Articles Posted in AskMyLawyer TV

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In this segment Attorney Jacob J. Sapochnick Esq. discusses the stokes interview otherwise known as the infamous “fraud interview” for the green card application. A stokes interview may occur during the marriage based green card application process, and refers to an interview where the husband and wife are questioned separately, and their answers are compared by an immigration officer to determine whether the marriage was entered into in good faith. A stokes interview (also known as “marriage fraud interview”) is usually a second interview, after the first interview, when the husband and wife were interviewed together, raised some questions about the bona fides of their marriage.

The stokes interview is typically scheduled when couples do not provide enough evidence of bona fide marriage and cohabitation, when the testimony provided by the couple during the first interview contains discrepancies and/or is inconsistent, or the marriage is of short duration. Couples may also be scheduled for a stokes interview if USCIS is concerned about something that came up during the foreign spouse’s background screening process. In every case, the immigration officer is trying to determine whether the applicant’s marriage is bona fide or not. If the immigration officer is still not satisfied that the marriage is a bona fide one after the stokes interview, USCIS may send a field officer to the applicant’s house.

To learn more about the consequences of entering a “sham” marriage please click here.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick sits down with two sisters, one who is a US Citizen, and the other who is a DACA recipient with a renewal request pending with USCIS. Although these clients are related they have very different immigration options available to them. Alicia explains how her DACA status has allowed her to obtain a driver’s license and legal employment in the United States, as well as the advantages these benefits have created for her as a mother of three US Citizen children. Alicia echoes the sentiments of hundreds of thousands of Dreamers who felt heartbroken when they heard that the President was ending the DACA program, a program that provided relief for so many undocumented immigrants who have no other place to call their home. Alicia fears being sent back to a country she does not know, where she has no relationships, and of being torn from her family. This is the unfortunate reality that many Dreamers face, and illustrates how important it is for Congress to pass the Dream Act or other legislation that would allow more than 800,000 Dreamers to remain in the United States legally.

IMPORTANT: Although USCIS will no longer be accepting new initial requests for DACA, current DACA recipients with permits expiring between now and March 5, 2018 can apply for a final 2-year renewal of their DACA status and obtain employment authorization. These applications must be properly filed and accepted by October 5, 2017.

To learn more about the termination of the DACA program please click here.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick sits down with two Dreamers to discuss the President’s recent decision to terminate an Obama-era program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and how such a decision will impact their lives.

The DACA program was first introduced in 2012 to shield young undocumented immigrants from deportation and granted such individuals the ability to work in the United States legally for a renewable 2 year period. The DACA program is not a form of amnesty and does not allow eligible applicants to obtain permanent residence.

In this video you will hear about the hardships that Dreamers face on a day-to-day basis, their enormous contributions to our society both culturally and economically, and the uncertain future they face.

IMPORTANT: Although USCIS will no longer accept new initial requests for DACA, current DACA recipients with permits expiring between now and March 5, 2018 can apply for a final 2-year renewal of their status and obtain employment authorization. These applications must be properly filed and accepted by October 5, 2017.

To learn more about the termination of the DACA program please click here.

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In this post, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the Trump administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama era program that granted more than 750,000 undocumented immigrants the opportunity to obtain a work permit and relief from deportation. After much talk regarding President Trump’s intent to terminate the program, the decision finally came from Attorney General Jeff Sessions this morning, Tuesday, September 5, 2017.

For a more detailed explanation about what this decision will mean for current DACA holders please click on the video below.

Overview:

Effective immediately, USCIS will not accept new initial requests for DACA, but will allow current DACA recipients with permits expiring between now and March 5, 2018 to apply for a final 2-year renewal of their status and obtain employment authorization. Such individuals must file their applications by October 5, 2017.

Highlights

  • USCIS will no longer accept initial requests for DACA as well as all associated applications for Employment Authorization
  • Initial DACA requests and DACA renewal applications that were properly filed before today’s announcement and which remain pending with USCIS, will be adjudicated on an individual case-by-case basis
  • Employment authorization documents and grants of deferred action that were issued prior to today’s announcement will remain valid
  • USCIS will no longer approve new applications filed on Form I-131 for advance parole, but will honor the validity period for previously approved applications for advance parole. CBP has the discretionary authority to deny admission to a DACA holder possessing an approved advance parole document
  • All pending I-131 requests for advance parole on the basis of DACA, will be administratively closed, and all associated fees will be refunded to the applicant

To read the President’s complete statement regarding the termination of the program please click here.

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In this episode, Attorney Jacob J. Sapochnick discusses the top 7 reasons why citizenship applications are denied. We outline the top 7 reasons below.

