Announcements

7th Circuit Blocks Feds From Enforcing Public-Charge Immigration Rule in Illinois CHICAGO (CN) — A Seventh Circuit panel Wednesday upheld a decision blocking enforcement in Illinois of a Trump administration policy that adds barriers for immigrants seeking green cards if they rely on public benefits, food stamps or housing vouchers.   The 2–1 decision from the appeals […]

Lawsuit Alleges CARES Act Excludes U.S. Citizen Children Of Undocumented Immigrants U.S. citizen children of undocumented parents who are excluded from the $2 trillion federal coronavirus relief package filed a federal class-action lawsuit Tuesday. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Maryland by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center along with CASA,

DACA, USCIS Office Closures and the Forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court Decision In response to the COVID-19 public health crisis, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has clarified its process for handling Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal requests. According to USCIS’s website, its offices will remain closed until at least May 3. If you are

USCIS Announces Temporary Suspension of H-1B 2021 Premium Processing On Tuesday, March 17, The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will temporarily suspend premium processing services for all petitions filed under the H-1B cap-subject category. As stated in the announcement, H-1B petitioners will not be able to request premium processing by the time

All the Immigration Lawsuits against the Trump Administration – a Summary President Trump’s administration is facing an unprecedented number of lawsuits over his immigration policies. By end of 2020, we can expect court decisions on many of these lawsuits. The judicial branch may also make a stance on the limits of the President’s authority to

Border Agents Cannot Search Travelers’ Digital Devices without Reasonable Suspicion, Judge ruled A district court judge in Boston ruled that U.S. border agents must have ‘reasonable suspicion’ to search travelers’ electronic devises at airports and other ports of entry. Background of the Decision In recent years there has been a growing practice for border agents

Congress is about to End Immigration of Skilled Workers in the U.S. By Ira J. Kurzban, KKTP, P.A. At the same time the Trump White House is crushing the hopes and aspirations of asylum seekers and those seeking a better life in. the U.S. through illegal practices and policies, the Congress is about to seriously

Debunking America First: Limiting H-1B Visa Results in Job Loss in the U.S. A new study finds that immigration restrictions preventing the employment of high-skilled foreign nationals are doing far more harm than good for the American economy. Background The research was conducted by academics at the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University

Border Agents Cannot Search Travelers’ Digital Devices without Reasonable Suspicion, Judge ruled A district court judge in Boston ruled that U.S. border agents must have ‘reasonable suspicion’ to search travelers’ electronic devises at airports and other ports of entry. Background of the Decision In recent years there has been a growing practice for border agents

DHS Expands Use of Expedited Removal On July 23, 2019, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a new rule that dramatically increases the ability of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Custom and Border Protection (CBP) officers to remove certain noncitizens from the country. Those subject to such expedited removal will not even be given

ICE Raids Scheduled to Begin on Sunday Nationwide raids to arrest thousands of undocumented immigrants have been scheduled to begin Sunday, but the final details of these raids remain uncertain. The operation was previously postponed. What is going to happen? The raids, conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE)over multiple days, will include “collateral” deportations. This

H-1B Cap Reached within 5 days, Reflects Serious Need for Foreign Professionals in U.S. USCIS has once again received more than enough applications within the first 5 days of the fiscal year 2020 filing period to reach the annual cap of 85,000 H-1B visas. The agency received 201,011 petitions this year, a 6% increase from

Exit of Homeland Security Secretary Signals Tougher Direction on Immigration Policy Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned from her position last Sunday. Subsequently, the Trump administration continued its leadership purge of the Department of Homeland Security and removed Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles the next day. This series of ousters is a result of

Threats of Border Closure Causes Fears of Dire Economic Consequences In response to a surge of Central American migrants seeking asylum last weekend, President Trump threatened to close all ports of entry along the southern U.S. border. In light of the Department of Homeland Security’s declaration of an “Category 5 immigration crisis” at the border,

USCIS is Prime Example of Administrative Inefficiency Under the current administration, case processing delays at USCIS has reached unprecedented levels. According to a study by AILA, USCIS’s overall average case processing time grew by 19% in 2018 alone. Immigrant families, people fleeing persecutions as well as American businesses all bear the grave consequences of such

Immigrant Entrepreneurs Overlooked in Immigration Policy Debate The government is set for another shutdown this Friday.  As Congress and the White House continue to wrangle over a border wall, no one seems to pay much attention to a significant group in the immigration policy debate: immigrant entrepreneurs. How do immigrants matter to the U.S. economy?

Asylum Seekers Gravely Stymied by Government Shutdown Asylum seekers are among the worst casualties in the government shutdown that has exacerbated the nation’s already-backlogged immigration system. Due to President Trump’s demand for a border wall, the federal government is currently in the longest partial shutdown on record. The impasse is forcing the postponement of hearings

What Happens to Immigration During a Government Shutdown? As President Trump refuses to sign a budget bill that does not include funding for his border wall, there is a government shutdown in effect right now. Which immigration-related entities are impacted? Department of Homeland Security and its immigration-related components (Custom and Border Protection, Immigration and Custom Enforcement, Citizenship

Asylum Rejections Record-High in 2018 Amid Immigration Crackdown Immigration courts denied an astounding 65% of asylum applications in 2018, according to a recent report by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).  This denial rate is the highest since 2001. Asylum Caseload has Skyrocketed in 2018. TRAC reported 42,224 asylum cases that were decided by