Articles Posted in Fraud Investigations

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Have you applied for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa and received a notice of 221(g) administrative processing after your Consular visa interview? If so, then you won’t want to miss this important video explaining what administrative processing is all about and what you can expect during this process.

Overview

What is 221(g) Administrative Processing?

A visa refusal under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) means that an applicant has not established eligibility for their visa to the satisfaction of the Consular officer.

Administrative processing is not a denial. It simply means that your visa has been temporarily refused by the Consular officer, because further review is needed before your visa can be approved. While a 221(g) refusal means that you are not eligible for a visa at this time, it is not the end of the road.

In fact, the majority of cases placed in administrative processing are released from administrative processing and are approved within 60 days of the visa interview. Often, a Consular officer may simply be waiting for the results of the applicant’s background check before they can provide clearance for the visa to be issued.

But for other more complicated cases, including those where concerns relating to fraud, criminal history, or national security concerns are involved, it can take several years before a case can be resolved. The timing of administrative processing will therefore depend on your individual circumstances and other complications rooted in your immigration history.

How do I know if I have been placed in 221(g) Administrative Processing?

Applicants who are placed in 221(g) administrative processing following their visa interview will typically receive a 221(g) notice from the Consular officer at the conclusion of the interview. The notice will indicate that further review is necessary before a final decision can be made, and in some circumstances the notice may request for an applicant to provide additional information or documentation such as travel history.

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In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick touches upon an important debate in immigration law, is it better to keep your green card or apply for U.S. Citizenship once you are eligible to do so?

This video will explain the types of circumstances in which an individual may prefer to maintain his or her green card and opt out of becoming a U.S. Citizen.

To learn more about this important topic, please keep watching.

Overview

Differences between U.S. Citizenship versus Permanent Residence

U.S. Citizenship

Applying for U.S. Citizenship leads to a variety of legal rights and privileges that are not available to permanent residents (green card holders). For some, these benefits are a compelling reason to apply for citizenship to have access to the wide variety of opportunities that are only available to naturalized citizens.

Some of these benefits include but are not limited to:

  1. Having the Right to Vote in state and federal elections
  2. Applying to federal jobs that are only available to U.S. Citizens such as law enforcement positions, and occupations that require a high security clearance such as working in the defense industry or for the U.S. military
  3. Sponsorship of Family Members: U.S. Citizens can petition to immigrate their immediate relatives to the United States without being subject to the numerical limitations of the Visa Bulletin. Permanent residents on the other hand may only petition for certain relatives and such applications are subject to numerical limitations.
  4. International Travel Benefits: U.S. Citizens may also engage in international travel without having to worry about placing their legal status in jeopardy. Unlike citizens, permanent residents must maintain continuous residence and physical presence in the United States, or risk losing their immigration status
  5. Criminal Offenses: Certain criminal offenses can lead to the deportation of a green card holder as well as other serious issues including being permanently barred from entering the U.S. that do not affect U.S. Citizens in the same manner.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the top 5 reasons a U.S. immigrant may be subject to deportation in the year 2024 and how to avoid falling into these circumstances.

If you would like to know more about this topic, we invite you to watch our video.

Overview

There are several reasons that may lead immigration to start the process of deporting an immigrant from the United States to their country of origin. Removal may occur because of certain actions undertaken by the foreign national that violate the immigration laws of the United States.

One of the most common scenarios is where the foreign national did not have the right to be in the United States in the first place. But this is not the only reason a person may be subject to deportation. Other reasons may include crossing the border illegally or even overstaying a U.S. visa beyond your authorized period of stay.

Here we discuss the top 5 most common reasons that may lead to deportation.

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Did you know that if you are going through the green card process based on marriage to a U.S. Citizen in the United States, sometimes an immigration official from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may show up at your home unannounced. How often does this happen and how can you prepare?

We invite you to learn more about this important topic.

Overview

The USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) was established to combat and investigate immigration-related fraud including marriage fraud.  The FDNS also operates the Fraud Detection and National Security data system which tracks and manages cases which are under review for potential immigration fraud. Reports are generated by the FDNS data system and distributed to other government agencies for further investigation depending on the severity of the case, such as the Department of State (DOS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Surprise Home Visits: When do they happen and how do they happen?

Part of the responsibilities of the FDNS are to conduct site visits for both employment-based and family-sponsored immigration petitions. Most commonly, site visits are conducted at places of worship as part of the process to petition an R-1 nonimmigrant religious worker. Site visits are also frequently conducted at places of employment for H-1B workers. With respect to family-sponsored cases, the FDNS may conduct home visits in adjustment of status filings where marriage fraud is suspected.

This can happen in several different ways. In the most common scenario, the married couple has already been questioned at their in-person interview before a USCIS officer. In such instance, the immigration officer is not convinced by the responses provided by the couple during the interview and believes the marriage to be fraudulent. In some cases where marriage fraud is suspected, the couple is separated and questioned separately regarding facts about their relationship. At the conclusion of the interview, the officer may call upon FDNS to conduct an unannounced site visit at the couple’s home to confirm whether the information provided at the interview is authentic.

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