USCIS
The Supreme Court Overturning Roe v. Wade Could Have Harmful Ripple Effects for Immigrants
Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, could have damaging effects to immigrant rights secured through the courts. The draft opinion—published last week in an unprecedented leak—is based in a legal concept known as “originalism,” which looks… Read More
USCIS Lengthens Work Permit Automatic Extension Period to Address Adjudication Delays
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a temporary rule last week that automatically extends employment authorization for certain noncitizens waiting for USCIS to process their work permit renewal applications. As of December 2021, over 80,000 noncitizens had lost or would soon lose the right to work because… Read More
Federal Court Orders Biden Administration to Temporarily Halt Title 42 Wind Down
A federal court in Louisiana issued an order on Wednesday temporarily preventing the Biden administration from winding down Title 42, the controversial public health policy that allows immigration officials to rapidly expel asylum seekers and migrants from the border. The order is in effect for the next 14 days,… Read More
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in ‘Remain in Mexico’ Case
Over three years after the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) went into effect, the Supreme Court finally heard oral arguments in a case about the program, also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Rather than debate the legality of the program itself, Tuesday’s arguments were about a different question… Read More
The US Response to Ukraine Shows We Have the Capacity for Humanitarian Relief
At the beginning of March 2022, as millions of Ukrainians were being displaced by Russian invasion, the U.S. government announced a series of policy changes to assist some of the people impacted by the war. Using many of the United States’ humanitarian protection authorities, the government acted quickly to help… Read More
Congress Ends Months of Uncertainty for Immigrant Investors in Regional Centers
For more than 8 months, noncitizens with approved immigrant petitions for investments in regional centers have been in limbo. Congress has now ended that limbo, by reauthorizing the EB-5 regional center program. At midnight on June 30, 2021, the congressional authorization for the EB-5 regional center program investor category expired. Read More
New Biden Administration Policies Offer Crucial Protections for Immigrant Youth
The government made two important announcements on March 7th affecting immigrant children who have been abused, abandoned, and neglected. The first is a new policy that offers work permits and deportation protection to children with approved Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) petitions. The second is a long-anticipated SIJS regulation, clarifying… Read More
This USCIS Policy Change Will Reunite Vulnerable LGBTQ Refugee and Asylum Couples
In February, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reversed Trump administration guidance that limited recognition of marriages performed abroad only to those considered “valid” in the country where they took place. This narrow interpretation of the “place-of-celebration” rule left many refugees and asylees without a way to reunite with their… Read More
Why USCIS’ New Mission Statement Is So Crucial
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unveiled a new mission statement this week, signaling an important shift in how the agency wants to tell its story and shape its priorities ahead. On February 8, USCIS Director Ur Jaddou announced the agency’s new mission. “USCIS upholds America’s promise as a… Read More
The House Passes the America COMPETES Act, Including Immigration Reforms to Help the U.S. Economy
The House of Representatives passed an economic competitiveness bill on February 4 that includes several immigration provisions. The bill is called the ‘‘America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength Act of 2022’’—or the America COMPETES Act of 2022. This bill (which is more than… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.