New USCIS Policies Impacting Asylum Applicants, Refugees, and People from “High-Risk” Countries
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has implemented new policies that will significantly impact the processing of various immigration applications, including pausing processing for various benefits requests and ordering the re-review and potential re-processing of previously approved applications. The new policies will likely cause processing delays not only for these specific applications, but for […]
New Immigration Fees Authorized by the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”
Below is a chart showing the various fees from the Act. If you think these fee increases might affect you, please contact your us.
Understanding Alien Registration Requirements
Understanding Alien Registration Requirements A 1940 law, known as the Alien Registration Act, requires that every foreign national, age 14 years or older who will be in the United States (U.S.) for 30 days or more, must be registered and fingerprinted. This includes foreign nationals present in the United States (U.S.) without admission or parole. […]
Know Your Rights: If ICE Visits Your Home
All people living in the United States, including undocumented immigrants, have certain U.S. Constitutional rights. Ifyou are undocumented and immigration (ICE) agents knock on your door, know that you have the following rights: You do not have to open the door. You do not have to open the door or let the officers into your […]
Reminders on the Process to Promote the Unity and Stability of Families
PLEASE DO NOT CALL ABOUT THE BIDEN ANNOUNCEMENT. MY OFFICE DOES NOT HAVE ANY MORE INFORMATIONTHAN INDICATED IN THE USCIS ANNOUNCEMENT. Please make an appointment for August 20, 2024 or later if you would like to reserve your spot. On June 18, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced actions to promote family unity in the immigration […]
What Is Prosecutorial Discretion?
Prosecutorial discretion (PD) is the government’s power to decide how to apply the law to someone. In immigration situations, this can happen at various points in a person’s case and in different ways.In immigration situations, this can happen at various points and in different ways. For instance, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) might opt […]
Understanding Visa Retrogression
The Department of State (DOS) puts out a monthly document called the Visa Bulletin. It tells people when they can apply for green cards. The dates in the Visa Bulletin are like deadlines. They are based on how many green cards are available each year and where people are from. There are different categories for […]
Keeping Up With Your Immigration Court Case
If you have a case in immigration court, there is important information you should know. Hearing Dates: Hearing dates change frequently. You should receive a hearing notice by mail, but immigration courts often take a long time to send these notices. It is important to check your case status often to keep up to date […]
Protecting Your Permanent Residency
For many, the process of obtaining lawful permanent resident (“green card”) status can be a complex and challenging effort. Having a green card can provide certainty and peace of mind that you can live and work permanently in the United States. However, your permanent resident status can be revoked under certain scenarios. This article covers […]
U-VISA Petitioners
The U nonimmigrant status (U visa) is available to victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity. In June 2021, due to long backlogs, USCIS outlined the process to determine whether a U-visa petition is […]