The Trump administration failed again to convince a federal judge that there’s a legitimate reason to rescind legal protections for hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and seek to avoid deportation. U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington said last Friday, August 3, 2018, that a second attempt by the Department of Homeland Security to offer a "rational explanation" for the agency’s decision had fallen short. "The court simply holds that if DHS wishes to rescind the program -- or to take any other action, for that matter -- it must...
According to a recent report by researchers at Syracuse University immigrants in the state of New York state have the greatest likelihood of engaging a lawyer and the lowest rate of deportation orders of any state with an immigration court, The school's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) examined government data for all immigration court cases between February 2002 and February 2018 and noted that 74 percent of cases in New York State had attorneys, and just 28 percent received removal or deportation orders. Susan Long, a statistics professor and co-director of TRAC, said it's no coincidence that New York, with...
This week ( JUNE 26, 2018) , the Supreme Court upheld the third, reengineered version of President Trump's travel and entry ban by a vote of 5 to 4. .The court dismissed the anti-Muslim statements of President Trump and other administration officials when evaluating the legality of the ban. President Trump signed Executive Order (EO) 13769, "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States" just one week after the inauguration, on January 27, 2017, imposing a travel and entry ban on foreign nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The ban was eventually enjoined...
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday ending the process of separating children from families after they are detained crossing the U.S. border illegally. Until Wednesday, the federal government repeatedly argued the only way to end the practice was for Congress to pass new legislation. Trump also wrongly claimed prior to today that his administration had no choice but to separate families apprehended at the border because of federal law and a court decision. The executive order is a complete U turn of that policy. Trump said his order would not end the “zero-tolerance” policy that criminally prosecutes all...
USCIS announced that as of 6/11/18, petitioners who file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, or Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, will receive a Form I-797 receipt notice that can be used as evidence of continued status for 18 months past the expiration date on their Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card, when presented with the expired card. USCIS is making the change from 12 to 18 months due to increased processing times for Forms I-751 and I-829.
By memorandum dated May 10, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a change, effective August 9, 2018, in the way it will calculate periods of unlawful presence in the United States for students and exchange visitors who remain beyond completion of their academic/training program. Under the new policy the date on which a person begins to accrue unlawful presence is not tied to a definitive notice of a violation or official determination by USCIS or an immigration judge. Students and exchange visitors who for one reason or another have failed to maintain their status will begin to accrue unlawful...
On May 31, 2018 the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, has decided to authorize the issuance of up to an additional 15,000 H-2B through the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. This numerical limitation increase is based on a time-limited statutory authority and does not affect the H–2B program in future fiscal years. However, the benefits of this cap increase is directed to businesses that need workers to avoid irreparable harm, rather than directing the cap increase to any and all businesses seeking temporary workers. This final rule is effective from May 31, 2018...
WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on May 25, 2018 that Form N-565, Application for Replacement of Naturalization/Citizenship Document, and Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Under Section 336 of the INA), can be filed online. Applicants will be able to complete Forms N-565 and N-336 electronically, pay the filing fee online, and submit evidence to USCIS through the online account. USCIS now allows a total of four (4) forms that applicants can file online through their online account including the following: Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, since...
Congress has now approved a bill that would fund the government through September to the tune of $1.3 trillion and provides for massive funding increases for federal immigration authorities. The omnibus funding bill notably includes a provision for underwriting a partial southern border wall but leaves out a fix for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. March 22, 2018
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, February 26, 2018, denied the Trump administration's request to review a California federal court’s order that temporarily paused the federal government’s move to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. By declining to take up the government's appeal of a district court's DACA ruling the U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the Ninth Circuit to finish its review. The high court did not specify a rationale for its decision to not review.
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