USCIS
Administration’s Proposal Unlikely to Encourage Foreign Entrepreneurs to Choose the United States
The U.S. has long been the beneficiary of the new ideas and energy generated by immigrants, yet today’s U.S. immigration system does a poor job of accommodating foreign entrepreneurs who want to turn their ideas into a viable business. Recognizing the competitive disadvantage to the U.S., the Department of Homeland… Read More
USCIS Fees to Increase in December
Fees for immigration transactions will increase by an average of 21 percent beginning on December 23, 2016. Applications or petitions mailed, postmarked, or otherwise filed on or after December 23, 2016 must include the new fees. While the fees for some petitions will remain the same, others will see… Read More
USCIS Clarifies Guidance on “Extreme Hardship”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released new policy guidance clarifying how it determines whether an individual’s family will experience “extreme hardship” if the individual is denied admission to the United States. This guidance is effective December 5, 2016 and provides welcome clarity to a complicated issue. Certain non-citizens… Read More
Ninth Circuit Finds Court Has No Authority to Hear Lawsuit Seeking Access to Counsel for Children
In 2014, a legal challenge was mounted against the federal government for its failure to provide legal representation to indigent children in deportation proceedings. The case, F.L.B.. v. Lynch was brought by the American Immigration Council, American Civil Liberties Union, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Public Counsel, and K&L… Read More
After Urging Nations to Protect Most Vulnerable at U.N., Obama Steps Up Deportation of Haitians
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it will step up the deportation of Haitian nationals following a recent uptick in their number of arrivals at the San Ysidro Port of Entry by San Diego. Deportations of Haitians had been scaled back significantly following a massive… Read More
How USCIS Calculates Processing Times and How It Could Be Improved
When people think about immigration reform, they usually think about legalization, enforcement, and updating the legal immigration system. However, there are other upgrades to the immigration system that can be implemented by agencies without legislation which would significantly improve efficiency and could ensure that immigrants, their families, and employers receive… Read More
FOIA Documents Reveal Government Always Knew Flores Settlement Applies to All Children
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the 1997 settlement in Flores v. Reno—which governs the detention, treatment and release of immigrant children—covers both unaccompanied and accompanied minors. This was a direct repudiation of the position the government took while defending its family detention policies in… Read More
Comparing the House and Senate Plans to Fund Immigration Agencies
The House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committees unveiled and passed out of committee their budgets for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which begins on October 1, 2016. Although the House and Senate have proposed funding some of the requests made by the President in… Read More
On the Four-Year Anniversary of DACA, It’s Clearly Working
On June 15, we celebrate the benefits of the four-year anniversary of President Obama’s Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. Since DACA was first announced in 2012, it has positively changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of young individuals in the United States. According to the most recent… Read More
What the Senate Proposed on Immigration in the Department of Homeland Security Budget
This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee unveiled and unanimously passed out of Committee their budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which begins on October 1, 2016. The House of Representatives is yet to introduce their version of the appropriations bill. While the… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
