On March 9, 2021, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals lifted its stay to keep the rule in place and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois vacated the Public Charge Final Rule.
USCIS removed the I-944 form, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency, from its website and after March 9, 2021, will no longer consider any information provided that relates to the public charge final rule.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today provided guidance on how it will implement Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf’s July 28 memorandum regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy.
Under USCIS’ implementing guidance:
FROM USCIS 8/24/20: We will reject all initial DACA requests from aliens who have never previously received DACA and return all fees. The rejections will be without prejudice, meaning aliens will be able to reapply should USCIS begin accepting new requests in the future from aliens who never before received DACA. USCIS will continue to accept requests from aliens who had been granted DACA at any time in the past and will also accept requests for advance parole that are properly submitted to the address specified on the Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-131 webpage.
For approvable DACA renewal requests, USCIS will limit grants of deferred action and employment authorization under DACA to no more than one year, but will not rescind any currently valid two-year grants of DACA or associated employment authorization documents (EADs), unless USCIS terminates an alien’s DACA for failure to continue to meet the DACA criteria (see 2012 Memorandum), including failure to warrant a favorable exercise of prosecutorial discretion. USCIS will replace two-year EADs that are lost, stolen or damaged with the same facial two-year validity period assuming the EAD replacement application is otherwise approvable.
USCIS will generally reject requests received more than 150 days before the current grant of DACA expires. DACA recipients should file their renewal request between 150 and 120 days before their current grant of DACA expires.
USCIS will only grant advance parole for travel outside the United States to DACA recipients pursuant to the new guidance, which provides for a determination that parole of the alien is for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit in keeping with the governing statute. The agency will not rescind any previously granted advance parole documents unless there is another legal reason to do so. However, as has always been the case, parole into the United States is not guaranteed. In all cases, aliens are still subject to immigration inspection at a port-of-entry to determine whether they are eligible to come into the United States.
The determination whether to grant advance parole to an alien is entirely within the discretion of USCIS and must be made on a case-by-case basis. USCIS will review all the factors presented in individual cases before determining whether to approve advance parole for a DACA recipient based on the new guidance. Some examples of circumstances that may warrant approval include, but are not limited to, situations such as:
Even if a requestor establishes that their situation meets one of the examples above, USCIS may still deny the request for advance parole in discretion under the totality of the circumstances.
CAUTION: If you travel outside the United States on or after Aug. 15, 2012, without first receiving advance parole, your departure automatically terminates your deferred action under DACA.
Today, a group of green card applicants, their sponsors, nonprofit immigration legal service providers and civil rights groups sued the Trump administration regarding the “public charge” regulation. Please read all about it here: https://www.aila.org/advo-media/press-releases/2020/lpr-applicants-their-sponsors-and-immigrant
As many of you have probably heard, today the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump Administration’s 2017 attempt to terminate DACA. This means that existing DACA recipients may continue to renew DACA and initial applications should also be accepted by USCIS. If you would like to apply for the first time, it is important to consult with an immigration attorney.
The Supreme Court has left the door open for the Trump Administration to again attempt to end the program through a new executive action. If President Trump is elected again, more than likely, he will attempt again. However, there are only 7 months left in his current term and it’s doubtful that he would try again before January 2021.
Link to the Supreme Court Opinion: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-587_5ifl.pdf
Please click on this link to read about USCIS’ visitor policy: https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/uscis-visitor-policy.
| LA Community Relations D43, Los Angeles | Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 12:38 PM | |
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The order is in effect for 60 days from April 23, 2020 11:59pm to June 23, 2020 11:59pm and may be renewed.
The order only affects people who are outside the U.S. as of April 23, 2020 11:59pm AND don’t have an immigrant visa and no other travel document other than a visa.
This order does not apply to you if you are:
Here’s the Presidential Proclamation:
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has significantly disrupted the livelihoods of Americans. In Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020 (Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak), I declared that the COVID–19 outbreak in the United States constituted a national emergency, beginning March 1, 2020. Since then, the American people have united behind a policy of mitigation strategies, including social distancing, to flatten the curve of infections and reduce the spread of SARS–CoV–2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This needed behavioral shift has taken a toll on the United States economy, with national unemployment claims reaching historic levels. In the days between the national emergency declaration and April 11, 2020, more than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment.
