All posts by Cheng, Cho, & Yee, Immigration Lawyers

Family-based immigration requires that U.S. citizens or residents petition on behalf of their relatives so they can move to the United States. Sponsors must file affidavits of support for their relatives who will be joining them in the U.S. The affidavits of support are not the first step in the process, however. In addition to the affidavits of support, the sponsors must be at least age 21, and the immigrants must pass background checks and health exams before they will be allowed to come to the country.

Sponsorship Requirements

U.S. citizens and residents can petition for relatives that fall into different categories. Citizens can petition on behalf of their immediate relatives, including their spouses, their minor, unmarried children who are younger than age 21 and their parents. Citizens may also petition for their relatives who fall in the preferential category. These include their adult children who are older than age 21 and their siblings. Lawful permanent residents are able to sponsor certain relatives that fall under the preference category, including their spouses and their unmarried children.

In addition to establishing these relationships, the would-be sponsors must file petitions to initiate the immigration process. They must also file affidavits of support that state that they will be financially responsible for their relatives when they move to the U.S. The affidavits of support can be legally enforced and last either until the relatives earn 40 quarters of work, which lasts approximately 10 years, or become U.S. citizens.

Before filing the affidavits of support, the sponsors must have filed their petitions and have received notices from the U.S.C.I.S. that their petitions have been approved. The relatives must have currently available visas and be scheduled to appear before a U.S. Consular Officer. If a citizen’s minor child, spouse or parent is already legally in the U.S., the sponsor should submit the petition and the affidavit of support simultaneously with the relative’s application to adjust his or her status.

In addition to sponsoring relatives, there are also other types of sponsorships. Employers may apply to sponsor employees, and people may apply to sponsor orphans for adoption. An immigration attorney assists people with different types of sponsorship for immigrants to live in the U.S.

The Trump administration announced an end to the DACA program in Sept. 2017, but two federal courts have found that the manner in which it was ended was illegal. The Trump administration has resumed accepting DACA renewals for current recipients. The Department of Justice sought a direct review of the lower courts’ decisions from the Supreme Court, but the high court refused to hear its appeal. The program is likely to continue accepting renewals for months as the cases wind their way through the federal court system.

Why the End of DACA Was Found to Be Illegal

The Trump Administration made a sudden announcement on Sept. 5, 2017, that the DACA program would end in six months. While ruling that the Trump Administration does have the power to end DACA, the courts found that the reasons for which the Administration gave for doing so were insufficient. The Administration had argued that it was ending the program because it claimed that it was unlawful. However, the courts said that DACA was not unlawful and that the Administration would need to have sound reasons for ending it. Since Trump tweeted that the program could be extended, the courts pointed out that the rationale from the Department of Homeland Security for ending the program fell short.

What the Rulings Mean

The courts’ rulings mean that the Trump Administration has been forced to begin accepting renewal applications from DACA recipients again. The Administration does not have to accept new applications for DACA, however. While the twin cases move their way through federal court, DACA will continue. It is possible that Congress will act during the interim and pass legislation to save DACA. For now, current DACA recipients may continue working, serving in the military and enjoying the other benefits that they have received through the program. Because it is unclear what will happen to DACA through the legislative and court processes, however, the recipients might want to explore other avenues of legal immigration.

Since Trump’s election, school children in Illinois and across the U.S. have felt emboldened to parrot some of the President’s anti-immigrant rhetoric to taunt other children. Schools have reported a substantial uptick in openly racist behavior, and some parents have simply explained away the behavior of their children as expressions of their political views. The racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric that has entered the mainstream recently has no place in American schools.

Harsh Immigration Stance Leads to Bullying

Trump is infamous for his many statements about Mexicans, African-Americans, and immigrants in general. Some children have mimicked his statements and used them as insults to hurl against children of color in their schools. School districts across the country have reported significant increases in racist behavior, and they are struggling to tamp it down. Racist epithets have been spray painted on walls, students have chanted “Build that wall!” at Latino classmates, and children have been told by their white classmates to go back to Mexico, Africa or elsewhere. Teachers, principals, and superintendents have sent district-wide messages that such bullying will not be tolerated, but it has persisted in both public and private schools across the nation.

Children Worry About Deportation

Trump’s hard-line stance on immigration is toxic to kids in other ways as well. Children of undocumented immigrants across the country worry about their parents and other loved ones being deported. Many of these children are U.S. citizens who are worried about losing their parents or getting forced to move to countries with which they are unfamiliar because of the discontinuation of many programs and new immigration policies. Hundreds of thousands of people from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Haiti all face an end to their temporary protected status in 2019 even though they have lived and worked in the country for up to 20 years. Many of these recipients have had children since coming to the U.S. and face tough decisions about whether to move their children back to their nations of origin or to leave them behind in the U.S. under the care of guardians.

The anti-immigration rhetoric and racism are bad for both children and society itself. Parents should talk to their children and teach them that being American means embracing people regardless of their color, immigration statuses or race.