GuatemalaTPS.Info

La Embajada de en Guatemala ha emitido una declaración de condolencias desde el pueblo de los Estados Unidos a los afectados por los desastres naturales más recientes en Guatemala. El original está disponible en español e inglés aqui, y nos hemos copiado y pegado el texto a continuación para su comodidad. Nosotros también quisiera hacerse eco de los sentimientos expresados en esta declaración y compartir nuestro más sentido pésame con quienes se enfrentan a tales dificultades. Nuestros pensamientos están con ustedes.

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The US Embassy in Guatemala has issued a statement of condolences from the people of the United States to those affected by the latest natural disasters in Guatemala.  The original is available in Spanish and English here, and we have copied and pasted the text below for your convenience.  We would also like to echo the sentiments expressed in this statement, and share our own heartfelt condolences with those who are facing such hardships tonight. Our thoughts are with you.

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Eurasia Review , an online news and analysis magazine, has published an article by Carly Steinberger, who writes for the Council for Hemispheric Affairs. Carly’s analysis compares the situation in Guatemala with that of the Central American countries that have been granted TPS, and comes to the same conclusion as Senator John Kerry, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and just about everyone else who has looked at this issue: Guatemala should be granted TPS.

It is always encouraging to read about new support for the TPS request, and we can only hope that this latest bit of analysis will be yet another weight that pushes the scales in Guatemala’s favor.  Stayed tuned for additional news.

P.S. Carly’s article was reprinted by EnerPub, a syndication site primarily focused on energy-related news.

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Torrential rains have caused severe landslides througout Guatemala  over the last few days, with reports of casualties coming through several media sources from around the world. The damage, which comes as Guatemala still works to recover from twin natural disasters this spring, has brought additional global attention to the beleaguered nation, and highlights the need for immediate humanitarian assistance. 

Our thoughts go out to those impacted by the storm-wrought devastation, and we hope for the speedy and safe rescue of as many people as possible.

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Many of you have noticed the fact that this site has been down a lot lately.  It turns out that even our new, more robust, server was overwhelmed by your interest in our site. We’ve switched to a new hosting solution and hope that this should be the end of our server troubles.  Thank you for your patience!

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Todo el mundo está esperando para la palabra de la administración de Obama sobre la aplicación de TPS guatemalteco, y su aspecto más y más probable que aún nos queda un poco de una espera por delante de nosotros. Entretanto, las personas reúnen sus documentos, cabildeo de sus gobiernos y preguntándose si existe cualquier otra cosa que pueden hacer. Además de los pocos beneficios de inmigración anunciados por USCIS al principio de junio, vale la pena recordar que toda la gama de beneficios de inmigración ordinaria siguen estando disponibles para los ciudadanos guatemaltecos. Estos incluyen peticiones de la familia y de empleo, las solicitudes de asilo y ajuste de estado.

Mientras la gente usualmente piensan de estos beneficios se está disponible para aquellos inmigrantes que están aquí “legalmente” (es decir, en estado), incluso los inmigrantes aquí fuera de estado pueden ser bien servidos por al menos algunos de estos beneficios. Inmigrantes que esta fuera de estado casada con ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos o residentes legales permanentes pueden todavía solicitar visados familiares, aunque el proceso es más complicado y es probable que requieran una audiencia delante de un juez de inmigración. Las solicitudes de asilo son quizás los más notables de estos beneficios porque estén disponibles para inmigrantes que está en estado y los que están fuera de estado y también incluso las personas que son capturadas en los procedimientos de eliminación (expulsión).

Hay unos casos recientes relacionados con peticiones de asilo de América Central, incluyendo uno que ha recibido mucho atención de los medios. El caso de Lesly Yajayra Perdomo ha atraído una gran cantidad de atención nacional.  Eso es porque sugiere que la mujer guatemalteca puede ser capaz de solicitar asilo sola en virtud de su sexo y nacionalidad.  No es muy probable que este caso vaya resultar en un cambio de ley de asilo general, pero lo que si ensena es que la posibilidad de asilo como un tipo de inmigración es disponible para  inmigrantes de Guatemala y el resto del mundo.

En resumen, si hay beneficios de inmigración que estén disponibles para usted, es mejor usarlos en ves de esperar que el TPS vaya ser aprobado.  Si hay posibilidad de cumplir los requisitos para cualquiera de estos beneficios de inmigración, valiera la pena llevar su caso a un abogado de inmigración competente. El podrá escuchar los detalles de su caso y explicar los derechos y oportunidades que tiene.  Si aún no cuenta con un abogado de inmigración y le gustaría tener las respuestas a sus preguntas, seria un placer  ayudarle.  Simplemente envíenos un correo electrónico a Guatemala@kolasinski-law.com o llámenos al (209) 408-0104 (para ayuda en inglés) o al (209) 542-4529 (para ayuda en español).

