I do not know all the details of the law, but I have heard about this piece, and I think it is a terrible idea, largely for the reasons you mention. In practical terms, I doubt many non-citizens will be charged with a crime, but I do think it will intimidate them and make them very vulnerable to exploitation. The idea of “innocent until proven guilty” is a bedrock principle of our criminal law (though not our civil law – immigration law is civil), and I think that if this passes, it will be a big step backward for individual rights. Not just for non-citizens, but for everyone. I wrote more about the Laken Riley murder and the reaction to it on March 14, 2024 if you are interested. Take care, Jason

I have a quick question about the Laken Riley Act that recently passed in the House. On paper, it seems like a great solution, but in practice, the bill states that people charged (not convicted) with minor crimes will be detained and deported, including asylum seekers. Doesn’t this seem unconstitutional? For example, I knew of a case where a landlord threatened to file false battery charges against a tenant because the tenant refused to vacate the apartment before the lease ended. The tenant was afraid to go to the police because it could affect their immigration process, and ended up leaving apartment. If this bill becomes law, how would it impact asylum seekers in situations like this? Can they deport asylum seekers without court hearing first?

If you have refugee status already, you should be eligible to file an I-730 for your spouse. However, if you got status based on your parents, I do not think you can file an I-730 for your spouse (once you have a GC, you can file an I-130 for the spouse). Also, if only your parents are refugees and you are not a refugee, and they want to file an I-730 for you, you are not eligible to get status based on a parent if you are now married. I think you also had to be under 21 at the time their case was approved or initiated. I am not sure about this requirement, as I do not do refugee cases (I only do asylum cases). If you were under 21 when the case started, you might talk to a lawyer about this requirement and also see how your marriage affects your case. Take care, Jason

They only back date green cards based on asylum, and in some cases, they seem to forget to back date the cards. If that happens, I guess your friend can try to correct the date, but that may be more trouble than it’s worth. Take care, Jason

1 – I think that is possible, or the cases could be put on hold until they resolve the status of your GC. The US government could try to revoke your GC based on the misrepresentations, and so you should talk to a lawyer about that. The I-601 waiver (or other type of waiver) would be for you, since you made the misrepresentation, and if they try to take your GC away, you would probably present the waiver and any other defenses at that time. 2 – Your family members would only need that for their own misrepresentation. 3 – If your GC is deemed invalid, you would not be eligible to petition for family members, and so that issue may need to be resolved first. On the other hand, USCIS may take no action against you and if that happens, the family petitions may be able to move forward. I would probably review the specifics with a lawyer to determine what actions you should be taking now for yourself and your family. Take care, Jason

I saw the following resources from the uscis website regarding I-730 and I did not understand can you explain to me in simple English.

Who may not file I-730?
You are not eligible to file this petition if:
1. You were granted status as an accompanying or following-to join derivative refugee or asylee.

My question: My parents who were recodnised by UNHCR as a refugee went to the USA under IR-5 visa and did her interview at the US Embassy. My parents and I lived same house hold under UNHCR case and we are refugees. I am married over 21 years old. Please let know if i qualify the I-730?

Please explain to me in much details about number 1.

I look forward to your reply to my questions.

Thanks

Hi Jason,
Do you mean that all green cards based on asylum are back-dated? I have a friend who is now a citizen whose case was approved in court but his green card was not back-dated. Do you know on which basis does USCIS back-date or doesn’t back-date a green card? Is this at their discretion or it is law?

Thank you. I honestly do not know whether you violated your status. On the one hand, the F-1 visa is a temporary visa, and seeking asylum is an application for a permanent status, and so this may be a violation. On the other hand, maybe you arrived in the US with the intention to leave, but then something changed, which caused you to seek asylum. I think it is pretty self evidence that you explained that in your answer to question 18. However, the new Administration may be looking for any reason to deny applications and it is easy enough to correct. You can just send a letter (or upload it online) indicating that you answered “no” on 17 because you believe you did not violate your status, but that you did file for asylum. I think providing an explanation offers some protection if the next Trump Administration is arbitrarily looking for excuses to deny cases. Take care, Jason

Hello Jason,
Congrats on Joining a larger law firm and wish you all the best in this new chapter !
Regarding your reply above, I wanted to share that I am also an an asylee and submitted the I-485 form last July 2024. I came to US with F-1 visa.
For question 18 ” have you ever been in removal proceeding” I answered YES since my asylum case was handled in immigration court. For question 17 “Have you ever violated the terms and conditions of your nonimmigrant status in the US”, I answered NO, as I interpreted it to refer to violations such as working without authorization. Legally , I might be mistaken , but I believed that filing for asylum did not constitute violation of the terms and conditions of my F-1 non immigrant visa . Given that I acknowledged being in removal proceedings in question 18, do you think it’s necessary to send a correction for my response to question 17? If yes, how should I explain it in the letter ?