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USCIS Updated Policy on the 3-Year and 10-Year Unlawful Presence Bars
On June 24, 2022, USCIS issued new guidance on the 3 and 10-year bars and green cards, but this new policy will only apply to a limited group of people. You can go read my post here that goes into detail about these unlawful presence bars. A brief summary of the 3 and 10-year bar is this – if a person has been in the U.S. beyond their authorized period of stay for more than 180 days but less than a year and they leave, they will be barred from coming back to the U.S. for 3 years. If the person stays for more than 1 year beyond their authorized…
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USCIS to Offer Premium Processing for Certain I-765 EAD Applications (Work Permits)
USCIS published a final rule called Implementation of the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act in the Federal Register at 87 FR 18227 (March 20, 2022). This rule went into effect on May 31, 2022. One of the provisions in this rule is the option for people to pay an optional premium processing fee (it’s an expedite fee) to get their work permits processed sooner. However, the payment of the premium processing fee is not available for work permit applications yet and will become available once USCIS completes all the necessary logistical steps to get it implemented. USCIS stated that it plans to implement this in the fiscal year 2022. See…
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Employment-Based Immigration, Family-Based Immigration, Green Card, Lawful Permanent Residency, Policy Change, U.S. Citizenship
Why Could Your Case Be Taking So Long? USCIS Processing Delays Remain at Crisis Level
Nationwide, you and millions of families, businesses, and individuals applying for immigration benefits are waiting longer for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to process and approve applications and petitions. Based on previously available USCIS data, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, an average case took about five months to process. In FY2020, an average case took more than nine months. Anyone who files applications or petitions with USCIS is affected. You and other people applying for family-based benefits, employment-based benefits, naturalization, travel documents, and employment authorization are all experiencing delays. Between FY2017 and FY2019, USCIS’s processing times for all petitions and application form types rose more than 37%. The dramatic…
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Employment-Based Immigration, Family-Based Immigration, Green Card, Lawful Permanent Residency, Policy Change
COVID-19 Vaccines Will Be Required for Green Card Applicants Starting October 1, 2021
Starting October 1, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State will require COVID-19 vaccinations for all applicants applying for refugee or lawful permanent residence, with some exceptions. All applicants who receive their medical examination ON OR AFTER October 1, 2021, must complete the COVID-19 vaccine series and provide documentation of vaccination. This change will impact anyone who completes the medical exam ON OR AFTER October 1, 2021. If the exam is completed BEFORE October 1, 2021, and it remains valid, the COVID-19 vaccine will not be required. Waivers for the vaccine may be available in these scenarios: -Not age-appropriate -Contraindiction – a reason for…
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Quicker Work Permits for U Nonimmigrant (U Visa) Petitioners and Qualifying Family Members
On June 14, 2021, USCIS issued a policy alert that will give principal petitioners (the main applicant) and qualifying family members with pending and valid U visa petitions work permits. To find out what a U visa is, you can go to my blog post here. The terms U nonimmigrant status and U visa are often used interchangeably but generally refer to the same immigration benefit. For purposes of this post, I will use the term U visa since that is the term that most people are familiar with. For anyone who has applied for a U visa, there is a huge backlog. I remember when I first started working…
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The First 100 Days of the Biden Administration – Immigration Edition
In President Biden’s first 100 days in office, he will be proposing many immigration-related policy changes and executive orders, as well as an immigration bill. Click here to read more about those plans. Here are some of the immigration-related issues that the Biden administration has said it will address: Reverse the Trump Administration’s policies that separate parents from their children at our border, including ending the prosecution of parents for minor immigration violations as an intimidation tactic, and prioritize the reunification of any children still separated from their families. End Trump’s asylum policies. Surge humanitarian resources to the border and foster public-private initiatives, and increase U.S. government resources to support migrants awaiting…
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Public Charge Rule Updates and Other U.S. Immigration Changes Due to COVID-19
No one can deny that this year has been full of uncertainty and changes because of the pandemic. I cannot think of one sector or industry that has not been affected in one way or another, including our U.S. immigration system. Many changes have happened and as attorneys, we have had to navigate our way through these unprecedented times staying up to date on current events and how they will be affecting our clients’ cases. Within our immigration system, there are many different areas. For example, we have the immigration courts, the U.S. Department of State, USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services), and the National Visa Center (NVC). Because of…
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Quicker Work Permits for U Nonimmigrant (U Visa) Petitioners and Qualifying Family Members
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USCIS Raising Filing Fees Effective October 2, 2020
*Update: On September 29, 2020, a federal judge blocked the filing fees from increasing at this time. USCIS is raising its fees by an average of 20%, but some fees will increase by much more than that. If you have an immigration case that can be filed before that date, you should do so. Below is a table of the new fees. You can also find the final rule here.
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President Trump Issues Proclamation Suspending Entry of H-1B, H-2B, L, and J Visas
On June 22, 2020, President Trump issued a proclamation that suspends issuance of H-1B, H-2B, J and L visas until at least December 31, 2020. The suspension could be extended depending on the circumstances at that time. This proclamation also extends the proclamation from April 22, 2020, that bans certain immigrants from coming into the U.S. until the end of the year, which was originally set to expire sixty days later. I had written a blog post about that proclamation here. This current proclamation only affects people who are currently outside the U.S. who want to get one of those types of visas to come into the U.S. If a…
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President Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Entry of Certain Individuals Into the U.S. Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
*UPDATE* On December 31, 2020, a proclamation was issued that extends this ban until March 31, 2021. On April 22, 2020, The president’s proclamation was signed that will temporarily not allow certain people to come to the U.S. for at least 60 days, but it can be extended if needed. This applies to people who are NOT in the U.S., do not have an immigrant visa that was effective on 4/22/2020, and do not have any official travel documents other than a visa that was effective 4/22/2020. An example of this would be a person who is a green card holder and has petitioned for a spouse or child, that…
