Effective December 2, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is implementing a stricter, more formalized fee waiver policy. The USCIS justified this policy change by noting that the agency is almost entirely funded by fee revenue, and fee waivers cost the agency hundreds...
This evening, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a proposed rule to increase filing fees for most types of applications and petitions. It would also add a number of new fees and change certain other immigration benefit request requirements. The proposed rule is...
On October 31, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will publish a final rule in the Federal Register that will increase the premium processing fee to $1,440. This fee increase is scheduled to go into effect 30 days after the final rule is...
On October 11, 2019, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register, entitled Visas: Ineligibility Based on Public Charge Grounds. Once this interim final rule goes into effect, it will greatly expand the categories of public benefits considered...
This afternoon, a federal district court judge issued a nationwide injunction against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from enforcing the new public charge rule. The public charge rule had been scheduled to go into effect on October 15, 2019.The injunction specifically prohibits the...
The new versions of forms I-129, I-539, I-864, and I-485 were posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website yesterday. The new I-944 (Declaration of Self-Sufficiency) form has also been put up. These forms now include the updated public charge rule. The USCIS...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released policy guidance, effective October 29, 2019, modifying certain residency requirements for obtaining U.S. citizenship. Notably, this policy impacts children born abroad to U.S. government employees and U.S. armed forces members. Under the new policy guidance, "children...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the October 2019 Visa Bulletin, which is the first visa bulletin of fiscal year 2020. Further, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the more favorable dates for filing (DF) chart may be used...
On September 16, 2019, representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, indicating that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is still actively working on a rule to terminate...
Answer Unemployment insurance payments (commonly referred to as "unemployment benefits") are not generally taken into consideration for purposes of making a public charge determination. As the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) explained when it released the final rule revising the definition of "public charge," unemployment...
