On June 30, 2021, the Board of Immigration appeals issued a decision which provided insight on the issue of in absentia removal orders, and motions to reopen proceedings after an in-absentia removal has been ordered. The decision re-affirms the power of an Immigration Judge to exercise discretion in reopening proceedings for immigrants who are removed in-absentia. The decision provides guidance for what factors an immigration judge should consider, and what types of evidence they should accept when making a decision on reopening proceedings.

The newly published Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative from USCIS brings many changes!

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently updated the I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, going from a two-page form to a twelve-page form. This is an article to help family members seek guidance to requesting family relatives to come to the U.S.

Purpose for I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

To allow alien family relatives of citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States to immigrate to the United States.

Deportation is the act of removing an alien or foreign national from the United State for violation of a number of criminal or immigration law. Deportation is a legal proceedings, and the alien or foreign national who is facing deportation has rights prior to being deported from the country. Aliens undergoing deportation proceedings are usually defended by deportation lawyers. Deportation lawyers usually advise their clients on all the possible methods to legally avoid deportation. They help their clients with all the details of the procedure of the deportation hearing.

Three federal agencies are charged with the  administration and enforcement of US immigration law. The agencies are; Immigration and Customs Enforcement  (ICE), US Custom Immigration  Service  (USCIS), Custom and Borders Protection. Immigration law and federal agencies responsible for execution and the application of the law are responsible for adjudication of family based immigration relative petitions, U.S. citizenship application, asylum applications, and the enforcement of immigration law through detention and deportation of illegal immigrants already present with a criminal record.

IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: The US Immigration and Customs enforcement (ICE) is saddled with the responsibility of enforcing federal laws governing on border control, custom, trade and immigration in order to ensure public safety through the promotion of homeland security.  Generally, they investigate those who break the law and prosecute offenders. ICE Agents are responsible for finding and detaining an illegal or offending immigrant. The local detention facility for Virginia is located at the Farmville Detention Center.