On February 24, 2021, President Biden rescinded Presidential Proclamation 10014 which prohibited the entry of certain immigrants into the United States due to possible harm to economic interests due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, the ban imposed on certain non-immigrant visas by the Trump Presidential Proclamation 10052 remains in place.This means that the State Department will have to alter policy that has been in place since the Spring of 2020 and the U.S. consulates will now have to begin scheduling appointments for immigrant visa applicants through out the world.With the exception of certain non-immigrant visas such as the E and...
February 2, 2021-The U.S. Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas as Homeland Security Secretary, the first Latino and immigrant to serve at the helm of the department.Mr. Mayorkas is expected to swiftly begin rolling back Trump administration immigration policies.
February 1, 2021: DHS and its Federal government partners fully support equal access to the COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine distribution sites for undocumented immigrants. DHS supports the equitable and efficient distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to all populations, including historically underserved communities, without discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, or other protected class, and in compliance with law and policy. It is a moral and public health imperative to ensure that all individuals residing in the United States have access to the vaccine.
On January 20, 2021 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a MEMORANDUM directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to conduct a review of policies and practices concerning immigration enforcement.The Department-wide guidance includes a 100-day pause on certain removals while DHS conducts a Department-wide review of policies and practices concerning immigration enforcement. The review requires that each component of DHS develop recommendations to address aspects of immigration enforcement, including policies for prioritizing the use of enforcement personnel, detention space, and removal assets; policies governing the exercise of...
This past Wednesday President Biden issued a battery of executive orders addressing several immigration issues. One executive order specifically mentioned the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. President Biden mandated in that executive order that DACA must be “preserved and fortified”. What does that mean?At the very least the DACA program will continue in the original format as instituted in 2012. However, the executive order indicates that DACA has to be “fortified”. That may mean that the qualifying requirements may be altered and changed to allow another group of applicants to be eligible depending on the date of entry...
On January 20, 2017 when President Donald Trump assumed office, a total of 542,411 deportation cases were pending before the Immigration Courts throughout the U.S. Four years later at the start of 2021, the Biden administration will inherit a massive load of 1,290,766 cases—nearly two and a half times the level when Trump assumed office. Another 300,000+ cases have not been placed on the active docket and are waiting in the wings because former President Trump's policy changes decided that this other batch of cases aren't finally resolved. During the four years since Trump assumed the presidency, the massive log...
On January 19, 2021, the last full day of the Trump administration, Trump issued an executive order to defer for 18 months the removal of any national of Venezuela, or alien without nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela, who is present in the United States as of January 20, 2021. Employment authorization will also be issued to those who are eligible. The executive order also outlined eight (8) groups of individuals who are not eligible. DHS will now be charged with establishing a process to register and determine eligibility for the DED
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on January 15, 2020 it will temporarily suspend in-person services at all field offices, asylum offices and application support centers on Jan. 19 and 20 to ensure the safety of our employees and individuals with appointments. USCIS will reschedule individuals who had appointments on Jan. 19 and 20 and send them notices with their new appointment dates.
USCIS will no longer issue stickers to extend the validity of a Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (PRC), or Green Card. USCIS will instead issue a revised Form I-797, Notice of Action, receipt notice of Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card. The revised notice will extend the validity of a PRC for 12 months from the “Card Expires” date on the front of the PRC. Employees may present their expired PRC together with this notice as an acceptable List A document that establishes identity and employment authorization for Form I-9 purposes. Employers who retain copies of documents should...
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