Facing removal proceedings feels like a countdown with no clear rules. A notice arrives, a hearing date gets set, and one missed deadline can end your future in the United States. An immigration attorney for removal proceedings reads the government’s evidence, spots relief you may not know exists, and builds the record a judge needs…

Facing immigration court is scary. You may hear two terms that sound alike but lead to very different futures: voluntary removal and deportation. Voluntary removal, known in law as voluntary departure, lets you leave the United States on your own terms instead of under a formal order. This choice can protect your chance to come…

In August 2026, Sen. Mazie Hirono and a group of Senate colleagues asked the Department of Homeland Security to rethink a planned naturalization fee increase. They also want DHS to keep fee waivers in place for low-income citizenship applicants who qualify. The proposal, published by DHS in June 2026, would raise the current $760 Form…

As of August 24, 2026, green card applicants have about three weeks left to prepare for a major policy shift. USCIS’s new public charge rule takes effect September 18, 2026, replacing the framework used since 2022, Arias Villa Law reported this week. Officers can now weigh more factors, including a relative’s use of public benefits…

A single arrest years ago can still threaten your green card today. Many Houston families ask the same question: which criminal convictions inadmissible findings actually block a visa or a green card? The truth is, category matters more than how long ago the offense happened. Immigration officers screen every applicant against the USCIS Policy Manual…

The unlawful presence bar catches many people off guard. Leaving the United States after you build up unlawful presence can trigger this bar, and it can keep you out for three or ten years. The unlawful presence bar doesn’t punish you for staying; it punishes the act of leaving. Many applicants build up unlawful presence…

Green card application fees 2026 look different than they did last year. Congress passed H.R. 1, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) folded new charges into an already long list of costs. So if you filed a form before, expect a few surprises this time around. Before you send another form, it helps to…

As of August 12, 2026, Salvadoran Temporary Protected Status holders have a new date to track. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) quietly posted an update authorizing certain Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries to keep working through September 9, 2026, extending certain expired TPS-based EADs (categories A-12/C-19) for holders who remain eligible and whose EAD renewal application…

As of August 24, 2026, families planning a U.S. birth under a visitor visa or a surrogacy arrangement face new uncertainty over the birthright citizenship executive order signed by President Trump. On Aug. 6, 2026, Trump signed two executive orders aimed at limiting birthright citizenship for children born to certain non-citizen parents, according to the…

Starting September 15, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will only accept the new 09/15/26 editions of Form I-539 and Form I-765. USCIS confirmed the i-539 i-765 new form edition rule in a newsroom alert, and USCIS is offering no grace period for outdated paperwork. Houston’s Vega & Associates tracks USCIS filing changes like…