A U.S. district judge in New York has ruled that a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) July 2020 memorandum that curtails immigration benefits under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is unenforceable. The federal judge found that Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad...
Answer No, this service is not yet available. This has to go through the formal rulemaking process, so it may take months (or possibly even longer) before it is implemented. The same holds true for the other categories that should eventually be granted premium processing, including...
In 2019, a defense appropriation bill was signed into law that contained a provision offering a path for certain qualifying Liberians to become lawful permanent residents. The deadline for Liberians to apply for relief under this Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) provision is December 20,...
Today, a federal circuit court ruled in favor of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), staying the lower court's ruling from Monday, November 2nd that had blocked enforcement of the August 2019 public charge rule. This means that the DHS may immediately resume enforcement...
Read the update on this ruling here.Today, a federal district court held that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) exceeded its authority in issuing the August 2019 public charge rule. The judge ordered the DHS to immediately cease enforcement of the rule, including the...
This evening, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposed rule that, if finalized, would end the random selection process used in the current H1B lottery system, and replace it with one that prioritizes H1B registrations based on wage-levels. If this rule is...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that, effective October 19, 2020, the filing fee for premium processing is increasing to $2,500. The only exception to this is for I-129 petitions being filed requesting H2B or R-1 status, the fee is increasing to...
Some of the options for making changes to the basis of a permanent resident ("green card") case after reaching the adjustment-of-status (I-485) stage are addressed here for the benefit of MurthyDotCom readers. Specifically discussed is interfiling, also referred to by the USCIS as "Transfer of...
Today, a federal district court in California issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the enforcement of President Trump's June 22, 2020 executive order that bans entry of certain nonimmigrants in H, L, or J status. However, this injunction only applies to the plaintiffs in the pending...
On September 30, 2020, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act was signed into law, funding the federal government through December 11, 2020. Included in the bill is a provision that dramatically changes the premium processing service offered by the U.S. Citizenship and...
