A new registry bill was recently introduced in Congress, that could legalize over eight million immigrants, giving them a pathway to citizenship. Immigration registry is an existing process that allows individuals to apply for permanent resident status based on their long-term residency in the U.S., regardless of their immigration status. Currently, eligibility for immigration registry […]
On Halloween this year, the Biden administration’s final regulation on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) went into effect. The final version of this rule closely reflects the original executive order enacted in 2012 during the Obama Administration. So, what is deferred action? Deferred action is a longstanding immigration practice that is granted by the […]
On October 12, the path to citizenship for Venezuelan immigrants changed significantly: the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new immigration procedure due to the surge in migration from Venezuela. In its effort to build a “fair, orderly, and secure immigration system,” the Biden-Harris administration has mandated that any Venezuelan who seeks to enter […]
Earlier this week USCIS had announced that applicants filing for lawful permanent resident status (LPR) are also able to apply for a Social Security number (SSN) or replacement card as part of their adjustment of status application process. How the system worked previously, were these individuals had to apply for a Social Security number at […]
On July 20, 2021, USCIS issued a policy alert stating that applicants who are in the process of changing their status to F-1 no longer need to apply to change or extend their nonimmigrant status to “bridge the gap” between the two statuses. Previously, applicants who wanted to change their status to F-1 had to […]
The Biden administration has proposed HR 117, the US Citizenship Act, which addresses key components and introduce new provisions to existing immigration law. The proposed statute additionally signify a substantial turn from current border and immigration administrative practices, taking a more aimed approach to immigration reform than its previous administration. Particularly, the US Citizenship Act […]
Prosecutorial discretion allows the government to choose whether or not to take enforcement action against a person. In the immigration context, US government attorneys have discretion when to terminate removal proceedings against an immigrant. In May 2021, USCIS issued a memorandum which encouraged US government attorneys to use prosecutorial discretion to expedite cases and move […]
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 […]
USCIS recently announced that it will be re-balancing the workload distribution of certain Form I-140 petitions and employment based Form I-485 applications. The workload will be distributed between the Texas Service Center and the Nebraska Service Center. Starting October 19, 2015, if you are submitting a Form I-907 together with a Form I-140 petition for […]
The Visa Bulletin indicates when statutorily limited visas are available to prospective immigrants based on their individual priority date, which is generally the date when the applicant’s relative or employer properly filed the immigrant visa petition on the applicant’s behalf with USCIS. Availability of an immigrant visa means eligible applicants are able to take one […]
