Immigration Information Panel – Royal Purple

The Whitewater Community Engagement Center held a presentation on immigration laws and facts this week that was open to the public and free to all. The presentation discussed topics regarding current immigration laws and updates within the Whitewater community. Whitewater Chief of Police Dan Meyer, immigration attorney Davorin Odrcic, immigration attorney Margaret Wheeler and translator Sandra Ramirez were presenters at the event panel. Many facts and explanations were given to the audience about current immigration policies and laws.

Many immigrants coming from countries like Honduras may have difficulty accessing proper documentation or believe they need a lot of money to enter the United States due to simple misunderstandings about the laws surrounding our immigration policies.

“They always think that they have to save all that money to apply for asylum because that is what they are told, or they think that they always need a lawyer for that and the legal costs are of course high,” said Ramirez.

The asylum application is free, but winning an asylum case can take years. It can lead to residence status. Asylum seekers can also obtain a driver’s license in the state of Wisconsin. Some of these requirements include a valid driver’s license, proof of next ice appointment, passport, and proof of address.

There’s the asylum seeker side when it comes to immigration, and then there’s the other side of things: people are trying to look for work in the US and in that case they have the option to apply for a specific type of work. Visa. Wheeler assists with employee-based immigration.

“What I’m working on now is getting people immigration status,” Wheeler said. “So there is such a thing as an H1 B and that is what most companies and universities use to bring in their non-immigrant families to work in their companies or their universities. The other is immigrant versus non-immigrant status. So non-immigrant status is a temporary status, so again, an H1B is an example. You can get that for the employee, you can sponsor him for three years and then extend it for another three years.”

There are many ways that immigrants coming to the US can gain access to live in the country, whether that is asylum or other forms of documentation or obtaining a work visa to live in the United States for a period of time.