The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that several changes are being implemented to the U.S. civics and history test that naturalization applicants generally must pass prior to being allowed to become U.S. citizens. Applicants will be asked twice as many questions as...
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...
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,...
This morning, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. secured enough electoral votes to win the 2020 presidential election. While President Trump is disputing the results, his claims of election fraud appear to be without merit, and have little chance of overturning the election. President-Elect Biden is expected...
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...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has finally released the November 2020 Visa Bulletin. There is some movement in the final action (FA) chart, but the dates for filing (DF) chart remains nearly completely unchanged. Visa Bulletin Summary Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1) Category The EB1 China and India...
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 American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) reports that the November 2020 Visa Bulletin is still awaiting clearance at the U.S. Department of State (DOS). Per AILA, the delay is the result of some sort of dispute regarding language in the visa bulletin, but that the...
On October 21, 2020, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that the agency had arrested 15 students in F-1 status with approved optional practical training (OPT), who allegedly committed fraud by reporting employment with "companies that don't exist."In addition, ICE reportedly intends to...
