Happy Holidays to You & Your Loved Ones! I would like to wish everyone a joyful and safe holiday season, and a blessed new year. Let us hope that 2023 will bring more positive changes in immigration policy! Read the latest news below. DACA News Just this week, there was news of a potential compromise Read more about December 2022 Newsletter: Happy Holidays[…]
A stronger DACA As of November 1st, the Department of Homeland Security’s final rule to preserve and fortify Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) went into effect. Practically, this means that DACA is now based on a formal regulation, instead of a policy memorandum as it had been before. This has the effect of strengthening the standing Read more about November 2022 Newsletter: A Stronger DACA[…]
The big news this month is the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling on the DACA program — the court upheld a previous decision that the program is unlawful, and sent the case back to a lower court to decide the legality of allowing new people to enroll in the program. Thankfully, the news we discussed last Read more about October 2022 Newsletter: DACA News[…]
The big news this month is the announcement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about the status of the DACA program. In accordance with the priorities of the Biden administration, DHS aims to “codify and fortify” the DACA program by clarifying its position on two points in particular: deferring the removal of DACA participants and Read more about September 2022 Newsletter[…]
The big news this month is continuing delays of application processing at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), according to an annual report by the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman. In short, backlogs right now are the worst USCIS has seen in its history. The report states, “adjudication backlogs have never been this systemic nor Read more about July 2022 Newsletter[…]
Public Charge Rule Update This month, USCIS updated its public charge resources webpage with more information to help better inform immigrants about obtaining access to critical government services available to them. As a reminder, under the Biden administration, USCIS reverted to a less strict interpretation of the public charge rule, which means that immigration applicants Read more about June 2022 Newsletter[…]
USCIS is being sued for unreasonable delays with applications Long waiting times have always been a part of the application process for United States residency or naturalization. But since the COVID pandemic hit, delays have been even longer and more unpredictable. Now, 13 people waiting for their citizenship applications to be processed have filed a Read more about May 2022 Newsletter[…]
Spring is finally here, though the weather has been all over the place this month. It wouldn’t be Chicago otherwise! Here are a few immigraiton updates to keep in mind this month: Online Filing for DACA Renewal Forms United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that DACA participants wishing to renew their status can Read more about April 2022 Newsletter[…]
We had some positive immigration news this month, as an annual report revealed that ICE arrests fell almost 40% from the previous year, under President Biden’s instruction to focus on violent offenders. Deportations were also down sharply, down 70% from last year. For all those who doubt President Biden’s impact on immgration policy, this should Read more about March 2022 Newsletter[…]
With over a year under a Biden presidency, where does the country stand on immigration? If you ask around, you are likely to get a variety of opinions. While, on one hand, things in immigration are undeniably better under the new president, many immigration advocates have been disappointed with the lack of any significant change Read more about A Year in Office: Biden’s Immigration Reforms Explained[…]