On August 25, 2020 Secretary Pompeo, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, has temporarily expanded the ability of consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for individuals applying for a nonimmigrant visa in the same classification. Previously, only those applicants whose nonimmigrant visa expired within 12 months were eligible for an interview waiver.

The Secretary has temporarily extended the expiration period to 24 months. This policy is in effect until December 31, 2020.

This change will allow consular officers to continue processing certain nonimmigrant visa applications while limiting the number of applicants who must appear at a consular section, thereby reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission to other applicants and consular staff.

Travelers are encouraged to review the website of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for detailed information on what services are currently available as well as eligibility information and instructions on applying for a visa without an interview.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today (08/25/2020) announced that the agency will avert an administrative furlough of more than 13,000 employees.

USCIS expects to be able to maintain operations through the end of fiscal year 2020 based on “unprecedented spending cuts and a steady increase in daily incoming revenue and receipts”.

USCIS claims that the aggressive spending reduction measures will impact all agency operations and will drastically increase wait times for pending case inquiries with the USCIS

Contact Center, cause longer case processing times, and increase the adjudication time for aliens adjusting status or naturalizing.

USCIS is asking Congress to intervene and provide the necessary financial assistance to sustain the agency through fiscal year 2021.

USCIS seems to have tighten their belt but now has a ready made excuse to delay the processing of cases.

USCIS/DHS extends the flexibility policy of Form I-9 requirements to September 17, 2020. The provision applies only to employees and workplaces that are operating remotely.

The Houston immigration court in Houston, Texas will continue to be closed until September 04, 2020.

USCIS plans to furlough 13,000 employees on August 30, 2020 unless it receives 1.2 billion bailout from Congress, It is estimated that USCIS will end the fiscal year on September 30, 2020 with a sizeable carryover balance.

Non-essential travel across the borders of Mexico and Canada will continue to be limited until September 21, 2020.

According to a legal decision by the Government Accountability Office issued on Friday August 14, 2020, both acting Secretary Chad Wolf and Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli are ineligible for their posts under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and the Homeland Security Act, and are serving illegally.

Wolf and Cuccinelli were named to their positions “by reference to an invalid order of succession,” GAO said. The auditors, who have authority to review the propriety of appointments under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, did not rule on the fallout of their invalid service, instead deferring to the DHS inspector general for a decision on who should serve in the positions and “the question of the consequences of actions taken by these officials.”

Wolf and Cuccinelli’s fate will likely be decided in federal court. Both are facing several lawsuits seeking to deem their appointments as illegal, most of which aim to strike down policies they have put in place. A federal judge previously ruled Cuccinelli was serving unlawfully and voided his policy initiatives. The Trump administration dropped an appeal of that decision on Thursday.

DOS has announced that the agency will comply with the ruling issued on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York which enjoins the Department of State from “enforcing, applying, implementing, or treating as effective” the Department’s rule related to the public charge ground of visa ineligibility. The Department is in the process of updating its guidance to consular officers on how to proceed under the preliminary injunction.

Visa applicants are not requested to take any additional steps at this time and should attend their visa interviews as scheduled. Applicants are not required to complete nor should they present the DS-5540, Public Charge Questionnaire.

A federal judge on Thursday August 6, 2020 ordered coronavirus testing of everyone held at a California immigration detention center, saying authorities had shown “deliberate indifference to the risk of an outbreak.” U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has “lost the right to be trusted” that the agency will take safety measures at the Mesa Verde Detention Center. The judge said evidence shows that officials “have avoided widespread testing of staff and detainees at the facility, not for lack of tests, but for fear that positive test results would require them to implement safety measures that they apparently felt were not worth the trouble.”

Last Friday (July 31, 2020) in a late-afternoon ruling by the U.S. District Court of Oregon,  the Honorable Karin Immergut denied the government’s motion to dismiss the case in Las Americas v Trump . The lawsuit, which was filed in December 2019, alleges that the Administration has failed to establish an impartial immigration court as required under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the Take Care Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The complaint outlines pervasive dysfunction and bias within the immigration court system. The lawsuit also claims that the Attorney General has grossly mismanaged the immigration court system and weaponized the system against asylum seekers. The Court’s decision confirms that the gross mismanagement of the immigration court system is subject to judicial review and it also recognizes that there may be important constitutional checks and balances on the power of presidential administrations to manipulate the immigration courts to achieve mass deportation.