Attorney Gabriel Giwa at work on an immigration case in his office.

The Process of Filing an Immigration Case during the Trump Administration

The Trump administration has dramatically changed the United States immigration policy in recent years. The new policies have made filing an immigration application for residency challenging. Some of those challenges involve requiring applicants for Green Cards and permanent residency in the U.S. to prove they are not receiving public assistance benefits, as well as other conditions.

Form I-944, called a “declaration of sufficiency”, requires an applicant to prove that he or she is not receiving benefits such as SNAP and Medicaid. In addition, President Donald Trump by executive order has made it almost impossible for some people from African and Middle Eastern countries to immigrate to the U.S. One way is by having them fill form I-130 through their immediate relatives who are U.S. citizens to show a family relationship exists.

According to Boundless Immigration, “President Trump announced plans on April 20, 2020 to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States. Out of the 1.1 million green cards that the United States typically issues each year, some 358,00 would not be approved as long as this president proclamation is in effect.”

The Trump Administration’s new policies have made it more complicated for immigration attorneys, because the options are very narrow for an immigrant to legalize his or her status in the U.S.

“In order to select what cases to take and or reject, the attorney must first have to analyze the details of the case,” says Nancy Leija, a practicing paralegal for 20 years. “It is also important to spot risks and issues. The attorney along with the paralegal assigned in a particular case must team up in order to have a successful case before the immigration services,” said Leija. Cases can be categorized under the following: family, employment, and asylum

The entry door to the office of the Gabe Giwa & Associates law firm, left. The immigration law service books, center, are used for client’s cases and is also used for reference for immigration lawyers. They contain federal laws that regard immigration and nationality acts. A filing system, right, is very important for lawyers. Files are organized through different cases and clients. The files are organized in alphabetical order according to client’s names.

Forms I-360 and G-28, left, the I-360 is used for petition of residency by special immigrants by V.A.W.A (Violence Against Women Acts). The G-28 form is used to gives the attorney power to represent their clients. Attorney Gabe Giwa’s office in Houston. He uses his office to work on cases and also discuss client’s cases and counsel clients about their legal problems.

Attorney Giwa is a practicing immigration lawyer for 28 years. He is seen here reviewing the forms and make sure everything is correct before signing.

The cases that are categorized by family require an “Immediate Relative”, this includes children, spouses, and parents of a U.S. citizens. This category of visa is always available at any time for people to migrate to the U.S. The other category is called “Preference” and that includes siblings, and children that are over 21 years old. For this category a visa is not always available.

Another category is employment, it has to do with immigrants coming to the U.S. for the sole purpose of employment. Usually, the immigrants are people who have excelled in their professions and in academics. In the category of asylum, many immigrants seeking this status are fleeing their country for fear of persecution in their countries, either for political, religious, or sexual preference.

An example of an immigration case that is being affected by one of the new policies involves a client from Nigeria.

The client, who could not share his name publicly citing his attorney-client privilege, has had his case held up in immigration court as he seeks to adjust his residency status. “I have not been able to get my Green Card, because the day I was adopted was my 18th birthday,” he said.

“He has to have been adopted on or before his 16th birthday, in order for him to qualify under the family category,” said Giwa. The attorney blames the Trump order for issue.

If the case is denied, Giwa explained, an order of removal will be issued by the court. The client will be given a specific time to either leave the country voluntarily, or be deported by the immigration authorities at the expense of the U.S. government. He could also be barred from reentering the country for a period of 10 years, unless a waiver is approved for reentry legally.

“The last step of the process after a case has been denied by the USCIS (United States Citizenship & Immigration Services) is to refer the case to the immigration court, which is under the U.S. Department of Justice,” Giwa said.

According to the Washington Post, “The U.S. immigration court system is facing a backlog of 850,000 cases, and it has fewer than 450 judges nationwide to handle them.”

These immigration court proceedings under the current situation can go on for many years, because there are not enough judges to preside. Therefore, these cases can be rescheduled or rest for several years.

If the immigrant is not successful with the court, he or she will have to file an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The BIA will review the proceedings and render a judgement on the case. If the appeal is sustained, the appeals court will remand the case back to the Immigration court for further proceedings.

These are some of the hurdles that immigrants have to face when attempting to adjust their status or become legal residents.

On November 7, 2020, Joseph R. Biden defeated incumbent Donald J. Trump. Which means the end of the Trump Administration on January 20, 2021. President-elect Joe Biden has promised to legalize 11 million undocumented immigrants and has also pledged to undo Trump’s immigration policies, but he has stated that it could take some years to deliver his promise.