President Obama’s Executive Action announced on November 20, 2014 aims to make a number of changes to the current immigration system. The Executive Action will help secure the border and crack down on illegal immigration, prioritize deporting felons not families, and will require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay their […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has designated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone for 18 months. The Secretary of DHS, Jeh Johnson, made these designations due to the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in West Africa. Nationals from those countries who are currently residing in the United States may […]
The 2014 Ombudsman Annual Report, released by USCIS, indicated that the Request for Evidence rates for the L-1 intracompany transferee visa category is nearly 50 percent for the first half of the 2014 Fiscal Year. This indicates a significant rise in the Request for Evidence rates for L-1 visas in recent years. Despite this increase […]
On September 17, 2014 the BIA held in Matter of Ka A. Paek that an alien who was admitted to the United States as a conditional permanent resident is considered lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is barred from establishing eligibility for a waiver of inadmissibility if he or she is later convicted of an […]
In Matter of A-R-C-G-, the BIA recently found that “married women in Guatemala who are unable to leave their relationship” may constitute as a particular social group. This is a landmark decision that will better assist in allowing women who have experienced domestic violence to achieve asylum in the United States. The respondent is a […]
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) […]
In a reversal of the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded on July 18th, 2014, a case in which an asylum applicant seeks to remain in the United States on the basis of his kinship tie to a member of the Mara 18 street gang in El Salvador. Wildon Manfredo […]
Around the country, many cities are embracing immigrants new to their communities and promoting integration. The oftentimes-negative rhetoric concerning immigration policy relating to the inaction of Congress does not necessarily influence the immigration-friendly attitudes at the local level. These newcomers are indeed adapting and becoming consumers, business owners, homeowners, etc. and contributing their purchasing power, […]
A recent Rasmussen Report showed that U.S. voters rate the current immigration crisis as a greater national security problem than Russia and the situation in Gaza with Palestinians and Israelis. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of likely U.S. voters saw immigration as the primary concern, thirty-one percent (31%) for Russia and twenty-three percent (23%) for Gaza. All […]
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 […]
