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How Is The Government Shutdown Impacting Immigration Services
Due to failure to pass a Congressional budget, the United States government has temporarily shut down with no end in sight. This is no doubt throwing many government functions such as immigration services into disarray, as only essential government services are operational during this time. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at airports and at port of entries continue to operate as usual, though without pay. The level of their... -
Warning: USCIS Will Place More People In Removal Proceedings
On June 28, 2018, USCIS released “Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens, where it laid out new policies to determine whom to place in removal proceedings. USCIS began implementing the PM for denied Forms I-485 and I-539 on October 1, 2018. Beginning November 19, 2018, USCIS may use its discretion to put people in removal proceedings... -
USCIS Releases Forms for New Public Charge Rule
In September, the Trump administration announced new rules for identifying legal immigrants as potential “public charges,” making it harder for people to get green cards or citizenship if they use public benefits like Medicaid, food assistance and Section 8 housing vouchers. This is likely to pose a particular threat to immigrants with mental health issues, disabilities, elderly people, and immigrants with less financial resources. Now, USCIS has released new... -
Judge Blocks Trump’s Plan to End Temporary Protected Status
In some great news for holders of TPS, a federal district judge in California suspended the Trump administration’s termination of temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of people. The decision applies to current TPS holders from Haiti, Sudan, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Temporary Protected Status allows beneficiaries to live and reside in the United States due to circumstances outside of their control. Under the designations, approximately 300,000 TPS... -
FOIA: Staggering Numbers of Sexual Abuse Incidents in ICE Detention
Earlier this year, our law firm filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking instances of sexual abuse in ICE detention facilities after many such stories from survivors: here, here and here. The records were released in full and depict an astounding picture of consistent sexual violence in ICE detention facilities across the country. You can access the records here. The sexual abuse ranges from threats of violence... -
Thousands of H-1B Applicants Lose Their Jobs
It is past October 1, 2018 and USCIS has yet to process thousands of H-1B applications, putting in jeopardy a ton of H-1B visa applicants who can no longer work in the United States as of yesterday. Applicants for an H-1B visa who had with expired F-1 visas or recent graduates who worked under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program are given an extension — known as a “cap... -
No Changes to TN Visas Under New NAFTA Agreement
The United States and Canada have agreed to a new NAFTA deal and left untouched TN (NAFTA) visas for Canadian and Mexican professionals working or aspiring to work in the United States. The TN nonimmigrant classification, authorized by NAFTA, permits qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to seek temporary entry into the United States for three years at a time to engage in business activities at a professional level. You... -
Prerna Lal – Community Lecture at NorthEastern Law
Prerna Lal, founder and managing attorney of Lal Legal, visited Northeastern Law School for three days in September 2018 as a Daynard Distinguished Fellow. Her community lecture was titled “Immigrants Making America Great Again: Lessons from an Undocumented Immigrant Turned Lawyer.” Learn more at: www.northeastern.edu/law/daynard -
Success Story: Luis Mora Receives Work Permit
There’s more good news on the Luis Mora front, one of our more high-profile cases removal defense cases. Last December, Mr. Mora was detained at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at a checkpoint and since he was out of status, he was apprehended and detained. He spent New Year behind bars, and expected to be deported. He became the public face of the need to pass the DREAM Act,... -
Attorney General Usurps Ability of Immigration Judges to Terminate Proceedings
Continuing his assault on due process and the over-burdened immigration court system, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued two new Board of Immigration Appeals decisions today that further curtail the power of immigration judges to terminate court proceedings. In S-O-G- & F-D-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 462 (A.G. 2018), the Attorney General dictated that immigration judges (who are under his purview as part of the Department of Justice) have no inherent authority to...
