Immigration

immigration court

Immigration Court: A System in Crisis and a Call for Reform

Recent policy changes affecting immigration courts are impeding their ability to safeguard the due process rights of non-citizens in a system that has always been hampered by fundamental flaws. With the immigration court backlog now exceeding over a million pending cases, as well as new deportation proceedings being initiated at record high numbers, it’s time for Congress to establish an

Read More »
crimmigration

Change Continues to Jolt America’s Immigration System

If anything is constant in today’s immigration landscape, it is that change is consistently happening. September has been no different with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) changing how it will adjudicate Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for asylum applicants to be possible benefit of everyone else and the Supreme Court wading into the Trump Administration’s attempt to reduce the number

Read More »
Permanent Residency

Permanent Residency: Sponsor Requirements & Responsibilities

Immigration attorneys frequently find themselves presented with the same question – “But has the Trump administration really changed anything with respect to immigration law?” While it may feel as though the resounding answer is “yes,” in reality, President Trump’s administration has only strengthened the enforcement of the same immigration laws that were enacted years ago. With published memorandums, the travel

Read More »
ICE

Winter Is Here: How ICE’s Worksite Enforcement Is Impacting Employers

Game of Thrones may have ended abruptly, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not ending its worksite investigations anytime soon and employers are feeling the chill. As part of this administration’s focus on protecting U.S. workers, ICE is working in collaboration with the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Labor (DOL) to

Read More »
I-130 marriage

Recent Changes to I-130 Marriage Adjustment While in Immigration Court

As early as last year, the Immigration Court in Portland, Oregon was willing to grant a motion to dismiss for respondents who received an approval notice for form I-130 based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. This would allow the respondent to be able to file an I-485 application directly with USCIS after their court case had been dismissed and

Read More »
immigration policies

The Trump Administration’s Evolving Immigration Policies at the Southern Border

The Trump administration is implementing yet another in a series of immigration policies meant to address what it believes to be a “migration crisis along our southern border.” In a memo dated December 20, 2018, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced the rollout of the “Migrant Protection Protocols,” (MPP) referred to as the “Remain in Mexico” policy by both administration

Read More »
Immigration

What Your Foreign Clients Need To Know About Working In The U.S.

As the world’s largest market and the land of opportunities, the U.S. attracts many foreign businesses seeking to grow. These businesses often have a difficult time finding qualified workers to fill critical and unique jobs. In many cases, foreign businesses need to hire non-U.S. nationals for their U.S. operations. Unfortunately, they find that U.S. immigration law is very complex and

Read More »
EB-5 RFEs And NOIDs Trend

EB-5 RFEs And NOIDs Trend: Third-Party Currency Exchangers

In 1990, Congress created the employment- based fifth preference (EB-5) program in order to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. Through this program, qualified foreign investors, their spouse and unmarried children under 21 are eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence of the United States. In order to obtain legal permanent residence through

Read More »
Terminating TPS for Salvadorans

Terminating TPS for Salvadorans: The Urgent Need for U.S. Immigration Reform

On Jan. 8, 2018, the Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced the decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador, marking the end of a program that has protected over 200,000 individuals fleeing the troubled Central American state since 2001. The decision to end TPS for Salvadorans living in the United States is the

Read More »
DACA

The End of DACA as an Opportunity for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

On Sept. 5, 2017, the Trump administration announced the “phase out” of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. According to Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke, the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the heavily litigated program “was not taken lightly …. The Department of Justice has carefully evaluated the program’s constitutionality and determined it conflicts with our

Read More »
immigration court

Immigration Court: A System in Crisis and a Call for Reform

Recent policy changes affecting immigration courts are impeding their ability to safeguard the due process rights of non-citizens in a system that has always been hampered by fundamental flaws. With the immigration court backlog now exceeding over a million pending cases, as well as new deportation proceedings being initiated at record high numbers, it’s time for Congress to establish an

Read More »
crimmigration

Change Continues to Jolt America’s Immigration System

If anything is constant in today’s immigration landscape, it is that change is consistently happening. September has been no different with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) changing how it will adjudicate Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for asylum applicants to be possible benefit of everyone else and the Supreme Court wading into the Trump Administration’s attempt to reduce the number

Read More »
Permanent Residency

Permanent Residency: Sponsor Requirements & Responsibilities

Immigration attorneys frequently find themselves presented with the same question – “But has the Trump administration really changed anything with respect to immigration law?” While it may feel as though the resounding answer is “yes,” in reality, President Trump’s administration has only strengthened the enforcement of the same immigration laws that were enacted years ago. With published memorandums, the travel

Read More »
ICE

Winter Is Here: How ICE’s Worksite Enforcement Is Impacting Employers

Game of Thrones may have ended abruptly, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not ending its worksite investigations anytime soon and employers are feeling the chill. As part of this administration’s focus on protecting U.S. workers, ICE is working in collaboration with the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Labor (DOL) to

Read More »
I-130 marriage

Recent Changes to I-130 Marriage Adjustment While in Immigration Court

As early as last year, the Immigration Court in Portland, Oregon was willing to grant a motion to dismiss for respondents who received an approval notice for form I-130 based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. This would allow the respondent to be able to file an I-485 application directly with USCIS after their court case had been dismissed and

Read More »
immigration policies

The Trump Administration’s Evolving Immigration Policies at the Southern Border

The Trump administration is implementing yet another in a series of immigration policies meant to address what it believes to be a “migration crisis along our southern border.” In a memo dated December 20, 2018, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced the rollout of the “Migrant Protection Protocols,” (MPP) referred to as the “Remain in Mexico” policy by both administration

Read More »
Immigration

What Your Foreign Clients Need To Know About Working In The U.S.

As the world’s largest market and the land of opportunities, the U.S. attracts many foreign businesses seeking to grow. These businesses often have a difficult time finding qualified workers to fill critical and unique jobs. In many cases, foreign businesses need to hire non-U.S. nationals for their U.S. operations. Unfortunately, they find that U.S. immigration law is very complex and

Read More »
EB-5 RFEs And NOIDs Trend

EB-5 RFEs And NOIDs Trend: Third-Party Currency Exchangers

In 1990, Congress created the employment- based fifth preference (EB-5) program in order to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. Through this program, qualified foreign investors, their spouse and unmarried children under 21 are eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence of the United States. In order to obtain legal permanent residence through

Read More »
Terminating TPS for Salvadorans

Terminating TPS for Salvadorans: The Urgent Need for U.S. Immigration Reform

On Jan. 8, 2018, the Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced the decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador, marking the end of a program that has protected over 200,000 individuals fleeing the troubled Central American state since 2001. The decision to end TPS for Salvadorans living in the United States is the

Read More »
DACA

The End of DACA as an Opportunity for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

On Sept. 5, 2017, the Trump administration announced the “phase out” of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. According to Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke, the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the heavily litigated program “was not taken lightly …. The Department of Justice has carefully evaluated the program’s constitutionality and determined it conflicts with our

Read More »

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