Chaos 75 Miles from the Border

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On arriving at my office on Monday, December 28, 2009, I was informed that one of my clients and her family were being detained by CBP Officers at an inland checkpoint. I immediately called her on her cell phone, and spent the rest of the day in an effort to explain to the CBP that both my client and her family were legally present in the U.S. and should immediately be released from custody. Below is the story as told by my client. I hope this will inspire the CBP to better train its officers, to treat immigrants with respect...

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[chanduv23]

Right now, we are on AOS, but we faced something similar couple of years back when we were still on h1b visas - it was not this bad, and we managed the situation within an hour.

It was at a post near lake George in NY, me and my wife were vacationing on a weekend and while driving back, the bordor officers asked us proof of our legality. We had driver lisences but they claimed it was not enough and they need to see the visa and i 94. It was our good day that most of the officers were friendly and cooperative except for one lady - she was extremely rude - she took our licenses and kept it in the pocket.

Then they started looking us up on their computers they verified my wife's h1 but as I already done like 4 h1 transfers their system showed only my first h1. I was surprised when they said "Our system may not be showing the right thing because your drivers license does show your status and expiry but not our system" then they looked up via different queries - through employers list etc... and finally found my entire trail of h1b transfers with employers.

They advised that we carry passports and legal documents wherever we go and let us go. It is a fact that we are supposed to carry our proof of legal documents.

If such things are happening - there needs to be a way to fix such issues.

We need to request from Ombudsman or any authorities like DHS or USCIS - how best to present legal documentation or what to do in such situations.

[kondur_007]

Originally Posted by chanduv23

It is a fact that we are supposed to carry our proof of legal documents.

I always carry a "scanned pdf" of my latest approval notice and I 94 in my iphone. I will strongly recommend everyone to do at least this.

I know a friend who carries a "miniature copy" of approval and I 94 in his valet.

Either way, you will have something besides your drivers license.

[h1techSlave]

I carry I-94 copy in my pocket at all times. But for people who have entered using Advance parole, there is no new I-94. Once their I-94 expires what is the legal document? May be the Advance parole with a stamping on it. But even that stamping is only for one year.

[crazyghoda]

The problem is that most agents regard the I-94 expiry date as the holy grail for your current status. For people who are on AOS, the I-94 date does not technically mean anything since it is issued for only one year but you are fine with staying past that date since there is a pending AOS application.

However, I visited the USCIS office in Chicago in Nov to see if Deferred Inspections can renew the I-94 date. They refused and since my I-94 was expiring in Dec, they warned me against staying past that date since it would make me illegal. They suggested I go to the International Airport and see if they would do something. I know for a fact that the USCIS officers at the airport cannot change anything and didnt even bother going.

However, to keep things simple, I drove out to Detroit in early Dec, crossed the border into Canada, took a U-turn (almost literally) to reenter the US and got a new I-94 card valid for another year. I specifically asked about the validity of the I-94 if the AOS was still pending and they said that the I-94 date is the key and staying past that would get me in trouble. Given that driving to Detroit was a viable option for me, I was able to do it. If however, I was living far from any international border I honestly dont know what I would have done.

There clearly needs to be more guidelines around I-94 dates, i.e., when their validity matters and when not.

[manusingh]

so it means we have to go out of the country to renew our I-94 evary time. pl somebody can shade some light on it.

[chanduv23]

The guidelines are not really clear.

However, Mr Shusterman claims to have faxed over some documents to prove the status is perfectly legal and all the charges were dropped, which means, it is not an issue if someone's i 94 expires as long as u r in AOS - if it were an issue, we would see a lot of chaos - Attorneys reminding clients to go out and come back.

However, it looks like there is inconsistency somewhere. When someone says "Go to USCIS office and get your i 94 changed" it shows they have absolutely no clue what they are talking about.

[eastindia]

Don't you think this maybe racial profiling?
What about Greencard holders and Citizens of Indian origin?

There is no way one can look at the face and say H1B/EAD/GC/Citizen?

Should citizens also carry passports at all times. The drivers licence does not say a person is a citizen.

[axp817]

It is sad that these things happen despite doing everything by the book, and I do hope that the powers that be, do a better job in educating their people in the intricacies of immigration law.

That being said, as soon as I read this, I sent an email to my attorney (a large business immigration law firm), to make sure I was prepared, were I to ever find myself in such a situation.

I have included our email conversation here, if it helps anybody.

My email to the attorney's office

Hi XXXX, others.

Happy New Year to all of you.

I have a 485 related question that you might be able to help answer.

I have been on AOS for a few years, I have a valid EAD and an Advance Parole document, but no non-immigrant visa, as I understand that I don’t require one.

