The Department of State has announced that it will change fees for certain types of applications. These fee changes will take effect on September 12, 2014. The most important changes include a reduction in the E Treaty Investor/Treaty Trader fees from $270 to $205 and an increase in the fee for a K Fiancé Visa […]
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program is an Obama Administration initiative implemented to extend rights and benefits to the growing number of undocumented youths and young adults living in the United States. The program allows youths and young adults meeting certain requirements to temporarily defer deportation and receive both eligibility for renewable two-year work […]
In Aldana-Ramos v. Holder, just issued on June 27, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that family alone can constitute a particular social group, and thus an asylee who has been persecuted on account of his or her family membership can qualify for asylum. In Aldana-Ramos v. Holder, the […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released its Annual Flow Report analyzing naturalization patterns for the preceding year. This report uses administrative records consisting of information from naturalization applications in the preceding year, drawing conclusions as to present and future trends of immigration. In 2013, the United States naturalized a total of 779,929 persons, […]
In her May 19, 2014 article in Politico titled “States Take on Immigration,” Seung Min Kim explains that states are increasingly taking immigration into their own hands. However, where states used to pass laws focusing on immigration law enforcement such as Arizona’s anti-immigration laws partially struck down in 2010, now they are focusing on expanding […]
The American Immigration Council recently issued a special entitled, “Mexican and Central American Asylum and Credible Fear Claims: Background and Context.” This timely report discusses the current rhetoric surrounding the credible fear process and the state of the U.S. asylum system. Specifically, the report examines the legitimacy of credible fear claims based on situations of […]
Immigrants, both authorized and unauthorized, contribute greatly to the economies of the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. With close to 1.8 million immigrants in the DC-VA-MD[1] area, immigrants are helping to revitalize the economy through entrepreneurship, consumer spending, and by contributing to the tax base. Economic activity, consumer spending, and job creation are extremely […]
On February 11, the State Department released the March 2011 Visa Bulletin. The Worldwide Employment-Based (EB) preference categories remain current for EB-1, EB-2, EB-4 and EB-5. In the Worldwide EB-3 category (professionals and skilled workers), the dates advance by three months. For Mexico EB-3, the dates move forward by six months. However, for persons born […]
USCIS is publishing a proposed rule that could save U.S. businesses more than $23 million over the next 10 years by establishing an advance registration process for U.S. employers seeking to file H-1B petitions for foreign workers in specialty occupations. This at least is what they are saying. The proposed electronic system would minimize administrative burdens […]
Presidents’ Day, initially called Washington’s Birthday, became a federal holiday in 1880. It was celebrated on President Washington’s birthday – February 22 – and was the first holiday dedicated to a US citizen. This holiday was signed into law in 1968. By the mid 1980s, many state governments changed this holiday Presidents’ Day so that […]
