On September 11, 2020 the US District Court for Maryland in Casa de Maryland v. Chad Wolf, issued an injunction against the Trump administration’s limitation on work permits for asylum seekers. Under the court order, members of Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) or Casa de Maryland are given certain benefits. These benefits are: 1) ability […]
Most of the general public is not aware of the way in which immigration courts function in the United States. With all the discussion in the media concerning undocumented child migrants and increased deportations, the realities of the current immigration court system should be more publicized. According to the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) […]
The Immigration Policy Center recently published an article entitled, “Living in Car Culture Without A License: The Ripple Effects of Withholding Driver’s Licenses from Unauthorized Immigrants,” by Sarah E. Hendricks. This timely article examines the culture of cars and mobility that dominates the way of life in the United States and the impacts of restricting […]
Spouses and children who qualify for dependent nonimmigrant classification of H-1B are eligible for H-4 nonimmigrant visa status. However, unlike the spouses of E and L nonimmigrant visa status holders, H-1B dependent spouses are ineligible to apply for employment authorization. Being ineligible for employment authorization causes huge impact on lives of H-1B spouses as they […]
This week, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security held a hearing entitled, “Asylum Fraud: Abusing America’s Compassion?”. Witnesses testified to members of the committee over the concern that there is an increase in people submitting fraudulent asylum applications attempting to take advantage of a generous system in a country known as a […]
USCIS has implemented a new process to receive and adjudicate applications for civil surgeon designation centrally at the National Benefits Center. This process change requires physicians seeking civil surgeon designation to file a formal application at a USCIS Lockbox. Centralizing the civil surgeon application process will: Improve the application intake process; Enhance USCIS’s ability to […]
By John Gossart Jr. It remains to be seen whether the United States Congress can muster the responsibility and will to do what is right and achieve comprehensive immigration reform this year. Republican leadership in the House of Representatives continues to hold immigration reform hostage, most recently justifying inaction by blaming President Obama’s alleged track […]
In 2007, Congress passed a bipartisan appropriations bill that discretely embedded several riders and conditions on federal funding allocations that have had a tremendous effect on immigration proceedings in the United States ever since. One such provision in the statute firmly requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to maintain a minimum quota of 34,000 immigrants […]
April 1, 2014 is the first day on which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) may receive H-1B specialty worker petitions for the next fiscal year that begins on October 1, 2014. To qualify for the H-1B category, the position offered must be a specialty in which a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent is normally […]
On November 4, 2013 the Honorable Judge Jones with the U.S. District Court, in Seattle, Washington approved a class action settlement agreement. This agreement arose out of nationwide class action filed by the Legal Action Center (LAC) of the American Immigration Council, Northwest Immigration Rights Project (NWIRP), Gibbs Houston Pauw and the Massachusetts Law Reform […]