In the administration of our Nation’s immigration system, we must be mindful of the impact of foreign workers on the United States labor market, particularly in an environment of high domestic unemployment and depressed demand for labor. We must also conserve critical State Department resources so that consular officers may continue to provide services to United States citizens abroad. Even with their ranks diminished by staffing disruptions caused by the pandemic, consular officers continue to provide assistance to United States citizens, including through the ongoing evacuation of many Americans stranded overseas.
I have determined that, without intervention, the United States faces a potentially protracted economic recovery with persistently high unemployment if labor supply outpaces labor demand. Excess labor supply affects all workers and potential workers, but it is particularly harmful to workers at the margin between employment and unemployment, who are typically “last in” during an economic expansion and “first out” during an economic contraction. In recent years, these workers have been disproportionately represented by historically disadvantaged groups, including African Americans and other minorities, those without a college degree, and the disabled. These are the workers who, at the margin between employment and unemployment, are likely to bear the burden of excess labor supply disproportionately.
Furthermore, lawful permanent residents, once admitted, are granted “open-market” employment authorization documents, allowing them immediate eligibility to compete for almost any job, in any sector of the economy. There is no way to protect already disadvantaged and unemployed Americans from the threat of competition for scarce jobs from new lawful permanent residents by directing those new residents to particular economic sectors with a demonstrated need not met by the existing labor supply. Existing immigrant visa processing protections are inadequate for recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak. The vast majority of immigrant visa categories do not require employers to account for displacement of United States workers. While some employment-based visas contain a labor certification requirement, because visa issuance happens substantially after the certification is completed, the labor certification process cannot adequately capture the status of the labor market today. Moreover, introducing additional permanent residents when our healthcare resources are limited puts strain on the finite limits of our healthcare system at a time when we need to prioritize Americans and the existing immigrant population. In light of the above, I have determined that the entry, during the next 60 days, of certain aliens as immigrants would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, hereby find that the entry into the United States of persons described in section 1 of this proclamation would, except as provided for in section 2 of this proclamation, be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and that their entry should be subject to certain restrictions, limitations, and exceptions. I therefore hereby proclaim the following:
Section 1. Suspension and Limitation on Entry. The entry into the United States of aliens as immigrants is hereby suspended and limited subject to section 2 of this proclamation.
Sec. 2. Scope of Suspension and Limitation on Entry. (a) The suspension and limitation on entry pursuant to section 1 of this proclamation shall apply only to aliens who:
(i) are outside the United States on the effective date of this proclamation;
(ii) do not have an immigrant visa that is valid on the effective date of this proclamation; and
(iii) do not have an official travel document other than a visa (such as a transportation letter, an appropriate boarding foil, or an advance parole document) that is valid on the effective date of this proclamation or issued on any date thereafter that permits him or her to travel to the United States and seek entry or admission.
(b) The suspension and limitation on entry pursuant to section 1 of this proclamation shall not apply to:
(i) any lawful permanent resident of the United States;
(ii) any alien seeking to enter the United States on an immigrant visa as a physician, nurse, or other healthcare professional; to perform medical research or other research intended to combat the spread of COVID-19; or to perform work essential to combating, recovering from, or otherwise alleviating the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees; and any spouse and unmarried children under 21 years old of any such alien who are accompanying or following to join the alien;
(iii) any alien applying for a visa to enter the United States pursuant to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program;
(iv) any alien who is the spouse of a United States citizen;
(v) any alien who is under 21 years old and is the child of a United States citizen, or who is a prospective adoptee seeking to enter the United States pursuant to the IR-4 or IH-4 visa classifications;
(vi) any alien whose entry would further important United States law enforcement objectives, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees, based on a recommendation of the Attorney General or his designee;
(vii) any member of the United States Armed Forces and any spouse and children of a member of the United States Armed Forces;
(viii) any alien seeking to enter the United States pursuant to a Special Immigrant Visa in the SI or SQ classification, subject to such conditions as the Secretary of State may impose, and any spouse and children of any such individual; or
(ix) any alien whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees.