Overview: 

There are several reasons why an N-400 application can be denied. The most common reason an application may be denied is because the applicant failed to meet the minimum requirements of the N-400 application for naturalization. Other reasons may include that the applicant has a bad moral character, an excessive number of absences from the country, a combination of both of these factors, an issue with taxes, child support, etc. It is important to be aware that officers at an immigration interview have a broad range of discretion in deciding whether to approve or deny your application. Always be prepared for potential issues that may arise during your interview.

Top 7 reasons why citizenship applications are denied:

  • Selective Service: Males between ages 18 and 26 are required to register for the Selective Service. Failure to do so, or to not have a valid reason for not registering for Selective Service may result in a denial
  • Fraudulently obtaining a green card: Immigration officials scrutinize an individual’s citizenship application very closely. This means that more often than not immigration officials take a careful and detailed look into the applicant’s immigration history including how they obtained their permanent residence and potential red flags in the applicant’s file
  • Serious Crimes: Committing certain crimes (especially crimes of moral turpitude) can make an individual ineligible for citizenship
  • Lying: An individual caught lying to an immigration officer will likely be sanctioned by the immigration officer in the form of an immigration violation or worse
  • Taxes: Individuals owing back taxes are not considered persons of good moral character because they have not abided with the law in paying their taxes. If you owe back taxes your application will likely be denied
  • Child Support: Similar to the above
  • English: In order to be eligible for citizenship, the applicant must satisfy the language requirement. Applicants must be able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language, although exemptions exist for certain applicants.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick checks in and answers your immigration questions from Bora Bora, French Polynesia.

Overview 

Tourist Travel Advisory: Expect CBP to be more strict when traveling through a U.S. port of entry. Always carry documents to prove what the nature of your trip is in the United States, in addition to your valid tourist visa and passport documents. Always be mindful that CBP has the discretionary power to decide whether or not to admit you to the United States. This also applies for individuals traveling to the United States on a work visa. Always err on the side of caution and be calm and respectful when speaking to CBP.

Changes to U.S. Immigration: Despite proposed changes to the immigration system, foreigners continue to be interested in traveling and immigrating to the United States. Immigrating to the United States is definitely going to become more difficult, although at this moment no legislation has been passed to overhaul the current immigration system.

Denial of removal of conditions application without an interview: Recently USCIS has been denying certain removal of conditions applications by mail without scheduling the conditional permanent resident for an interview. Typically USCIS will schedule the conditional permanent resident for an interview if there are any doubts about the validity of their marriage. If you are planning to file a removal of conditions application, always ensure that you provided enough proof of your good faith marriage. This is especially important for people filing for an I-751 waiver of the joint filing requirement. For more information about the I-751 application please click here. For information regarding I-751 waivers click here.

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In this video, our clients speak about their unique experience with the Law Offices of Jacob J. Sapochnick. Our law office specializes exclusively in immigration and nationality law. We work with a broad range of clientele including entrepreneurs, investors, business visitors, foreign workers, U.S. employers, asylees, students, athletes, performers, families seeking to immigrate their family members and much more. Throughout the years, we have established a proven track record of success and a high level of customer service that is unparalleled in the legal industry. Contact our office today to schedule your first time consultation.

For more information please visit our website.

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In this episode, attorney Jacob J. Sapochnick Esq. answers one of our most frequently asked questions: can you leave the country while your application is pending with CIS? Keep watching to learn more.

This is one of the most common and most important questions asked by our clients. Once you have filed an application with USCIS and the application is pending with USCIS (meaning that you have not received a decision on your application) you CANNOT leave the United States, UNLESS you have received special permission from USCIS to travel outside the country (an advance parole document). If you do not have an advance parole document you do not have permission to travel outside of the United States while your application is pending with USCIS. Doing so will ultimately result in the abandonment of your application with USCIS. The applicant will have to reapply to receive any immigration benefit from USCIS.

This is a very serious matter that should not be taken lightly. If you plan to travel outside of the country you must apply for an advance parole document at least 4 months in advance of your international travel.

Always seek counsel from an attorney before partaking in any international travel.

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In this video Attorney Jacob J. Sapochnick takes you on a tour of our law office located at 1502 Sixth Avenue in sunny San Diego, California on the corner of Beech Street and Sixth Avenue. Come and visit us today. We offer first time consultations to meet your immigration needs.

For more information on the services we provide please click here.

To read our client testimonials please click here.

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In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the status of the E-2 visa program for the country of Israel, as well as different E visa options for Israeli entrepreneurs. For a first time consultation please contact our office.

Our staff members are fluent in Spanish, Hebrew, Russian, Mandarin, and French.

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