Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. 2025-08-13T17:15:21Z https://www.riosimmdefense.com/feed/atom/ WordPress /wp-content/uploads/sites/1602886/2021/08/cropped-favicon-32x32.png On Behalf of Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. <![CDATA[Employment Authorization and Deferred Action for Certain Petitioners]]> https://www.riosimmdefense.com/?p=46110 2021-09-14T23:01:10Z 2021-06-25T07:00:00Z may be eligible for a work permit even though their cases have not been approved. The policy applies to ALL pending cases, but it does NOT mean you will get a work permit.

Who is eligible?

USCIS may issue work permits to “bona fide” U visa applicants.
  • The application for a U visa was properly completed and signed.
  • The law enforcement certification was properly completed and signed.
  • The applicant includes a signed statement from the principal practitioner (usually a declaration describing the suffering and the need for relief).
  • The U visa application was “made in good faith; without fraud or deceit.”
  • USCIS collected biometrics.
  • The applicant is NOT a risk to national security and public safety.
  • The applicant deserves the discretionary benefit.

What happens if I am approved?

The “bona fide” U visa process will work like deferred action. This means the government agrees not to start deportation and allows the applicant to obtain a work permit valid for up to 4-years. Immigration will check frequent background checks and revoke permits if the applicant gets into trouble with the law.

What do I need to do to get my permit?

