Can an Undocumented Immigrant Be Admitted to Practice? California Supreme Court Must Decide

The ABA Journal reports on a case that might have great practical significance for a group of law students.  A California State Bar panel is set to decide whether to deny an applicant a law license because he is undocumented.  Sergio Garcia came to the United States from Mexico with his parents when he was 17 months old. The state bar recently began asking applicants about their immigration status, so there apparently are other California lawyers already admitted to practice who aren’t legal residents of the U.S.

Garcia says he’s been waiting 17 years for a family-based visa and expects it could be another 15 years before he gets one. As ImmigrationProf recently reminded readers, because of annual per country ceilings on immigration, prosepective immigrants from a few nations, including Mexico, have to wait many years longer than immigrants from other nations to come lawfully to the United States.

KJ