November 07, 2022

Guide to Terminated Noncitizen Workers: Preserving NIV Status and Green Card Options

Cyrus Mehta, Nov. 7, 2022 "The sudden layoffs of nonimmigrant workers in H-1B and other statuses at Twitter and other tech companies in the US create  additional concerns  as their visa status is tied to the employer. Those who have been sponsored for permanent residence face additional concerns. We provide a quick guide to employees who have been laid off and how they can still be able to take steps to remain...

November 04, 2022

DOS Update on Worldwide Visa Operations (Oct. 21, 2022)

DOS, Oct, 21, 2022 "Worldwide Visa Operations Are Recovering Faster than Expected from the COVID-19 Pandemic The Department of State is successfully lowering visa interview wait times worldwide, following closures during the pandemic.  We’ve doubled our hiring of U.S. Foreign Service personnel to do this important work, we are recovering faster than projected, and this year we will reach pre-pandemic processing...

November 03, 2022

CA9 on SIJ Delays: Moreno Galvez v. Jaddou

Moreno Galvez v. Jaddou "United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) administers the Special Immigrant Juveniles (“SIJ”) program, which provides certain immigrant juveniles a pathway to lawful permanent residence status. Federal law requires the “[e]xpeditious adjudication” of SIJ petitions: “[a]ll applications for special immigrant status . . . shall be adjudicated by the Secretary of Homeland...

November 02, 2022

CIS Ombudsman Introduces Revised Form 7001 for Requesting Case Assistance

Nov. 2, 2022 stakeholder email : "We have updated the  DHS Form 7001, Request for Case Assistance  that you use to request case assistance from the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman). Our office updated the form to streamline the case assistance process, saving time for customers and our staff. What’s New Embedded instructions with questions to make them easier to follow...

November 01, 2022

ACICS Loss of Recognition May Affect Certain Students Applying for English Language Study and 24-month STEM OPT Extension Programs, H-1B, and I-140 Applicants

USCIS, Nov. 1, 2022 "On Aug. 19, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that it no longer recognizes the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as an accrediting agency. This determination immediately affects two immigration-related student programs: English language study programs, as the programs are required to be accredited under the Accreditation of English Language Training...

October 31, 2022

District Court Grants in Part and Denies in Part Motion to Dismiss in SIJ Class Action

CHRCL, Oct. 31, 2022 - " U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA ISSUES ORDER IN CASA LIBRE V. MAYORKAS (NO. 22-01510) RE CLAIMS FOR TIMELY ADJUDICATION OF SIJ PETITIONS AND PROMPT ISSUANCE OF WORK PERMITS On March 7, 2022, on behalf of several abused, abandoned, and neglected immigrant youth applicants for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status, and various immigrants’ rights groups, 1  the Center...

October 26, 2022

Judge-by-Judge Asylum Decisions in Immigration Courts, FY 2017-2022

TRAC, Oct. 9, 2022 - Judge-by-Judge Asylum Decisions in Immigration Courts, FY 2017-2022

October 26, 2022

EOIR Announces 32 New Immigration Judges

EOIR, Oct. 26, 2022 "Attorney General Merrick B. Garland appointed Anna M. Adams, Lydia Nance Adams, Vikram K. Badrinath, Lucy Baez, Scott E. Bratton, Richard B. Cato, Shuting Chen, Howard R. Davis, John E. DeCure, Chloe S. Dillon, Jeffrey S. Frederick, Denise M. Hunter, Joseph S. Kassell, David K.S. Kim, Michelle L. Lakomy, Ana M. Mencini, Carol A. Moore, Dania Nassar, Marlem Nava, Karen Nazaire, Becca A. Niburg...

October 25, 2022

H-2A FAQ Round 2 (Oct. 25, 2022)

OFLC, Oct. 25, 2022 - H-2A Final Rule FAQs Round 2: Job Order Filing and Processing October 25, 2022

October 24, 2022

DOL to Host H-2A Webinar on Oct. 27, 2022

DOL : "On October 27, 2022, the Department of Labor will host a public webinar to educate stakeholders, program users, and other interested members of the public on the changes to the H-2A program made by the H-2A 2022 Final Rule. Participants of this webinar will learn from Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) and Wage and Hour Division (WHD) about the key changes between the 2010 H-2A rule and the 2022...

October 22, 2022

CA1 on El Salvador, CAT, MS-13: Chavez v. Garland

Chavez v. Garland "Rommel Alexander Chavez, a citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") affirming the denial of his application for withholding of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA") and for protection under the Convention Against Torture ("CAT"). For the following reasons, we grant the petition in part...

October 22, 2022

CA1 on Honduras, MS-13, CAT: H.H. v. Garland

H.H. v. Garland "Petitioner H.H. seeks review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") affirming the denial of his application for deferral of removal to Honduras under the Convention Against Torture ("CAT"). He argues that the immigration judge ("IJ") applied the incorrect legal standard in assessing whether he would more likely than not be tortured with the "consent...