We are not sure. It appears immigration will begin reviewing cases and issuing work permits. You can assume cases that immigration will prioritize reviewing applications that have been pending longer. If you just filed within the last two years, you should not expect a prompt decision. This is excellent news! However, remember, the government just announced this policy, and there are over 100,000 pending U visa applications. Please be sure your lawyer has your most current contact information. As soon as our office receives any notifications, we will contact you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience! ]]> On Behalf of Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. <![CDATA[Covid-19 Update]]> https://www.riosimmdefense.com/?p=46112 2022-02-08T13:28:18Z 2020-03-23T07:00:00Z Please know that Rios Immigration Defense, PS, will remain open and continue to answer your calls. Attorneys and staff will be working both in the office and remotely. While this may cause some delay in our ability to return calls, we are continuing to work on your case. If our situation changes, we will notify you. In order to continue to serve you, our office is observing social distancing and limiting in-office meetings. Thank you. Por favor noten que Rios Immigration Defense, se mantendra abierta y continuaremos contestando sus llamadas. Los abogados y su staff estaran trabajando en la ofinia y remotamente. Mientras que esto puede causar retraso en regresar sus llamadas, les queremos asegurar que continuamos trabajando en su case. Si nuestra situacion cambia les dejaremos saber. Para poder continuar sirviendoles, nuestra oficina estara implementando el distanciamiento social y limitando las citas en persona. Muchas gracias.]]> On Behalf of Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. <![CDATA[Administrative Procedure Act Doesn’t Bar Judicial Review of U Visa Petition, Ninth Circuit Holds]]> https://www.riosimmdefense.com/?p=46115 2021-09-14T23:01:21Z 2020-03-04T08:00:00Z sua sponte that the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 does not strip jurisdiction over the petitioner’s action. Congress created the U visa program as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, providing nonimmigrant visas for crime victims who have suffered significant physical or mental abuse while in the United States and are willing to assist in criminal investigations. Pedro Tomas Perez Perez, a Mexican citizen who resides in Washington state, petitioned for a U visa in 2013 after he reported to police that he was being harassed. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) denied the petition, finding that Perez did not present sufficient evidence that he was a victim of qualifying criminal activity. Perez eventually challenged the denial of his petition in federal court under the APA. The district court dismissed the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, concluding that the action was not reviewable under the APA because of the Act’s exception for “agency action [that] is committed to agency discretion by law.” (5 U.S.C. § 701(a)(2).) The court held that section 701(a)(2) applied because “[i]n the U-visa context, there is no judicially manageable standard by which a court can judge how USCIS should exercise its discretion.” Reversing the district court, the Ninth Circuit cited its holding in Beno v. Shalala (9th Cir. 1994) 30 F.3d 1057, 1066 that “[the] mere fact that a statute contains discretionary language does not make agency action unreviewable.” It also cited Heckler v. Chaney (1985) 470 U.S. 821, 834, which held that as long as there is a “meaningful standard against which to judge the agency’s exercise of discretion,” judicial review is available. “Indeed, inherently discretionary standards may themselves be sufficiently meaningful to support judicial review for abuse of discretion,” Judge William Fletcher wrote for the majority. Fletcher wrote that the statutory framework of U visa determinations “affords ‘meaningful standards’ for reviewing claims challenging USCIS’s compliance with that framework.” The majority also made a sua sponte decision that 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii) does not strip federal courts of jurisdiction to review USCIS’s denial of Perez’s U visa petition. Judge Consuelo Callahan dissented, writing that “the majority opinion devalues the separation of powers and creates a circuit split by venturing into the forbidden territory of permitting judicial review over the discretionary denials of U visas.” “The majority opinion opens the proverbial floodgates to courts reviewing the USCIS’s decision on the approximately 250,000 U visa petitions, as well as possibly other visa petitions currently pending before the USCIS seeking discretionary relief,” Callahan wrote. Henry Cruz, who represented Perez, said in an email that the decision is “a huge victory for my client and other immigrant victims of crime applying for a U visa in the U.S.” “They can now seek judicial review of the wrongful denial of their U visa petition by DHS, which is timely considering the current Administration’s blatant hostility towards immigrants in general and, more specifically, its attempts to impose more barriers to U visa petitioners through erroneous interpretations of the law and abuses of discretion,” Cruz said. “The court’s decision is simply carrying out the intent of Congress to ensure immigrant victims of crime receive the legal protections due to them under law.” The U.S. Department of Justice could not be immediately reached for comment. The case is Perez v. Wolf, case number 18-35123, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. © The Regents of the University of California, 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.]]