Sec. 3. Implementation and Enforcement. (a) The consular officer shall determine, in his or her discretion, whether an immigrant has established his or her eligibility for an exception in section 2(b) of this proclamation. The Secretary of State shall implement this proclamation as it applies to visas pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may establish in the Secretary of State’s discretion. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall implement this proclamation as it applies to the entry of aliens pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may establish in the Secretary of Homeland Security’s discretion.
(b) An alien who circumvents the application of this proclamation through fraud, willful misrepresentation of a material fact, or illegal entry shall be a priority for removal by the Department of Homeland Security.
(c) Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to limit the ability of an individual to seek asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, consistent with the laws of the United States.
Sec. 4. Termination. This proclamation shall expire 60 days from its effective date and may be continued as necessary. Whenever appropriate, but no later than 50 days from the effective date of this proclamation, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Labor, recommend whether I should continue or modify this proclamation.
Sec. 5. Effective Date. This proclamation is effective at 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight time on April 23, 2020.
Sec. 6. Additional Measures. Within 30 days of the effective date of this proclamation, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall review nonimmigrant programs and shall recommend to me other measures appropriate to stimulate the United States economy and ensure the prioritization, hiring, and employment of United States workers.
Sec. 7. Severability. It is the policy of the United States to enforce this proclamation to the maximum extent possible to advance the interests of the United States. Accordingly:
(a) if any provision of this proclamation, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this proclamation and the application of its provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby; and
(b) if any provision of this proclamation, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid because of the lack of certain procedural requirements, the relevant executive branch officials shall implement those procedural requirements to conform with existing law and with any applicable court orders.
Sec. 8. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or,
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This proclamation shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This proclamation is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-second day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fourth.
DONALD J. TRUMP
During the Covid-19 global epidemic, Hart Immigration, APLC remains at your service. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the National Visa Center, The U.S. Department of Labor and the Immigration Courts are processing cases but are temporarily closed for hearings and interviews. Evelyne Hart is working remotely during normal business hours. From 8:30 am to 5:00 p.m., there is a receptionist and an office manager at the physical building in Fullerton who are answering the phones, accepting mail and in-person documents.
Hart Immigration has always been well prepared with technology to conduct video consultations and securely accept your documents and payments online.
We remain at your service for all of your immigration needs and we sincerely hope that you and your families and employees stay safe and healthy.
USCIS processing times have increased 94% since 2014 and 46% between 2016 and 2018. Unsurprisingly USCIS now wants to raise their fees for popular applications between 55% and 83%. See ILRC’s table below.
| Benefit Sought | Current Fees | Proposed
Fees |
Net
Difference |
% Change |
| Naturalization | $640 | $1,170 | $530 | 83% |
| Adjustment of Status | $1,225 | $2,195 | $970 | 79% |
| Asylum | N/A | $50 | $50 | N/A |
| DACA | $495 | $765 | $270 | 55% |
USCIS will decrease processing times but will have applicants attend interviews outside their jurisdiction. They don’t say how far outside their jurisdiction. Let’s hope air flights aren’t involved.
The following email from USCIS was sent to me this morning at 8:16am.
USCIS will implement a national strategy to decrease differences in processing times based on location for Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, and Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
Since the end of 2015, we have experienced an increase in processing times due to higher than expected volumes received during fiscal years (FY) 2016 and 2017 that did not decrease as originally projected. FY 2017 receipts were up 15.6% from FY 2016, and FY 2016 receipts were up 25.5% from FY 2015. The increased filing volumes did not affect our field offices equally, which resulted in some disparity in the processing times among field offices.
As we shift caseloads between field offices to decrease processing times, we may schedule applicants to appear for an interview at a field office outside of their normal jurisdiction. Applicants may receive an interview appointment notice or other types of notices (such as a Request for Evidence) from a field office outside of their normal jurisdiction. However, these caseload changes will not affect where applicants attend their biometrics appointments. We will still direct them to the nearest application support center. Applicants should follow the instructions on any notices they receive from USCIS.
USCIS remains committed to adjudicating applications, petitions, and requests for immigration benefits as effectively and efficiently as possible in accordance with all applicable laws, policies, and regulations while securing the integrity of the immigration system.
