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Am I Eligible for a Diversion Program in Los Angeles County?
What is a Diversion Program? A diversion program is a sentencing alternative for low-level first-time criminal offenders that allows them not only to stay out of jail but also to keep a clean criminal record if they complete the diversion program successfully. Diversion programs are based on the idea of rehabilitation of first-time offenders. They…
Read MoreWhat is a California DUI School?
Different DUI Convictions Have Different School Requirements The state of California requires a school component to be included in the sentence of pretty much every type of DUI case. The requirements of the classes vary and will largely depend on what your blood alcohol content was at the time of your arrest and whether or…
Read More4 Pieces of Information You Need for a Student Visa
Despite a drop in student visa applications in 2017 and 2018, the United States remains the most popular and desired destination for foreign students. Even in a year where the number of student visas was down 17% (2017), there were still over 393,000 F-1 visas issued. For comparison, this means the record high, in 2016,…
Read MoreFederal Judge Blocks the Government’s Termination of Temporary Protected Status
The debate over ending Temporary Protected Status or TPS for roughly half a million people living in the United States began in January 2018. Back in the spring, the current administration announced an end to TPS for immigrants from Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Sudan. Given the number of people impacted by the termination of…
Read MoreComplexities of Seeking Refugee Status in the United States
Through the first half of 2018, the United States is on track to accept the fewest number of refugees in 40 years. This statistic represents both a recent change in the public’s attitude toward refugees and changes to actual policies. Both are driving down the number of refugees arriving in the United States, even as…
Read MoreFeds vs. California: What Will Happen to California’s Sanctuary Laws?
The battle between the federal government and the State of California began early on in 2018. What began as a verbal spat regarding the federal government’s immigration policies and California’s support for sanctuary cities, quickly escalated in March 2018. It was back in March that the federal government sued California over its sanctuary laws, claiming…
Read MoreWhat Does It Take to Get an Entertainment Visa in California?
Musicians and artists from around the world dream of coming to California for concerts or performances. Each year, thousands of these creative individuals put in their application for an entertainment visa from the United States government, but only a small percentage are approved. Working with an entertainment visa lawyer can assist with this process, but…
Read MoreWhat Actually Happened to the 1,500 Missing Immigrant Children?
Over the weekend an immigration story was shared across the U.S. It was a story that certainly caught the attention of more people than an immigration lawyer in California. In social media posts and news outlets, there were reports that the U.S. government, specifically the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), had “lost” nearly…
Read MoreHow the Supreme Court Decision on Deportation Impacts Californian Immigrants?
On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a portion of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) was unconstitutional and, therefore, unenforceable across the United States. The decision restricts when an immigrant can be deported because of a felony conviction, and the 5-4 decision is expected to hinder many of the Trump Administration’s initiatives…
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