> On Behalf of Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. <![CDATA[Manuel Rios Awarded WSBA’s Highest Award 2015]]> https://www.riosimmdefense.com/?p=46119 2021-09-14T23:01:33Z 2016-01-09T08:00:00Z  Recently, Manny Rios was awarded with the highest award from the Washington State Bar Association. With attorney, Deborah M. Niedermeyer, they received the award for creating an unprecedented case against notarios, unlicensed law practitioners. This is what the NW Lawyer Magazine had to say on the award’s behalf: This award is the WSBA’s highest honor and is given for a recent, singular achievement. It is awarded to individuals only — both lawyers and non-lawyers. This award is in recognition of Deborah M. Niedermeyer and Manuel F. Rios’ work in filing the first-ever lawsuit against unlicensed immigration consultants under Washington’s 2011 Immigration Services Fraud Prevention Act. Unlicensed immigration law practitioners, also known as “notarios,” prey on unsophisticated immigrants with limited knowledge of English and the U.S. legal system. The processing of immigration cases by these unlicensed practitioners of law violates both criminal and civil laws in the state of Washington. Due to errors and false statements by these unlicensed practitioners, their victims are often left exposed to serious adverse legal consequences, including detention, deportation, and/or permanent separation from family in the United States. Moreover, because unlicensed immigration law practitioners frequently claim or imply that they are attorneys, their operations undermine the reputation of and the public’s confidence in the legal profession, especially within vulnerable immigrant communities. In 2014, Niedermeyer and Rios filed a consumer protection suit on behalf of a family which had been defrauded and seriously injured by a pair of notarios. After over 80 hours of pro bono representation, Niedermeyer and Rios reached a settlement with the defendants, who agreed to pay in full what the law anticipates: triple damages to the plaintiffs, plus costs and attorneys’ fees. Niedermeyer and Rios have donated 100 percent of their attorney fees to WA-AILA to set up a revolving fund to finance service of process and filing fees for future cases, to help promote the use of a “private attorney general” strategy to protect vulnerable immigration clients, and to educate immigration lawyers on how to successfully file similar consumer protection actions. Niedermeyer is a contract attorney specializing in immigration, consumer protection, civil rights and Indian law. Her pro bono work includes nonprofit corporate governance advice and autism-related civil rights issues. She is the chair of the WA-AILA Professional Responsibility and Consumer Protection Committee. Rios, a partner at the firm of Rios & Cruz, P.S. in Seattle, has practiced immigration law since 1997 and has been a consultant attorney for the Mexican Consulate in Washington for immigration matters since 2002. In 2009, Rios received the Latino Bar Association of Washington’s Miembro Exceptional Award for his pro bono work against notarios in the Latino community, and in 2013 he was awarded the Premio Othli by the Mexican government for his work on behalf of Mexican immigrants in the United States.]]> On Behalf of Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. <![CDATA[AILA Interview of the Month: Manny Rios Discusses Winning Lawsuits against Notarios]]> https://www.riosimmdefense.com/?p=46117 2021-09-14T23:01:27Z 2016-01-09T08:00:00Z November’s AIM, AILA members and recipients of the Washington State Bar Association’s 2015 Award of Merit Manuel Rios and Deborah Neidermeyer discuss winning their lawsuit under the Washington State Immigration Services Fraud Prevention Act and how members can replicate their success.
]]> On Behalf of Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. <![CDATA[Midland man on brink of deportation after relying on advice from a ‘notario‘: Manuel Rios interviewed]]> https://www.riosimmdefense.com/?p=46120 2021-09-14T23:01:38Z 2015-03-07T08:00:00Z NOTARIOS INSTEAD OF ATTORNEYS Businesses that provide immigration consultation without adequate legal training are called “notarios,” in Spanish. In Latin America, the title reflects someone who is a licensed attorney, and in some places indicates the person is even more credentialed, said Matt Adams of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. In the United States, it translates to notary, someone qualified to oversee the signing of documents. It’s hard to say how many operate in Washington, but Adams estimates his office each year sees a couple hundred people who seek his office’s help after notarios first tried to handle their cases. Part of the issue, he said, is that the need for immigration legal services is greater than his nonprofit and others can fill. If someone can’t find help they can afford, a notario might be cheaper. “There are people out there who are trying to just help people who can’t afford attorneys,” Adams said. “There’s not necessarily an intent to deceive on the part of some.” The price range for notarios varies, and some charge about as much as a qualified attorney would, Adams said. But in general, a notario costs roughly a third or less of what an attorney would charge, he estimated. “What ends up happening is that while some people might go through without any problem, many people end up submitting applications for which they don’t qualify,” he said.

