New year, fresh start

On New Year's Day, a man prayed to God saying, "Lord, on this new year, please grant me a fat bank account and a thin body. Just don't mix it up like you did last year."

At this time of the year, it is common for people to New Year's resolutions with the hope that things will turn out for the better. But this desire for change will only be worthless if it is not rooted in the willingness to take concrete actions. As I always remind my clients, it is also at this very opportune time that they must take action on their immigration status and that of their families. If you need to gather documents, start processing them now. If you need to file a petition but does not have the money to pay for it, make sure you start saving now. If you need to take some action such as initiating a court action, hiring an attorney, or sending in additional supporting documents, do it now. Now is the right time to do these things as we still have the newly rediscovered energy to do it. If we keep on postponing it, inertia sets in, other priorities come in the way, and again, our immigration concerns get lost under the pile of other seemingly more important tasks.

Take this case of a client who came in to me the other day. When he was brought by his parents to the US in the 1970's, he was still a two-year-old child. When he graduated from high school, he learned that they were undocumented when they arrived in the US and that he had no legal status. He kept postponing any legal action that was available to him at that time and now when he needs to claim some government benefits, he cannot present any proof that he is a legal resident or a citizen in the US. Or my other client who only realized that his green card is about to expire next month when he was supposed to renew it six months ago. He is now in danger of losing his job because of his non renewal. In both situations, the failure to act by these clients not only jeopardizes their immigration status but also places their families in needless and unwarranted anxiety. So act now!

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Speaking of anxiety, the start of the New Year has displaced an untold number of undocumented immigrants, especially those coming from Central Amercia, caused by raids enforced by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These raids have caused so much fear within these communities that even top Democrats in Congress are very mad about this policy by the Obama administration. Many lawmakers, especially those representing immigrant communities where these raids were conducted demanded these enforcement raids be stopped and that more protections be afforded to these families instead of deporting them. As of now, there has been no resolution yet on this issue. These raids have not only rattled the Latino community but have extended to other immigrant communities as well who feel they could be the next target.

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In another latest development on the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), there have been changes already introduced by law and made into effect. As it stands now, individuals who have been present in Iraq, Syria, Iran, or Sudan  (or other countries designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as supporting terrorism or "of concern") at any time on or after March 1, 2011, are not eligible to participate in the Visa Waiver Program. Exempted in this new policy are those serving in the military of a VWP country or those carrying out official duties in a VWP country. The DHS may grant a waiver it would be in the law enforcement or national security interests of the United States. One other significant change is that this new law also excludes those individuals who are nationals of Iraq, Syria, Iran, or Sudan. So even if an individual has not resided or does not have a passport issued by any of these four countries, but is a national of that country, he may still be excluded from the visa waiver program. There are also additional restrictions imposed on participating countries of the visa waiver program such as passport security requirements, screening protocols, and information sharing. If a participating country fails to meet these new requirements, its inclusion to the program may be revoked.

While this new law does not directly affect the Philippines as it is not one of the countries under the US visa waiver program, yet this move by the US government is very instructive. As a matter of national security, I hope there is now an ongoing evaluation by the Philippine government on how to strengthen its own visa waiver program.

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This column is not a substitute for professional legal advice obtained from a US licensed immigration attorney. The information contained herein does not constitute a warranty or guarantee or legal advice regarding a reader's specific immigration case. No attorney-client relationship is and shall be established with any reader.

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For any questions, comments and observations, please contact Atty. Marco Tomakin at [email protected]