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Author: Ilona Bray

Ilona Bray is an attorney who gave up the active practice of law to edit and author books and articles for Nolo. Her working background includes both solo immigration practice and working or volunteering as an immigration attorney with nonprofit organizations in Seattle and California.
TOP TEN NOLO ARTICLES FOR 2018

TOP TEN NOLO ARTICLES FOR 2018

Another year has passed, during which time Nolo continued to offer readers in-depth information about legal and practical matters. We’ve covered everything from buying a home to paying taxes to suing your neighbors,employers, and former friends. (Uh, not that we’re recommending all that litigation.) Which articles were favorites among Nolo readers this year? The drum roll please. Okay, enough drum roll: Will I Get Penalized for Working While Collecting Social Security Retirement? This topped the list last year, too! Do we…

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No, the Deported Mexican Nurse Did Not Win the U.S. Visa Lottery

No, the Deported Mexican Nurse Did Not Win the U.S. Visa Lottery

Consumers of social and other media have read a great deal this year about the plight of Maria Mendoza-Sanchez, a Mexico-born nurse who worked in Oakland, California treating cancer patients. Though she had tried to obtain a work-based U.S. visa, her past unlawful entry made that all but impossible. The only reason she was able to work and live in the U.S. was that she received temporary relief from removal (as a low enforcement priority) under the Obama administration. After…

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Holiday Season 2018 to Test How Much Donors Are Motivated by Tax Deductions

Holiday Season 2018 to Test How Much Donors Are Motivated by Tax Deductions

End-of-year giving traditionally gives struggling nonprofits a way to make up for any lost ground and get a budgetary boost into the new year. Starting with Giving Tuesday (November 27 this year), the public is treated to, or annoyed by, a chorus of messages from needy nonprofits. Despite any annoyance, many generous people respond, such that approximately 30% of individual giving happens in December. We are weeks away, however, from what could be a seismic shift. The timing of holiday…

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Too Many Would-Be U.S. Citizens Blocked by Slow-Grinding Bureaucracy

Too Many Would-Be U.S. Citizens Blocked by Slow-Grinding Bureaucracy

Approximately three quarters of a million people who were eligible for U.S. citizenship long, long before this election—who had, per the eligibility requirements, held a U.S. green card for at least five years (in most cases), lived in the U.S. continuously with that green card, and studied up on their English and civics—are still waiting to become citizens. The bureaucratic backlog for naturalization is at historic, some say shocking levels, according to a report from the National Partnership for New…

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Let’s Say Birthright Citizenship CAN Be Ended by Executive Order: What Would Be the Result?

Let’s Say Birthright Citizenship CAN Be Ended by Executive Order: What Would Be the Result?

Long before Trump became president, conservative commentators began pressing for an end to what’s widely called “birthright citizenship.” That means the right, under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, of: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, [to be] citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” For well over a century, this amendment has been interpreted by courts and legal scholars to mean that anyone born…

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