Hackensack Immigration and Naturalization Law Blog

Somali immigrants residing in Bergen County and throughout New Jersey will be happy to learn that the Department of Homeland Security has decided to extend temporary protected status for qualified individuals. Although temporary protected status does not automatically make an individual eligible for adjustment of status, the extension of temporary protection may afford Somali immigrants another two years to apply for citizenship or permanent resident status.

Immigration law authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to extend temporary protected status to immigrants arriving from countries suffering the turmoil of war, natural disaster or other extreme conditions. The department originally authorized temporary protected status for Somali immigrants in 2001, and the DHS's recent decision extends protected status until March 2014.

Bergen County residents may be interested to know that a change to family immigration law, first proposed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in January, is now open to public review and comment. The proposed change is intended to reduce the time that undocumented spouses and children of a U.S. citizen spend apart when applying for citizenship, a process that, due to U.S. immigration law, often occurs in the foreign resident's home country.

Under current law, undocumented spouses and children of a U.S. citizen can be forced to leave the country if they have been unlawfully present in the United States for 180 days or longer. Deported family members may apply for citizenship, but they are required to do so through the U.S. consulate in their home country. The current process can take years, during which spouses and children may remain separated from one another.

New Jersey residents will be interested to hear that a New Yorker stands among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit over the immigration law consequences of the Defense of Marriage Act. Five same-sex couples have joined the lawsuit filed in Brooklyn's federal court. The couples claim that the federal act unlawfully denies the U.S. citizens their right to sponsor their spouses for family immigration and prevents their spouses from pursuing the path to citizenship.

Family immigration law provides visas for immediate relatives, including spouses, of U.S. citizens. When the law comes to same-sex couples, though, the Defense of Marriage Act prohibits the government from legally acknowledging the marriage. The act prevents spouses who would otherwise qualify for a green card from enjoying the immigration status afforded to heterosexual couples.

Bergen County readers have likely been following the story of the former Rutgers University student who was recently convicted of invasion of privacy and bias intimidation after secretly filming his roommate who later committed suicide. New Jersey residents with immigration concerns may take an interest in the immigration law issues raised by the 20-year-old's highly publicized criminal case. Now that he is convicted, he could face deportation to India where he continues to maintain citizenship. The student's sentencing is set for May 21.

Even a legal permanent resident of the U.S. can face deportation if convicted of certain crimes, including aggravated felonies, drug offenses and crimes involving domestic violence. Deportation can also result from some misdemeanor convictions when the conviction results in a sentence including a year or more of jail time.