Posts by hykellaw

April is coming fast, and for Americans, that means tax time is coming, too. It may be tax time for you, too. Millions of immigrants pay taxes every year, even if they’re undocumented. If you’re not yet one of them, you should consider doing so. The Benefits of Paying Taxes Tax documentation can be extremely…

Achieving permanent resident status isn’t easy. It can be tempting to relax once you finally achieve the coveted green card. Still, it’s important to remember that obtaining a green card isn’t the same thing as securing citizenship. Nowhere is that more obvious than in the new laws taking effect in 2020. Failing to adhere to…

Popular television show depictions of “green card marriages” make it seem like turning the love of your life into a permanent citizen is the easiest thing in the world. In reality, marriage or the intent to marry is not necessarily a “free pass.” There are still lots of hoops you have to jump through, and…

Are you an immigrant who is interested in coming to found a start-up here in the US? While the immigration climate in America has been, of late, frustrating, confusing, and frightening, it’s certainly still possible to do just that. Of course, before you begin you’ll want to make sure you have a viable business idea…

Last month this blog reported on the Trump Administration’s attempts to stymie family-based migration by introducing a new health insurance mandate. The  mandate required visa applicants to identify a specific health-insurance plan they had purchased and would be covered by within thirty days of entering the country. Under the policy, immigrants were not allowed to…

The Supreme Court made headlines today when it announced it would hear The United States v. Sineneng-Smith.  The Sineneng-Smith case has two parts, one of which is settled and one of which is not. Sineneng-Smith ran an immigration help business out of California. She defrauded immigrants by charging them an excessive amount of money to…

On October 4, 2019, the Trump administration enacted a policy requiring all prospective immigrants to prove they’ll have U.S.-based health insurance within 30 days of arrival, or will have enough money to pay for “reasonably foreseeable medical costs.”  On November 3rd, that bill will go into effect. The bill, aimed squarely at family-based migrants, could…

The Supreme Court will hear whether asylum seekers have the legal right to challenge their expedited removal proceedings in federal courts. Expedited removal proceedings allow immigration authorities to remove someone without any immigration hearing before any judge. The hearings will be scheduled early next year, and we can expect to see a ruling by July.…

It’s hard to be an immigration attorney without noticing all the bad news. It’s been a tough series of years for immigrants, with a current administration who seems intent on making it even tougher. Nevertheless, there is reason to take heart.  Three separate pieces of Trump Administration immigration policy were blocked by significant legal challenges…

Things have gotten harder for immigrants who wish to claim asylum in the United States. While the Supreme Court’s action is a provisional one, it has nevertheless ensured that thousands of desperate migrants will find it all but impossible to move forward. The rule prevents migrants who have resided in or traveled through third countries…