Almost a quarter of a million people in the United States may feel a lot safer after recent announcements from Secretary Mayorkas of the Department of Homeland Security ensured that TPS (Temporary Protected Status) will be extended and redesignated for the nations of Sudan, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. Read our latest blog to learn about what next steps you need to take to remain on TPS.
By now many of you have likely read in the news about the federal DACA ruling. Read our latest blog to learn what this means for your DACA status and the steps you should take to maintain status.
USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) has made big strides this year in advancing its website’s modern capabilities. Its latest website improvement is pretty major - the ability to schedule certain in-person appointments, online. Read our latest blog to learn what USCIS appointments you can now book online.
Waiting is hard. But waiting when you are separated from loved ones is even harder. We’ve reported a lot about the backlogs of USCIS, the waits for interviews, and decisions that seem unnecessarily drawn out. But at least for those decisions people are often in the United States waiting. Now, a new report reveals the depths of the backlog at U.S. consular offices abroad, where at some places the wait for an interview is up to four years long.
On October 26, 2023, the temporary rule that was put in place to extend work authorization for many renewal applicants will end. Read our latest blog to learn if this will affect your work permit.
In the mid-1990s Bill Gates said, “If your business is not on the Internet, then your business will be out of business.” This quote from the co-founder of Microsoft rings true almost 30 years later, but the U.S. government is still not fully caught up to having its business online. In trying to update its processes USCIS has announced that the Cuban and Haitian family reunification parole processes will be almost exclusively online. Read our latest blog to learn more about this newly announced process.
Did you know that if you receive a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings in Immigration Court, but the Notice does not include a date or time, a removal ordered given after might be void? In a new 4th Circuit ruling, a federal court has ruled that someone in removal proceedings who has received a faulty Notice to Appear cannot be ordered removed in absentia (meaning the person was not in the courtroom at the time of the order). Read our latest blog to learn what this means.
The most recent USCIS data shows a backlog of 8.6 million applications. 8.6 million. Put into context, that number represents at least double or triple that in the amount of loved ones whose reunification is dependent on the processing of a USCIS petition. A recent Presidential Advisory recommends a pathway to helping some of these families - read our latest blog to learn about this process.
Are you dreaming of cigars on the beach in Old Havana and vintage cars? If you are from a Visa Waiver Program country and planning to visit the United States soon you may want to think again. The relationship between Cuba and the United States is one fraught with uncertainty - tension that seems to come out publicly only in changing policy announcements. Now, the United States has announced a new policy involving Cuba and travelers wishing to come to the U.S. after having recently visited there. Read our latest blog to find out if this new policy affects you.
Today there are websites and apps for almost everything. USCIS recognizes the importance of technology in everyday lives, and while there is still no USCIS app, the federal agency is utilizing its website to provide an updated method for rescheduling biometric services appointments.
It’s the dream of many people who have immigrated to the United States — to be able to bring their family members here. But for so many that dream takes decades and decades to become a reality. In May the Biden Administration announced a new initiative to reunite families from four different Latin American countries -Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras - and now the family reunification program has opened. Read our latest blog to learn how the process is initiated for family reunification.
It’s been called “the main gateway to the American asylum system.” The Biden Administration is now utilizing a mobile app, called CBP One, for asylum seekers at the Mexican border to schedule appointments to present themselves at U.S. ports of entry and request asylum. Read our latest blog to learn more about this 21st century immigration tool.
It’s always important to double check the USCIS website before something is filed, even if it is a very familiar filing. After years of affirmative asylum petitions being filed at a service center, USCIS has announced filing location changes based on jurisdiction. Read our latest blog to find out how this affects your filing.
Fingerprint usage in 2023 is fairly common - unlocking iphones, background checks, even Disneyworld is now using fingerprint technology for people to access its parks! Since fingerprints have become such an easy and unique recognition tool, USCIS’ latest announcement about them may feel surprising - it has suspended biometrics (fingerprint) appointments for certain I-539 applicants. Read our latest blog to learn whether this affects you.
This last week DHS announced a change regarding TPS (Temporary Protected Status) recipients of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua - an announcement that simultaneously brought relief and frustration. Read our latest blog to find out how this announcement may affect you.
An estimated 34% of DACA recipients do not have access to health insurance coverage. The Biden Administration is attempting to change that number with a new proposed rule to amend the definition of ‘lawful presence’ so that DACA recipients will be able to apply for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, where they may qualify for financial assistance based on income, and through their state Medicaid agency. Read our latest blog to learn more about this proposed new rule.
There are lots of rules when it comes to filing immigration petitions with USCIS, and almost always that means following directions about filing online or by mail. But a new USCIS announcement enables a certain group of petitioners to file USCIS petitions in person at a local USCIS field office [with an appointment]. Read our latest blog to learn about the new Special Immigrant Juvenile Status process USCIS has announced about in-person filings.
In another effort to reduce the amount of arrivals at the southern border, the U.S. has announced plans to open new migrant centers in Colombia and Guatemala, with plans to open the same type of centers in additional Latin American countries. Read our latest blog to learn about these new centers.
USCIS announced a new review process for the family parole process it started recently for certain nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Because of its backlog history, USCIS has been searching for new and innovative ways to process cases in a timely manner, and its latest way is essentially a lottery. Read our latest blog to learn about this new process.
With Mother’s Day having just taken place, and Father’s Day right around the corner, it’s only fitting that we talk about one of the hardest parts about immigration - family separation. In an effort to combat a portion of family separation, USCIS has recently announced a new initiative that would enable certain family members of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents who have an approved family-based petition (Form I-130) to wait for an immigrant visa in the United States on a temporary parole status. Read our latest blog to learn more about this new process available to nationals of Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala, and Cuba.
Raise your hand if you like deadlines. Just kidding, we don’t either. But we all know the government does. But in a policy change that surprised us, USCIS recently announced that it is removing the requirement that civil surgeons sign Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days before filing a green card application. Read our latest blog to learn how this may affect your petition.
It’s no secret that USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) is notoriously behind on processing thousands of immigration applications. Recognizing it needs to do more, USCIS has opened a first of its kind processing center - the HART Service Center - called such for the types of petitions it will process, Humanitarian, Adjustments, Removing Conditions, and Travel Documents. Read our latest blog to see if this latest service center will affect your case.
USCIS has updated its policy on paper filing deadlines. Read our latest blog to make sure you are not missing a deadline!
Over 400,000 people currently possess TPS (Temporary Protected Status) in the United States - a status that allows certain nationals of 16 specified countries to live and work legally in the United States for the time allotted by their nation’s TPS designation. Typically those on TPS do not usually travel, but USCIS has issued a new travel authorization document for TPS beneficiaries with a very important affect on future immigration petitions. Read our latest blog to learn more.
Beginning May 30, 2023, the U.S. State Department is set to raise fees for non-immigrants who are consular processing at U.S. embassies abroad, and for certain special visas. Read our latest blog to learn if this new change will affect you.
