On August 7, 2019 USCIS stopped accepting and adjudicating requests for deferred action to permit immigrants with severe medical conditions to remain in the United States for treatment. This included requests that had been filed prior to August 7 and…
Children of Members of the Armed Services Stationed Abroad May No Longer Acquire Citizenship
Effective October 29, 2019, CIS updated the USCIS Policy Manual regarding children of U.S. government employees and U.S. armed forces members employed or stationed outside the United States to explain that they are not considered to be “residing in the…
New CIS Policy Effects Immigrants with Severe Medical Conditions
Deferred action is a form of temporary relief from deportation, available in narrow circumstances. The narrow circumstances include treatment for severe medical conditions suffered by vulnerable adults and children alike. “Severe medical conditions” includes ailments like cancer, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis,…
Regulation Allowing Indefinite Detention of Immigrant Children
On August 22, 2019, the Administration announced a new regulation to allow undocumented children to be detained indefinitely. This would end the Flores Settlement Agreement- a 20 year old agreement created to ensure that immigrant children are held in safe…
Is It My Imagination or Is USCIS Issuing More RFEs and Denials in H-1b Petitions?
For businesses that employ highly-skilled foreign national in H-1B status, it may have seemed like the number of Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and denials issued by USCIS has increased – a lot. Is this just the experience of a few…
Broadening of Rule on Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds
The law provides that in applying for an Adjustment of Status to lawful permanent resident, USCIS may find a foreign national inadmissible, or ineligible for a green card, because s/he is likely to become a “public charge.” But a new…