October 22, 2022

Colo. Lawsuit Against GEO Group Moves Forward to Trial: Menocal

Towards Justice, Oct. 21, 2022 "Yesterday, a class of thousands of former immigration detainees won a path-breaking victory in federal court in their long-running lawsuit against the GEO Group—the private corporation that runs the Aurora, Colorado ICE detention facility. The plaintiffs allege that GEO forced them to clean and maintain the facility under threat of solitary confinement, in violation of federal prohibitions...

October 21, 2022

CA9 on CAT, Guatemala: De Leon Lopez v. Garland

De Leon Lopez v. Garland "Risvin Valdemar De Leon Lopez (“De Leon”), a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision dismissing his appeal of an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) order denying his application for relief under the Convention Against Torture. We conclude: (1) the record in this case compels the conclusion...

October 21, 2022

DHS Designates Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months

DHS, Oct. 21, 2022 "Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the designation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. Only individuals who are already residing in the United States as of October 20, 2022 will be eligible for TPS. “The United States recognizes the ongoing armed conflict and the extraordinary and temporary conditions engulfing Ethiopia, and DHS is committed...

October 20, 2022

ICE announces extension to I-9 compliance flexibility to July 31, 2023

ICE, Oct. 11, 2022 "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), today announced an extension of the Form I-9 flexibilities first announced in March 2020 and updated in March 2021. On February 18, 2022, President Biden issued a notice on the continuation of the state of the National Emergency concerning the COVID-19 pandemic (“COVID-19”). A further extension was granted...

October 19, 2022

USCIS Form and Policy Updates Remove Barriers to Naturalization for Applicants with Disabilities

USCIS, Oct. 19, 2022 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced updated policy guidance to clarify and conform with the revision of  Form N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions . Consistent with this administration’s goal of removing barriers to legal immigration under President Biden’s  Executive Order 14012, Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening...

October 18, 2022

Implementation of a Parole Process for Venezuelans

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 10/19/2022 "This notice describes a new effort designed to immediately address the increasing number of encounters of Venezuelan nationals along the southwest border (SWB), as the Administration continues to implement its broader, multi-pronged and regional strategy to address the challenges posed by irregular migration. Venezuelans who do not...

October 17, 2022

Unpub. CA3 CIMT Victory: King v. Atty. Gen.

King v. Atty. Gen. "King, a native and citizen of Jamaica, arrived in the United States in August 2016 pursuant to a visa, which later expired. He pleaded guilty in January 2020 to third-degree felony fleeing or eluding a police officer in violation of 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3733(a). The Government initiated removal proceedings and charged King as removable for having overstayed his visa and for having been convicted...

October 14, 2022

DHS Revises 8 C.F.R. 214.2 (Final Rule, Advance Copy)

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 10/17/2022 "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is adding technical reading aids to a section of the Code of Federal Regulations to make that section easier to navigate."

October 12, 2022

USCIS on Certain Venezuelans (Oct. 12, 2022)

USCIS, Oct. 12, 2022 "On Oct. 12, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a safe and lawful way for qualifying Venezuelans with supporters to travel by air to the United States, temporarily reside in the United States, and apply for work authorization. To be eligible, Venezuelans must: Have a supporter in the United States who will provide financial and other support; Pass rigorous biometric...

October 12, 2022

DHS to Supplement H-2B Cap with Nearly 65,000 Additional Visas for Fiscal Year 2023

DHS, Oct. 12, 2022 "Today the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), announced that it will be issuing a regulation that will make available to employers an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2023, on top of the 66,000 H-2B visas that are normally available each fiscal year. By making these supplemental visas available...

October 12, 2022

Unpub. CA10 MTR Remand: Singh v. Garland

Singh v. Garland "Singh argues the BIA committed legal error in denying his motion to reopen because it failed to cite or apply the prejudice standard from Matter of Lozada and its progeny—i.e., that the alien “show a reasonable likelihood that the outcome would have been different,” Molina, 763 F.3d at 1263 (internal quotation marks omitted)— and instead applied an elevated standard of prejudice from Matter of...

October 12, 2022

CA3 on Ineffective Assistance: Saint Ford II

Saint Ford v. Atty. Gen. "The need for effective assistance of counsel applies in immigration law just as it does in criminal law. Aliens, many of whom do not speak English and some of whom are detained before their immigration hearings, can be particularly susceptible to the consequences of ineffective lawyers. Petitioner Arckange Saint Ford paid a lawyer to represent him in removal proceedings, but Saint Ford...

October 12, 2022

DHS Amends I Visa Rule for PRC (Advance Copy)

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 10/13/2022 "This rule amends Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations to better facilitate the U.S. Government’s ability to achieve greater reciprocity between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) relative to the treatment of representatives of foreign information media of the respective countries seeking entry...