3-year EADs issued after February 16, 2015, need to be returned to USCIS. Recipients were provided a postage paid envelope and were instructed to return the 3-year EAD and all approval notices to a designated USCIS service center address. No deadline was provided. USCIS received approximately 1,100 EADs from this first letter.

·        Second Letter: During the week of July 6, 2015, USCIS sent a second letter to those who had not yet returned the EAD. This letter was similar to the first letter, but stated "USCIS must receive your EAD by 7/17/15. Failure to return the invalid EAD without good cause may affect your deferred action and employment authorization." Recipients were again provided a postage-paid envelope and were instructed to return the 3-year EAD and all approval notices to a designated USCIS service center address.

·        Phone Calls: Also during the week of July 6, USCIS customer service representatives began calling affected individuals and/or their representatives providing instructions for returning erroneously issued EADs.

·        Third Letter (New): On July 13, 2015, USCIS sent a third letter to the remaining individuals for whom an erroneously issued 3-year EAD has not yet been received. These individuals are directed to appear at a USCIS field office to return their 3-year EAD, or certify that it has been returned or that it has been lost by July 27, 2015. This notice indicates that the DACA grant will be terminated, and the EAD declared invalid, effective July 31, 2015, if the recipient does not comply. Even if the individual mails the card or certification back, USCIS indicated that it will still require appearance at the field office.

·        Home Visits: USCIS also described a plan to have plain-clothed USCIS officers begin visiting individual homes to retrieve erroneously issued 3-year EADs. Initially, home visits are planned to be concentrated in Chicago, and Los Angeles, and possibly Dallas and Houston, and will focus on individuals for whom USCIS does not have a working phone number. Other areas that will be focused on include: areas where a zip code analysis shows a large concentration of recipients, and areas which are not in close proximity to a USCIS field office.

Group 2: 500 3-Year EADs that were approved and mailed prior to the injunction, returned to USCIS as undeliverable, and subsequently re-mailed after the injunction:

More recently, USCIS discovered that approximately 500 3-year EADs were approved and mailed prior to the injunction, returned to USCIS as undeliverable, and subsequently re-mailed in error after the injunction. These EADs will also be retrieved by USCIS but due to the fact that they were only recently discovered, they will be dealt with on a compressed timeline:

·        First (and Only) Letter: On July 14, 2015, this group of 3-year EAD recipients will be sent a letter asking them to return their 3-year EAD, or certify that it has been returned or lost, by July 27, 2015. This letter includes language that if they fail to comply with the letter, their deferred action and employment authorizations will be terminated "at some future date."

·        Phone Calls: Toward the end of the week of July 13, 2015, USCIS customer service representatives will call affected individuals and/or their representatives and provide instructions for returning erroneously issued EADs.

·        Home Visits: Starting the week of July 20, 2015, plain-clothed USCIS officers will begin visiting individual homes to retrieve erroneously-issued 3-year EADs.

Miscellaneous Notes:

·        As soon as an erroneously-issued three-year EAD card is received, USCIS states that the recipient's name will be removed from the home visit list.

·        Recipients who have returned their three-year EADs by mail but who still receive the letter requiring them to report to a USCIS field office must still go to the field office to certify that the three-year EAD has been returned.

·        There is no need to make an InfoPass appointment to return a 3-year EAD card at a field office. Recipients may appear at any USCIS field office during the hours stated in the letter to return their card. Recipients should bring the letter to the field office to facilitate entry into the building.

·        Most of the 2,000 individuals in Group 1 should have already received their 2-year EAD replacement card. The 500 individuals in Group 2 should receive their 2-year card during the weeks of July 13 and July 20.

·        Individuals who fail to comply with the return policy, whose DACA is terminated, have no recourse for reinstating DACA at this time.

Background:

On February 16, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued an injunction in Texas v. United States, temporarily halting the implementation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and the expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), as announced by DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson on November 21, 2014. Prior to the injunction, between November 24, 2014 and February 16, 2015, USCIS granted and mailed three-year employment authorization documents (EADs) to approximately 100,000 individuals seeking an extension of their initial DACA grant, in accordance with the terms of the DACA expansion guidance. Though USCIS intended to halt mailings of all three-year EADs as of the date of the injunction, approximately 2,500 three-year EADs were erroneously mailed or re-mailed after the injunction.

On July 7, 2015, the district court ordered the government to demonstrate that it has come into compliance with the court injunction by July 31, 2015, and include a summary of compliance in a report to the court. If the court is not satisfied with USCIS's efforts, it will move forward with a hearing on August 19, 2015, and require the individual senior government officials to show cause as to why they should not be held in contempt. Toward this end, USCIS was advised to:

·        Update all necessary databases to reflect a two-year period of deferred action and employment authorization; and

·        Retrieve the erroneously issued three-year EAD cards; or

·        Demonstrate that "substantial effort" was undertaken to retrieve the erroneously issued 3-year cards, including home visits.

If you have a client who you believe received a letter, phone call, home visit, or other instruction to return a 3-year EAD card in error, please send an e-mail setting forth the facts to reports@aila.org, subject line: "DACA 3-Year EAD." Please upload any helpful supporting documentation, such as approval notices, letters, etc.

Cite as AILA Doc. No. 15070802.