Terkiana, Inc.

Re-Request Credible Fear Interview or Reopen denied Asylum case under changed circumstances doctrine.

MOST IMPORTANT IMMIGRATION CASE OF 2020 - SCOTUS decision on DHS v. Thuraissigiam, where the Supreme Court decided on a very significant issue of noncitizen’s expulsion from the United States without affording the opportunity for proper judicial review. This is a very interesting case of Mr. Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam, a Tamil (ethnic minority) who fled Sri Lanka to escape torture, beatings, and death. He was denied asylum and placed in the expedited removal system. While in... detention, he filed a petition for habeas review of his removal order by a federal judge, which the U.S. government challenged on the grounds that neither the Constitution nor the writ of habeas corpus guarantee judicial review to asylum seekers. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, and concluded that the expedited removal statute violated the Suspension Clause of US Constitution. Unfortunately, Supreme Court in 7-2 vote, sided with the Trump administration’s efforts to speed the deportation of asylum seekers, ruling that a law limiting the role of federal courts in reviewing those decisions was constitutional. See more

History will remember that it was the common man and farmers' unions that started this revolution first. So it is indeed a farmer's revolution, no matter how the government wants to label it. AND YES - this is the biggest protest in India that we have seen so far. BIGGEST PEACEFUL PROTEST. These old and young men took the risk, faced the watter cannons, overcame the police brutality, walked hundereds of miles on foot, slept on roads in the cold, and occupied the center. Seve...Continue reading

I made it again to 2020 Who's Who Legal. This is not one of those 10 Best Attorneys Award, that you can shop online. Those are a joke. It has taken me many years to get to this list. They denied me for a long time and told me that I could not be on their list. When fianlly the nominations committee asked me why I deserve this, I told them to see the compelx cases that I have solved. Never got easy cases and never refused difficult ones. Coming from a solo practice, with no chance of cross nomination by peers, no mega PR machines behind me, no money to put ads in newspapers or billboards, this recognition feels sweet. I am here only because of my work.

In a precedent-setting decision, the 8th Circuit ruled on Tuesday that individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are eligible for a path to citizenship, regardless of how they initially entered the U.S. Here is the complexity involved in the case. Four TPS holders, whose application for permanent residency was denied, sued government. The applicants were affirmed by a Minnesota federal court which overturned that decision. Trump administration appealed the decision a...nd claimed that applicants filing green card should meet two requirements: First, that they were inspected and admitted into the country by a lawful immigration officer, and secondly, that they hold legal status to be in the U.S. The TPS holders who sued the Trump administration for blocking their applications met the first condition but not the second. Keep in mind that, TPS is granted when there is a serious natural or political calamity in a specific country. For example Haiti Earthquake, Nepal Earthquake, Countries effected with draught/famine, etc. 8th circuit passed a beautiful verdict, and held that Section 1255 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, states that TPS holders are considered nonimmigrants. And since TPS beneficiaries are 'considered' nonimmigrants for Section 1255 purposes, they are considered 'inspected and admitted' under Section 1255(a), regardless of how they entered the country. This is a very important decision, as Trump administration has pushed to end TPS status for thousands of migrants, including choosing not to redesignate Somalia as a TPS. It is very likely that case will be referred to the Supreme Court which now enjoys a substantial 6-3 conservative majority. Fate of TPS Adjustments will be eventually decided by Supreme Court in coming days.

The Board of Immigration Appeals has issued a decision in Matter of PAK, 28 I&N Dec. 113 (BIA 2020). Where there is substantial and probative evidence that a beneficiary’s prior marriage was fraudulent and entered into for the purpose of evading the immigration laws, a subsequent visa petition filed on the beneficiary’s behalf is properly denied pursuant to section 204(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1154(c) (2018), even if the first visa petition was de...nied because of insufficient evidence of a bona fide marital relationship. The petitioner argued that 204(c) ruling is improper because the 1st petition was denied because of insufficient evidence of a bona fide marital relationship, and there was no finding of a fraudulent marriage. BIA concluded that during the review of the 2nd case, the Director correctly conducted an independent determination of fradulent nature of 1st marriage. Therefore, the fact that the visa petition filed by the beneficiary’s first wife was denied for failure to establish a bona fide marriage does not preclude the Director from denying the petitioner’s visa petition under section 204(c) of the Act. #terkianaimmigration #immigration

One of my fav client got his EB-1B Green Card today! Before picking up their cards, they requested my staff that Jay should be in the office. Today, he and his spouse stopped by with lots of goodies for me and for staff, that included a bottle of wine, chocolates, sweets, coffee, etc. I wanted to share this note that they wrote. These notes are trophies for our labor. This case was special as we got an RFE questioning the citation count, international acclaim, significance and the usuals, for a Microbiology Scientist who worked in the field of Cancer Detection. I can’t be happier. Happy weekend everyone.