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Everyone is waiting for word from the Obama administration about the Guatemalan TPS application, and it’s looking more and more likely that we still have a bit of a wait ahead of us. In the meantime, people are gathering their documents, lobbying their governments, and wondering if there’s anything else they can do. In addition to the few immigration benefits announced by USCIS in early June, it is worth remembering that the full range of ordinary immigration benefits are still available Guatemalan citizens. These include family and employment petitions, requests for asylum, and adjustment of status.

While people usually think of these benefits as being available to those immigrants who are here “legally” (that is, in status), even immigrants who are here out of status can be well served by at least some of these benefits. Out of status immigrants who are immediate relatives of US citizens or legal permanent residents can still apply for family visas, although the process is more complicated and will write likely require a hearing in front of an immigration judge. Asylum requests are perhaps the most noteworthy of these benefits, as they’re available to both in status and out of status immigrants and even people who were caught in removal (deportation) proceedings.

There a few recent cases involving Central American asylum petitions, including one that has received quite a bit of media attention. The case of Lesly Yajayra Perdomo has drawn a great deal of national attention for its suggestion that Guatemalan women may be able to apply for asylum by virtue of their gender and nationality alone. While it is incredibly unlikely that the case will result in such a broad change to asylum law, it does highlight the availability of asylum as a form of immigration relief for a significant number of immigrants from Guatemala and the rest of the world.

In short, there is no sense in waiting for TPS to be granted if other, perhaps more certain, immigration benefits are available. If there is a chance that you qualify for any of these immigration benefits, it is likely well worth your time to bring a case to a competent immigration attorney who can listen to your story explaining what rights and opportunities you have.  If you don’t have an immigration attorney yet and would like to have your questions answered, we would be happy to help you. Just email us at Guatemala@kolasinski-law.com or call us at (209) 408-0104 (for help in English) or (209) 542-4529 (para asistencia en Español).

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We have received several emails from our readers asking if there is any hope remaining that the Obama administration will grant the Guatemalan request for TPS.  It is quite understandable that people are getting impatient, as the Obama administration has taken a long time to respond to the request.  However, as the saying goes, hope springs eternal.

This hope exists not only here, but in Guatemala as well. Prensa Libre reported recently that President Colom is seeking to meet with president Obama in order to press the case for Guatemalan TPS. While the date for this meeting has not been set yet, it appears most likely to occur in November, when president Obama is scheduled to travel to a summit of Central American presidents in the Dominican Republic. Other possible dates for the meeting include the scheduled UN summit in September, or a standalone bilateral meeting before then. This last option is unlikely, at the presidents have had some trouble reconciling their agendas. The Prensa Libre report suggests that the meeting in November has already been scheduled, so this is the most likely time for a TPS discussion between Colom and Obama.

Unfortunately, this seems to suggest that we won’t have an answer on TPS before late November at the earliest.

El original esta disponible en Español aqui.

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The Law Offices of Patrick Kolasinski, the immigration law firm behind GuatemalaTPS.info, now provides assistance in Spanish! We encourage you to contact us directly with your immigration questions (even those that have nothing to do with TPS) by either emailing us at Guatemala@kolasinski-law.com orPreguntas@Kolasinski-Law.com or by calling our new dedicated Spanish-assistance line at (209) 542-4529.

¡Las Oficinas de la Ley de Patrick Kolasinski, la firma de abogados de inmigración detrás de GuatemalaTPS.info, ahora ofrecemos asistencia en Español!   Usted puede contactar nosotros directamente con sus preguntas de inmigración (incluso los que no tienen nada que ver con TPS)  por  correo electrónico a: Preguntas@Kolasinski-Law.com o  Guatemala@kolasinski-law.com o llama a nuestra nuevo línea de asistencia de español dedicado al (209) 542-4529.

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Prensa Libre reported today that the Guatemalan Congress intends to honor Senator Kerry for his recent support for the Guatemala TPS request.  The President of the Legislature, Roberto Alejos, called for an official Congressional Order recognizing Senator Kerry’s hard work in support of the TPS request, including his recent letter to President Obama urging the administration to grant the request.  There is hope that Senator Kerry will travel to Guatemala to receive the award, a trip that would simultaneously draw attention to the TPS request and allow the Senator to see how dire the situation is in Guatemala.

We would like to add our thanks to Senator Kerry, and to all of the other legislators who have expressed their support for the TPS request. Their support lends hope that the TPS request will be granted, a development that would ease the flood of deportations back to a country that is in no shape to properly absorb the return of over sixteen thousand deportees since January.

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