If you have questions about an appointment notice we send you, you may contact the USCIS Contact Center.
I just received a call from a sweet couple who innocently and unwittingly applied for the husband’s adjustment of status. He was denied and will be placed in deportation proceedings because he’s not eligible for adjustment of status. I am posting this example but over the years, I’ve received dozens of these calls.
The USCIS website is deceivingly simple to use. It appears that you fill out a bunch of forms and presto you get a green card. Practically speaking, it doesn’t work that way. First, you need to figure out if the foreign national is eligible to fill out these forms.
In the example above, USCIS sent a Request for Evidence and told them to fill out an I-485 Supplement A. Even though he wasn’t 245(i) protected, they filled out the form, paid the $1,000.00 and didn’t attach any evidence.
If an attorney had been consulted, they would have found out that his only route was consular processing and the filing fees of $2,760.00 that they lost through his adjustment of status would have gone a long ways to a green card the right way.
It pays to consult an attorney before filing any paperwork for immigration benefits.
Recently, I spoke to a prospective client. She has been a lawful permanent resident or green card holder for the past 18 years. She is married to a U.S. citizen, has two U.S. citizen children, she and her husband have a business. In short, she is upstanding in all respects. Why did she call my office? She was accused of arson. She vehemently denies the charge. However, she is forced to spend a lot of money on defending herself. Not only does she have to hire a criminal defense attorney but she also has to hire an immigration attorney. Arson makes her potentially deportable.
I always urge my clients to naturalize at the earliest opportunity for five reasons:
Hart Immigration is proud to announce the recent addition of two countries to its list of clients. With Luthania and Slovakia, our number of countries now represented are 92.
A lot of my clients tell me how frustrating it is to make an Infopass Appointment so I wanted to post about it and I hope it is helpful.
One of my I-751 waiver clients, whose case has been pending for almost a year, said this: “I was looking for appointment for almost two weeks. Then I booked on 6/4 around 4:40am for an appointment on 6/15.”
He went to his appointment and the officer stamped an I-551 stamp in his passport extending his green card another year.
June 12, 2018_Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a very controversial verdict that victims of gang or domestic violence are not members of a particular social group for asylum. This follows on the heels of the BIA landmark decision in Matter of A-R-C-G- et al., 26 IN Dec. 388 (BIA 2014), which found that women of domestic violence share a common immutable characteristic, that of gender; that marital status may also be an immutable characteristic where the spouse is unable to leave a relationship. The BIA found that this particular social group has particularity and is socially distinct. In Matter of A-R-C-G, the lead Guatemalan respondent was beaten by her husband, her nose was broken and she was raped. She contacted the police but the police did not want to get involved in a marital relationship and failed to protect her.
AG Sessions reversed an immigration appeals court ruling that granted asylum to an Salvadoran woman who declared she had been physically abused by her husband.
Mr. Sessions says he has authority to overturn the Board of Immigration Appeals decisions because immigration courts fall under the Department of Justice instead of the judicial branch. He added: “An alien may suffer threats and violence in a foreign country for any number of reasons relating to her social, economic, family or other personal circumstances. Yet the asylum statute does not provide redress for all misfortune.”
We made a lot of progress with A-R-C-G but we just regressed decades to a time when domestic violence was considered a private matter and not the responsibility of government to protect victims.
10/2/17 WASHINGTON – Based on a new information-sharing partnership between U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA), foreign nationals in certain categories or classifications can now apply for work authorization and a social security number using a single form – the updated Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.
To lawfully work in the United States, foreign workers in some categories and classifications need both an employment authorization document (EAD) from USCIS, and a Social Security number (SSN) from the SSA. Previously, applicants needed to submit a Form I-765 to USCIS for an EAD, and then submit additional paperwork in-person at their local Social Security office to obtain an SSN.
The revised USCIS form includes additional questions that allow applicants to apply for an SSN or replacement card without visiting a Social Security office. Starting today, USCIS will transmit the additional data collected on the form to the SSA for processing. Moving forward, applicants who receive their approved EADs from USCIS should receive their Social Security card from SSA within the following two weeks.
