Nancy M. Vizer P.C.

02/02/2023

PEDRO THE PAINTER GETS PERMANENT RESIDENCE

Pedro left El Salvador in the late 1990's, fleeing the violence of the ongoing civil wars in that country. If he had stayed, he would have been forcefully recruited into either the government forces or the guerilla rebels, whichever group got him first, with no regard to his own political opinion.

Pedro traveled through Mexico and entered the United States unlawfully, then worked without authorization, sending money back to his family so that they would not starve.

In 2001, hundreds of thousands of Central Americans in Pedro’s position were granted “temporary protected status,” (TPS) meaning the US government had made a determination to send these refugees back to a place where they faced starvation and death. There had also been hurricanes and earthquakes in that area, which helped with the US government’s decision.

TPS meant that its beneficiaries could now work lawfully. They became construction workers, landscaping professionals, food service workers and other positions that were urgently needed by American employers. Eventually Pedro got a stable job as a Painter. He became a part of the community, purchasing a home and building a family, which now includes a US citizen son. The problem was that, like the other Central Americans, Pedro had to renew his status every 18 months, over and over again, never having certainty that he would not be forced to leave the life he had built.

There was a process through which Pedro’s employer could sponsor him for permanent residence, but even twenty years later, the fact that he had worked unlawfully until 2001 made him ineligible to complete that process.

My firm believed strongly that this barrier would be taken down, and we started the initial steps of the permanent residence process on Pedro’s behalf in 2017. Of course during the previous administration, the barriers did not come down, but instead grew stronger.

But then finally, in July of 2022, the policy changed, and Pedro became eligible for permanent residence. We submitted his application in October, 2022, and he became a permanent resident in January, 2023, almost 25 years after his initial entry to the country.

Pedro’s family now has a stable life, and can look forward to many more years contributing to, and benefitting from, the United States. Pedro will be eligible for US citizenship in January, 2028.

12/09/2021

Very interesting story from New York City, which has just approved a measure that will allow noncitizens to vote in local elections!

The city council approved the measure Monday but Republicans have vowed to challenge it in court.

06/18/2021

Deported parents overcome the odds to help their US citizen daughter achieve remarkable success. ❤️

Daihana Estrada is the first recipient of a Chicago Coalition for the Homeless scholarship to do that. Now, the Pilsen resident is aiming to help immigrants like her parents.

03/08/2021

As they said in Hamilton, "Immigrants, they get the job done!"

Happy International Women's Day!

"Every single thing that I do, I'm representing my country, my culture, my heritage, my people, and I have to give my best every single time." "I remember just laying down on the grass and looking...

03/02/2021

Under President Biden, the United States has rediscovered humanity.

Attorneys for the families had asked the Biden administration to let parents deported without their children come back to the U.S. to reunify the families.

02/02/2021

The DHS Secretary, after four long years, will finally be a Senate-confirmed, competent, highly qualified individual, who fully understands the value that immigrants bring to the United States. Since November, 2019, the post has been filled by Chad Wolf, who a number of courts found was unlawfully appointed, thus voiding many of the anti-immigrant actions he took during his “incumbency.”

Mayorkas, a former Obama official, is the first Latino and first immigrant to run DHS

01/27/2021

What a refreshing change!

U.S. immigration authorities have released the last of nine detained women who were taken to see a rural Georgia gynecologist accused of performing unnecessary hysterectomies or other medical procedures

01/15/2021

Tech giants, knowing that DACA benefits the United States, continue their financial commitment to helping this program.

Google announced Wednesday that it would be donating $250,000 to cover Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program applications for more than 500 immigrants.

12/23/2020

It’s just common sense.

Immigrants naturalised for services during the pandemic include cleaners and shop workers.

12/18/2020

As is so often the case, a US success story comes from an immigrant’s efforts. Meet Noubar Afeyan, co-founder of Moderna.

Noubar Afeyan, who is Armenian, told Insider about moving to Canada at 13, being a founder at 24, and Moderna's $1 million Dolly Parton vaccine boost.

12/05/2020

DACA is finally reinstated.

The judge ordered DHS to post a public notice by Monday prominently on its website to accept first-time applications.

11/25/2020

The Trump administration is pushing until its last day to hurt small businesses:

YOU Can Do Something about Trump’s Illegal H-1B Changes Posted by Sandra Feist | Nov 24, 2020 The past four years of arbitrary and malicious executive attacks on our immigration systems have highlighted how subject they are to the whims of ideologues and how divorced they are from the current huma...