January 28, 2021
The Biden administration is making many changes to immigration policy. One big change is the elimination of the “zero tolerance” policy of the Trump administration. An NPR article by Jaclyn Diaz does a good job summarizing this change. In short, under the zero tolerance policy, “adults who entered the U.S. from the southern border were […]
January 22, 2021
Although originally touted as a 90-day restriction on immigration, the Trump travel ban has kept apart thousands of immigrant families from 13 countries for nearly four long years. Now that the Biden administration has reversed much of this ban, the State Department will develop plans to reconsider thousands of visa denials that were issued under […]
December 18, 2020
The immigration system is separate from the criminal system, but they are also connected. The fact is that 70% of ICE arrests happen after an immigrant leaves the state prison or jail. Also, a criminal conviction can mean that your immigration status is in jeopardy, and you may be forced to remain in prison or […]
July 29, 2020
Presidential Proclamations 10014 and 10052 suspended the entry of certain immigrants and nonimmigrants until December 31, 2020. However, there are certain exceptions for individuals whose travel to the United States would be in the national interest that have been updated by the Department of State as of July 22, 2020. For example, exceptions are available […]
July 29, 2020
The Department of State (DOS) is clarifying some aspects on what kind of individuals may qualify for the national interest exemptions under Presidential Proclamations 9993 (Schengen Area) and 9996 (United Kingdom and Ireland). On July 16, 2020, a notice was issued by the DOS that stated “certain business travellers, investors, treaty traders, academics, and students” […]
July 15, 2020
In response to several lawsuits, the Trump administration backs down from its proposed policy to invalidate student visas for those attending online only courses dues to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is the article about this recent development written by John Kruzel and published on The Hill: The Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded a policy that would […]
June 24, 2020
The public charge rule is in place so that “an alien who is likely at any time to become a public charge” will be “generally inadmissible to the United States and ineligible to become a lawful permanent resident.” There are certain public benefits such as public housing or federally funded Medicaid that if received by […]
June 17, 2020
When President Trump issued his “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak” on April 22, 2020, the proclamation made no exception for the visa applications of minors under the age of 21 whose family members reside as lawful permanent residents in […]
June 17, 2020
Non citizens are guaranteed the right to free speech and the subsequent right to protest due to the First Amendment. However, the potential risks to protesting are higher for non citizens than citizens because of the impact an arrest could have on a non citizen’s immigration status. In 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order […]
June 17, 2020
The ITServe Alliance lawsuit against USCIS has the potential to increase the approval of H-1B applications, particularly those that are filed by IT consulting companies. Before the court ruled in favor of IT Serve Alliance, USCIS put increased restrictions on H-1B requirements such as the employer-employee relationship, non-speculative work, and itinerary requirements. The employer-employee requirement […]