§ 10.1 Introduction

• Library: Rights of Foreign Nationals (OSBar) (2020 Ed.)

§ 10.1 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this chapter is to assist attorneys who are representing immigrant victims in nonimmigration matters to determine the immigration status of their client. This chapter is also aimed at assisting nonimmigration attorneys to identify whether their clients are able to seek relief under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

NOTE: Title 8 of the United States Code codifies the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, Pub L 82-414, 66 Stat 163 (as amended) (INA). The regulations and many attorneys refer to the section numbers from the INA, as opposed to the section numbers of the INA's codification in the Code. See 8 CFR §§ 1.1-1.2. For example, INA § 101 (as amended) is codified at 8 USC § 1101, and INA § 214 (as amended) is codified at 8 USC § 1184. See the INA Codification Table at the end of this book.

Recent immigrants to the United States are highly vulnerable to domestic violence and sexual assault, and they are also the least likely to seek protection or legal recourse. The reporting rate of domestic violence for U.S. women generally is one in two; in the undocumented immigrant population the reporting rate drops to one in seven. See Leslye E. Orloff, Testimony before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims of the House of...