My last entry into the US was in Dec 2008, and my I-94 was stamped AOS with an expiration date of Dec 2009. It is past that date now, and I do understand that I am okay to be living and working in the US because of my pending 485 application.

I live not too far from the XXXXXXn border, and I find myself travelling to XXXXX pretty often, and I have heard of Border Patrol checkpoints in the area (although I have never encountered one myself) stopping people to check for documents.

In such a situation, what document(s) would you recommend I keep with me? I always have my EAD and Driver’s license on me, I guess I could also keep my passport on me, but the I-94 on there has expired.

Will the officers understand the “pending AOS” situation? From what I have heard on the internet, I doubt that they will, and given that, do you know of any USCIS memo or document that I could carry with me, to provide to said officers as proof of my “authorized stay”?

Is there also a "Lawfirm XYZ" number I could reach in case of such an emergency?

I could definitely use some advice here.

Thanks very much.

Their reply

Hi XXX, you should carry with you the following:

1. valid EAD card
2. valid AP document
3. copy of I-485 receipt
4. passport

Please let us know if you have additional questions.

That being said, I now plan to carry all 4 documents mentioned in the email above if I am going to any of the border towns, and leave the rest to the officers' good judgement, knowledge, education, and my ability to politely explain what little I know of immigration law.

:-)

[h1techSlave]

Thanks for this very informative post. One point that I wanted to mention is that after 1 year even your AP expires. So if you could face some issues, if you never left the US and come back in the last 1 year.

Originally Posted by axp817

It is sad that these things happen despite doing everything by the book, and I do hope that the powers that be, do a better job in educating their people in the intricacies of immigration law.

That being said, as soon as I read this, I sent an email to my attorney (a large business immigration law firm), to make sure I was prepared, were I to ever find myself in such a situation.

I have included our email conversation here, if it helps anybody.

My email to the attorney's office



Their reply





That being said, I now plan to carry all 4 documents mentioned in the email above if I am going to any of the border towns, and leave the rest to the officers' good judgement, knowledge, education, and my ability to politely explain what little I know of immigration law.

:-)

[axp817]

Originally Posted by h1techSlave

Thanks for this very informative post. One point that I wanted to mention is that after 1 year even your AP expires. So if you could face some issues, if you never left the US and come back in the last 1 year.

I get my AP renewed every year, whether I have travel plans or not, so I think I am okay there.

But my understanding is that even if the AP (or even the EAD) hasn't been renewed, as long as there is a valid and pending 485, the person would be okay to live in the US, they just couldn't work, or re-enter if they left the country.

I haven't researched that issue much since I always keep my EAD/AP current. So definitely check with your attorney if you decide not to renew your EAD/AP.

Thanks,

[dummgelauft]

Okay, let us break this down:

(1) ONE family got detained, that we know of.
(2) The immigration officer was rude/arrogant/racist/un-knowlegeable etc etc...

Now, coming to the next step...

(1) How many of us live or frequently transit through such "check points"?
(2) If you do anticipate to be in the above situation, how hard is it to keep copies of your I-485 Receipt Notices, I-140 Approval Notices, I-94 cards, first few pages of your passport, and maybe an employer's letter in the glove compartment of your vehcle(s)? An EAD card is very easy to carry in your wallet/purse.
(3) Have your Attroney's number (his personal line or cellphone, if possible), in your cellphone.

This is really a non-issue. We have much bigger fish to fry....

On the same token, I remember the good old days, when we would cross in to Canada, and back, with ONLY a VALID licence......the CBP on US side and Canada Customs never bothered us...a License and university ID was all that we needed....

[gc_dream07]

Dummgelauft:

It looks like you did not read the full story. The RN did had EAD/AP for herself and her husband. The officer charged so many things which looks so stupid like student visa for kids, smuggling of your own vehicle etc.

It sounds very scary to me.

Originally Posted by dummgelauft

Okay, let us break this down:

(1) ONE family got detained, that we know of.
(2) The immigration officer was rude/arrogant/racist/un-knowlegeable etc etc...

Now, coming to the next step...

(1) How many of us live or frequently transit through such "check points"?
(2) If you do anticipate to be in the above situation, how hard is it to keep copies of your I-485 Receipt Notices, I-140 Approval Notices, I-94 cards, first few pages of your passport, and maybe an employer's letter in the glove compartment of your vehcle(s)? An EAD card is very easy to carry in your wallet/purse.
(3) Have your Attroney's number (his personal line or cellphone, if possible), in your cellphone.

This is really a non-issue. We have much bigger fish to fry....

On the same token, I remember the good old days, when we would cross in to Canada, and back, with ONLY a VALID licence......the CBP on US side and Canada Customs never bothered us...a License and university ID was all that we needed....