Nov
24

Immigration Policy Changes That Aim to Help Businesses and Workers

Last Thursday, President Obama announced a plan to help fix the immigration system through his executive authority that includes additional resources on the ground and elsewhere to secure the border, streamline the court process, and add more protections for crime victims. 

What do these announcements mean for U.S. business and foreign workers, however?  The announcement contained several measures designed to promote a more competitive destination for skilled workers, reduce major backlogs that force talent to leave, and modify outdated programs to better align with our modern...

Nov
18

St. Paul Skyway Arrest of Chris Lollie – Commission Declares that Use of Stun Gun was Not Excessive

Do you agree with the Police-Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission that the St Paul police officers’ use of a stun gun on Chris Lollie in January 2014 was not excessive force? As you likely remember from his video of the events of that day, Mr. Lollie was confronted by security and St Paul police officers in January for sitting in the skyway in downtown St. Paul. He was in a public area, but security personnel and police officers wrongly told him that he was on private property. When he refused to give them his name and resisted arrest, they used a stun gun on him. The City later...

Nov
17

Immigration Benefits for Military Personnel and Family Members

In recognition of Veterans Day last week, Wilson Law Group would like to send a reminder of important benefits available to certain members of the military and family of service members. 

MAVNI - Direct Path to U.S. Citizenship

MAVNI stands for “Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest.” MAVNI may be a quick path to U.S. citizenship for certain eligible foreign nations because it skips the permanent residency (“green card”) process altogether.

The MAVNI program started as a pilot program to allow certain branches of the U.S. military to recruit and enlist foreign nationals...

Nov
11

Welcome, Jaclyn E. Campoli, Associate Attorney

WLG is pleased to announce that Jaclyn E. Campoli is now an Associate Attorney at Wilson Law Group!  Jaclyn, who specializes in immigration law, recently passed the MN bar and was sworn in as a fully licensed attorney by the state of MN.  

Nov
6

Child Support: An Obligation, No Matter the Parent’s Immigration Status

Minnesota family law lawyers often hear the question from parents who live apart from their child: “How much will I have to pay for child support?” The lawyer turns to the Minnesota Child Support Calculator online and inputs the relevant information, such as the number of minor joint children, each parent’s gross monthly income, the percentage of parenting time, and the cost of medical insurance.  The client (who is often the father, but not always) may be surprised to hear that his gross monthly income is used in the calculation rather than his take-home pay, and his monthly living...

Nov
6

A Few of the Many Reasons to Become a U.S. Citizen

Citizenship offers substantially more benefits than permanent residency.  Here are a few of the many reasons to naturalize:

Risk of abandonment

Permanent residents can travel internationally, but must be cautious about spending too much time outside of the U.S.  If you spend a year outside of the U.S., you will be presumed to have abandoned your permanent residency, and you risk being placed in removal proceedings and possibly deported.

Even those permanent residents who have spent less than a year outside the U.S. might be accused of abandoning residency.  Unfortunately, there is no...

Nov
6

Expedited Tenant Remedies

People very commonly ask about enforcing their rights as tenants without having to spend five or ten times their monthly rent just to protect themselves. Whether or not they actually accomplish the intended goal, this post will briefly identify and discuss a few of the legal proceedings available in Minnesota to tenants with issues regarding rental properties or disputes with landlords. We will address four useful, but less well known, proceedings:

Unlawful Exclusion or Removal; Action for Recovery of Possession – M.S.A § 504B.375

This action applies to lock-out situations by a landlord....

Oct
28

WLG Newsletter: Arrests of Non-citizens and the Right to Consular Notification: Did Law Enforcement Comply?

WLG's latest installment of our newsletter, which focuses on the intersection of criminal and immigration law, has arrived!  You may read the full article below or view the full PDF here: 198-167-wilson-law-group-newsletter-arrests-non-citizens-and-right-consular-notification.did-law-enforcement-comply.pdf

Arrests of Non-citizens and the Right to Consular Notification: Did Law Enforcement Comply?     

Welcome to the latest Wilson Law Group Newsletter.  In this edition, we focus on the right foreign nationals have to speak with a representative from his or her consulate upon arrest or...

Oct
20

Breaking News: "TPS as Status" Adjustment Approval Received!

We are happy to report that Wilson Law Group received a “TPS as status” adjustment approval from the USCIS office in Bloomington, Minnesota. The person never traveled with parole, and relied exclusively on this TPS status to assert he could proceed under section 245 to adjustment his status to a lawfully admitted permanent resident with an approved immediate relative I-130 petition.  This is a complete change in the government's approach to temporary protected status and the ability to apply for residency.  

Now, one approval is not a pattern of acquiescence; however, it is a harbinger...

Oct
15

Why is it taking so long to get my U visa?

The short answer is that visa numbers are limited and there’s a substantial waitlist.

Congress capped the number of U visas at 10,000 per year (INA § 214(p)(2); 8 C.F.R. § 214.14(d)(1)). This means that only 10,000 applicants may be granted U visas each fiscal year. Only principal applicants (U-1) are counted toward the 10,000 visa cap. Derivatives (U-2, U-3, U-4, and U-5) are not counted towards the cap. A backlog has developed because the demand for U visas exceeds the supply.

If you apply for a U visa today, you can expect to wait at least nine months for USCIS to determine whether...

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