$1,300 BILL BUT NO HELP

That’s what Chavez said happened to him. The complaint filed in Pierce County Superior Court gives this account: In 2011, Chavez and his wife, Esmeralda Ruesgo Loera, turned to E.C. New Horizons after being referred there by Chavez’s brother. The office at 4102 110th St. SW then had signs that stated: “Nuevos Horizontes” and “Notario Publico.” Cruz, who was named in Chavez’s lawsuit, told the couple Chavez was eligible for legal status, and had the right to apply for it. Chavez’s two prior deportations wouldn’t be an issue, Cruz said. The charge for Cruz to prepare the application for permanent residency for Chavez was $1,300. He asked the couple to come back with documents and the payment and filing fees. When they returned, Cruz spent two hours with them, filling out a form for Ruesga to file on her husband’s behalf. The couple gave Cruz $300 and signed the paperwork, though Cruz did not put his signature on the documents as the preparer. Cruz said he had worked in the “office of immigration,” and made the couple think he had inside knowledge about immigration matters. Diplomas and certificates on the walls also gave the couple confidence in Cruz, who told them to have faith. About eight months later, the couple got word that the application had been approved. The next month, they gave Cruz another $300 to put together a naturalization application for Ruesga. In November 2012, Cruz filled out more paperwork for Chavez’s bid for permanent residency, and the couple paid him another $500 toward the $1,300 tab. Two months later they learned they would be interviewed by the government about his application, and Cruz told them how to prepare. When the couple went to the interview on Feb. 21, 2013, the interviewer said the application was being denied because of Chavez’s prior deportations, and that the family should get an attorney. They went back to Cruz, who told them he didn’t think an attorney was necessary, and appealed the decision for them for $585, which he said he would charge them later. The appeal later was denied because it was filed with the wrong division of Homeland Security. In February 2014, Chavez told Cruz he was considering getting a lawyer. Cruz said he shouldn’t do that, and that “only the easy part was left.” The next month the couple got a notice for Chavez to meet with a deportation officer. They took the notice to New Horizons, where Terry, also named in the lawsuit, reviewed it. Ruesga asked whether they should get an attorney. Terry said yes.

90 DAYS AND COUNTING

That’s what they did, eventually working with Rios, who helped them win the settlement in their lawsuit against New Horizons. Rios said his client’s part of the settlement is about $25,000. The lawsuit was the first time, Rios thinks, that a plaintiff has used the state’s Immigration Services Fraud Prevention Act, designed to help target notarios posing as attorneys. Chavez now has an order that gives him 90 days to get ready to leave the country. His attorney, Rios, said the hope is that Chavez will be able to stay in the United States without fear of deportation when President Obama’s executive action takes effect. “My feeling is that at least he has a temporary reprieve,” Rios said. “We’re ready to go. As soon as that comes out, he’s ready to file.” ]]> On Behalf of Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. <![CDATA[Univision Report: Manuel Rios interviewed on case protecting immigrant from “notario” services]]> https://www.riosimmdefense.com/?p=46121 2021-09-14T23:01:43Z 2015-02-20T08:00:00Z Univision Report: Manuel Rios discusses his case representing a man who was nearly deported after hiring a “notario”, or business offering immigration legal services without a license to practice law, to prepare immigration applications. The report warns of the risks of hiring immigration service providers who are not licensed attorneys, especially as immigrants consider applying for benefits under President Obama’s recently announced executive action programs.]]> On Behalf of Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. <![CDATA[Erica Schommer wins appeal for man fearing torture in Mexico due to mental illness and former gang membership]]> https://www.riosimmdefense.com/?p=46122 2021-09-14T23:01:49Z 2014-09-10T07:00:00Z On Behalf of Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. <![CDATA[Manuel Rios receives prestigious “Ohtli” award: Univision Report]]> https://www.riosimmdefense.com/?p=46123 2021-09-14T23:01:54Z 2013-10-11T07:00:00Z Manuel Rios received the “Ohtli” award from the Government of Mexico on October 11, 2013 at a reception hosted by the Consulate of Mexico in Seattle. The Ohtli award is given to individuals to recognize their exceptional contributions to the well-being, prosperity and empowerment of Mexican communities living outside of Mexico. Manuel, a founding partner of Rios & Cruz, was recognized for his years of work and success in defending the rights of the Latino and Mexican communities throughout Washington and the region, as well as providing legal services in collaboration with the Consulate of Mexico in Seattle since 2002. Previous recipients of the Ohtli award include Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Mayor of Los Angeles, Raul Izaguirre, founder of the National Council of La Raza, Bill Richardson, the former Governor of New Mexico and Arturo Rodriguez, President of the United Farm Workers.]]> On Behalf of Rios Immigration Defense, P.S. <![CDATA[Radio Program on El Rey 1360AM: Deferred Action Community Programs]]> https://www.riosimmdefense.com/?p=46124 2021-09-14T23:01:59Z 2013-03-05T08:00:00Z here: ]]>