Blog

The House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. The Dream and promise Act would provide certainty to undocumented people who came to the U.S. before the age of 19. Instead of being subject to various policy changes with DACA, thi...

The Los Angeles Times is reporting Venezuelans are going to be allowed temporary protected status (“TPS”). An announcement is scheduled by the White House for later today. This is great news for deserving people from Venezuela. During the designated TPS period, those eligible (1) are not remov...

Last Friday, as part of the new administration's immigration reform efforts, ICE quietly announced a new appeals process (“Ice Case Review”) involving arrests, detention and deportation. This is a follow up to the agency's recent announcement that their priorities will be on national security a...

USCIS has issued a policy memorandum (PDF, 277.32 KB) directing the phased expansion of in-person interviews for petitioners filing Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition. These additional interviews will provide an opportunity to evaluate a petitioner's credibility, supporting our missio...

NEW CIVICS TEST FOR ALL NATURALIZATION APPLICANTS BEGINS DECEMBER 1, 2020

Question: " What if a dream act passes while you're in the middle of your immigration process? Can you switch directions and apply under the (hypothetical) new path? " Answer: "A request for an immigration benefit can be abandoned/withdrawn at any time. There should be no negative impact.  If ...

 Ask John #2 Q: "Should I risk flying to California, being an illegal immigrant could things go wrong easily or should I not worry?"   John's Answer: "International travel requires a valid passport and permission to enter another country. Airplane travel within the U.S. requires c...

Q: "Should I carry my work permit in my wallet, or leave it at home? I keep everything except my id at home. I'm scared to lose my ss card & my work permit. Is it legal to make a copy of them?" John's Answer: "We always advise clients to make sure they make (and safely keep) backup c...

There will be no furloughs for the 13,000 employees of USCIS who thought their jobs were in jeopardy at the end of August.

Student F Visa Expiring? USCIS announced a policy change! Typically, student visas are issued for “duration of stay” meaning the time was open-ended (with compliance assumed). If your student F visa expires and you have not applied for an adjustment of status, you are out of compliance. This mea...

WHY SUSPECT MARRIAGE FRAUD? Because some people actually encourage immigration marriage fraud . Check out this excerpt from the USCIS website a couple of days ago. Marriage Fraud – USCIS Efforts Lead to Guilty Convictions in Florida    Release Date: July 27, 2018 U.S. Citizenship and Immigrati...

ICE records reveal they are arresting more people who have no criminal record. In 2015 and 2016, 85% of people arrested by ICE had criminal convictions. In the first 14 months of the Trump administration, 69% of their arrests involved people with criminal convictions. The facts are clear: more u...

Wednesday a third federal Judge rejected President Trump's reasoning for ending DACA and ordered that the White House must challenge his ruling within 90 days or DACA will be reinstated in its entirety. Should this come to pass, those that were eligible for DACA, but never took advantage of it, w...

BACK IN THE NEWS I recently said I thought immigration issues would probably not be in public eye until the midterm elections (this fall). I was wrong. I failed to take into account that Trump is a man on a mission and he can make news any time he wants. Yesterday the President ordered the Pent...