Immigration and US Citizenship News

By Kieran C. O’Sullivan

Immigration Counselor

ipcboston@yahoo.com

Immigrant Smuggling

One of my calls this past month came from a citizen trying to provide assistance to an Irish immigrant detained following apprehension for smuggling across the US Canadian border. 

A legal resident may be deported and/or deemed inadmissible for aiding or assisting or smuggling an immigrant across the US borders. A crime which deems an alien inadmissible is one which would result in the legal alien being refused admission the next time he/she travels outside of the US and is inspected by US Customs and Border Patrol upon attempted reentry.  Because alien smuggling is a criminal offense, and a crime involving moral turpitude, a legal resident could be deported for life for committing such an offense.

There is no waiver of the issues of deportability or inadmissibility available, except in the instance of family reunification, that is if the legal resident was attempting to or assisting in the smuggling of his/her spouse, parent, son or daughter.  Even then, the  US Department of Homeland Security  has discretion to decide whether or not to grant the waiver.  The caller referred to above was referred to attorneys and to the Consulate with jurisdiction over the case.

Citizenship and arrests

We recently helped someone at our clinic apply for US citizenship after residing in the US for over twenty years as a lawful permanent resident.  Don’t let an old arrest stop you from thinking about applying for US citizenship.  For example, if the conviction was for driving under the influence of alcohol, assuming there were no other issues, and since the conviction appears to be more than five years ago, you may, if otherwise eligible, be able to file for US citizenship.  In this example, you’d need to obtain a certified docket sheet at the court house where you were convicted and appear at one of our free legal clinics for a full review of your case with one of our attorneys.  You can also give me a call for a free confidential conversation on the phone, or email me at the address above. 

Update from Washington DC

We heard from Geri Garvey of our Washington DC Irish Apostolate office that a scheduled meeting between immigrant activists and senior officials in the Obama administration has been postponed.  It was hoped that efforts would be underway by now to push immigration reform, but it seems at the moment the administration is concentrating on health care reform.

July Legal Clinic

We will be having a legal clinic in July. The clinic will be taking place on Tuesday July 7^th at Bad Abbots Pub & Restaurant, 1546 Hancock St - rear Quincy.  Parking is available in the adjacent city parking lot.

Disclaimer:  These articles are published to inform and not as advice.  Areas of law are always changing.  The USCIS and US Department of State frequently amend regulations and alter processing and filing procedures.  For legal advice seek the assistance of one of our pro bono immigration attorney at our monthly clinics.