Ever heard of a Good USCIS Denial? Here is one! USCIS Field Office found my client ineligible to adjust status and charged him for misrepresentation because he failed to disclose about "alleged" arrest. We filed the inadmissibility wiaver and argued that detentions need not be disclosed and do not amount to misrepresentation, as they "do not meet all the elements of misrepresentation". Today I received the attached denial letter, in which USCIS concluded that detentions do not meet all the elements of wilful misrepresentation and therefore waiver is not required. This means that my client will be receiving a greenc card. #immigraiton

I cannot resist sharing this one! This client contacted me a few months back. He was very stressed. He had left his home in Jamaica & moved to New York, where he ended up in an abusive relationship. He hired a lawyer to assist him in filing for relief under Violence Against Women’s Act. Lawyer messed up his case and he was on the verge of being put in removal proceedings. When I insisted him to provide me more evidence, he emotionally said You do not understand. I did not ...ask him anything further. We started with a brief to USCIS claiming ineffective assistance of counsel. Several attempts later, USCIS granted us an opportunity to re-submit the evidence, questioning the marriage. We just had those 4-5 photographs to establish relationship. All of those photographs were from a single event a lunch between him, abusive spouse, & his step child. That’s all. Our closing arguments emphasized on this particular photo of him & his stepchild. I will be honest I was not very optimistic about this case. One day I receive a message from him, with this mutilated notice, asking Lawyer what is this? I replied You are going to get a Green Card! See more

In Matter of O-F-A-S (July 14, 2020), Attorney General decided if for the grant of relief under Convention Against Torture (CAT Relief), an act constitutes torture only if it is inflicted or approved by a public official or other person acting in an official capacity or under color of law. Attorney General concluded that when police officers inflict torture, it is irrelevant whether the police officers were rogue (in the sense of not serving the interests of the entire... government) or not. The relevant question is whether they acted under color of law: - whether they misused power possessed by virtue of law, - made possible only because clothed with the authority of law. Attorney General vacated the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision and remanded this case

Today we discussed on immigration reform / rules proposed by Biden-Sanders Taskforce and immigration policy of both Republican and Democrat administrations.

May be if USCIS treated its customers properly and fairly, it will not be in such a position. They mistreated their customers for last several months, who by the way paid their salaries, and now they are going to loose their jobs becuase of lack of funds. According to USCIS. "The majority of USCIS operations rely on fees paid by applicants and petitioners, not appropriated or taxpayer funds. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS has seen a 50% drop in receipts and incoming fee...s starting in March and estimates that application and petition receipts will stay well below plan through the end of Fiscal Year 2020. Without congressional action before August 3, USCIS will need to furlough over 13,000 staff members. The effects of the coronavirus pandemic are long reaching and pervasive, leaving few unscathed in its wake. USCIS is still experiencing those very effects, which began with an alarming drop in applications at the end of March. Forecasts predict a crippling budget shortfall that requires assistance from Congress to allow USCIS to maintain current operations." See more

Detailed discussion on ACLU’s Arguments in DHS v. Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam, 9th Circuit reversal of District Court’s Denial under US Constitution’s Suspension Clause, and - Supreme Court’s Decision on No Judicial Review of denial of Credible Fear Interview.

6/25/2020 at 5:30PM PST we will go live @ Punjabi Radio USA to discuss todays SCOTUS decision on DHS v. Thuraissigiam, where the Supreme Court decided on a very significant issue of noncitizen’s expulsion from the United States without affording the opportunity for proper judicial review. This is a very interesting case of Mr. Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam, a Tamil (ethnic minority) who fled Sri Lanka to escape torture, beatings, and death. He was denied asylum and placed in the ...expedited removal system. While in detention, he filed a petition for habeas review of his removal order by a federal judge, which the U.S. government challenged on the grounds that neither the Constitution nor the writ of habeas corpus guarantee judicial review to asylum seekers. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, and concluded that the expedited removal statute violated the Suspension Clause of US Constitution. Unfortunately, Supreme Court in 7-2 vote, sided with the Trump administration’s efforts to speed the deportation of asylum seekers, ruling that a law limiting the role of federal courts in reviewing those decisions was constitutional. See more

I am on Whos Who Legal. This feels so sweet, because I do not come from a Big Law Firm, do not have so-called nominations, or Big Law PR Machine positioning their candidates for rankings. I got here only because of hard work and my desire to win every case that I undertook. I got here because I brought the best to the table and handled most complex cases. Self made and battle tested. I am one of you ! An Immigrant.