Miami Immigration & Naturalization Law Blog

When adapting to life in Florida after emigrating from another country, it's always helpful to have a strong support network in place. Immigrants often encounter various challenges regarding language barriers or cultural issues. Some also face legal problems associated with their statuses. If an immigrant is denied U.S. immigration law support, not only might it exacerbate the problem at hand, but it may also be a personal rights violation.  

A group of immigrant advocates have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security as well as several other parties. As plaintiffs, they are claiming that several immigrant detention facilities have prevented detainees from accessing legal support. The three detention centers in question are all located in separate states.  

When a financial crisis hits, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and nervous about what lies ahead. If a Florida homeowner fears that foreclosure is a real possibility, he or she may be anxious to explore options that may be available to secure immediate debt relief and keep lenders from obtaining ownership due to a loan default. When the foreclosure process begins, the first step taken by a bank is to send a notice of default through the postal mail.  

However, there are scam artists out there who send similar letters designed to look like official pre-foreclosure mail. In a county in another state, scammers were sending such letters, warning homeowners that they had certain amounts of time to make good on unpaid property taxes. The letters stated that homeowners had 30 days to pay their debts to the county treasurer's office.  

When you arrived in Florida from another country of origin, you likely shared many of the same hopes and dreams that thousands of immigrants have had when they started new lives in the United States. Perhaps one of your greatest goals is to seek citizenship. Although you may encounter various challenges throughout your journey, it is often possible to achieve such goals if you set up a strong support network of people well versed in the process who can guide you along the way.  

As with most immigration or status adjustment processes, there are eligibility requirements that must be fulfilled before a person can become a U.S. citizen. For instance, before you can seek citizenship, you have to reside in the U.S. for at least five years. If you are married to someone who is already a U.S. citizen, the required length of time is only three years.  

When a citizen of another country is the victim of a violent crime in Florida or elsewhere in the United States, he or she may be eligible to obtain a U visa. When violent crime occurs against a noncitizen in the United States,  a recovering victim may request protected legal status in the United States. U.S. immigration law requires a person in such circumstances to cooperate with prosecutors and law enforcement agents to pursue conviction against the party or parties who committed the crime.

Two men were recently released from prison after being behind bars since 1998. The situation involved a double murder in another state to which the men had supposedly confessed. They told the court that their confessions were forced, brought on by physical beatings they endured at the hands of a detective who was questioning them at the time. The men are two out of 14 people who have had their convictions overturned because of abuse committed by this same detective.