EADs serve as documentation to show employers that an individual is authorized to work in the U.S. for a specific time period. SSNs are used to report wages to the government, and to determine an individual’s eligibility for certain benefits. USCIS encourages all U.S. employers to verify the employment eligibility of all new hires through E-Verify.
For additional information on applying for employment authorization, visit USCIS’ EAD page or call the USCIS National Customer Service Center.
For more information on applying for a Social Security card, see this fact sheet.
For more information about USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Instagram (@uscis), and Facebook (/uscis).
Hart Immigration is proud to announce that as of today, June 1, 2016, we have represented foreign nationals from 85 different countries, with the last 3 countries being Croatia, Ghana and Trinidad Tobago.
There is some serious disconnect between state and federal law when it comes to marijuana. Â Although it is legal to smoke marijuana in many United states, it is still a Schedule I federally controlled substance. Â And, even more importantly for immigrants, it makes you inadmissible if you are trying to be admitted to the U.S. and deportable if you already have a green card. Â There is an exception. Â You are not deportable if it is a single offense involving possession for your own use of 30 grams or less.
How does this play out? Â You are at a U.S. port of entry and are referred to secondary inspection. Â Officers are searching your wallet, your luggage and cell phone and are finding photos of a marijuana dispensary, or a medical marijuana card or other evidence that you may have at least tried marijuana. Â They will then put you under oath and ask you if you’ve ever tried marijuana. Â When you admit it, you are turned away or placed in deportation proceedings.
It’s a harsh lesson but one that needs to be heeded.
The new STEM OPT regulations are going into effect on May 10, 2016. Â If the employee is eligible for 24 month extension after OPT, the employee and the employer must prepare an I-983 training plan to be filed with the DSO. Â Per the Paperwork Reduction Act, the training plan takes 7.5 hours to prepare. Please contact Hart Immigration so that we may prepare this for you and obtain the I-20 with STEM extension endorsement.
We filed an I-129F Petition with the California Service Center on December 9, 2014 and it was approved on December 24, 2014. It used to take at least 5 months to get these petitions approved and lately, it’s taking 2-6 weeks.
Continue reading “K-1 Fiance Petition approved In 15 Days”
My client from Caracas Venezuela’s 212(d)(3) waiver was just approved and the consular officials have asked her to come in to provide her passport so they can Visa Stamp it with a B1/B2.
Continue reading “212(d)(3) Waiver Approved”
Our office stands ready and willing to process applications for highly skilled graduates and DAP applications (Deferred Action for Parents) for the parents of undocumented U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident children who have lived in the U.S. longer than 5 years, have no criminal history and are willing to pay taxes.
Continue reading “President Obama’s Address to Fix Our Broken Immigration System”
Days before the I-129F was approved, I was retained. The fiance had moved from Country A to Country B while the I-129F was processing.
Continue reading “K-1 Fiancee Case Was Transferred to a Different Consulate and Was Approved Within the Validity Period of the I-129F”
I filed a K-1 I-129F Fiancee Petition with CSC and it was approved in 1 month and 13 days with no RFE, WITH AN IMBRA issue yet.
Continue reading “K-1 Fiance(e) Petition Was Approved In 43 Days By CSC”
An interesting phenomenon occurred with my spouse-based consular-processing client.
We received good news in late August. We filed an EB-3 PERM case in 2010, which was certified 20 days later . . . over the holidays! We filed the I-140 Petition in 2011 and it was approved 4.5 months later with no RFE. After waiting for the priority date to be current, we filed I-485s for the primary beneficiary/applicant, his wife and son using 245(i) in April of this year and all I-485s were approved without RFEs and without an interview. The Petitioner and the beneficiary are in different states too.
Continue reading “Green Cards Through Employment”
Clients went to Ciudad Juarez and provided a day by day account of their experience. I have reproduced it below to help those with Ciudad Juarez Immigration Visa Appointments.
Continue reading “Ciudad Juarez Immigrant Visa – A Client’s Experience”
A “simple” spouse-based adjustment of status case may have its challenges in the eligibility of marriage.
Continue reading “Immigration Attorney Blog: Spouse-Based Adjustment of Status Pitfalls”
