Immigration News Resources

If you are wondering if you can self-petition for an O-1 visa, the short answer is no, not in the traditional sense. But, you can create a company as an applicant and employ yourself as a way to establish an employee-employer relationship. That means those who are not necessarily employed or have not received a...

The post Can You Self-Petition for O-1 Visa? appeared first on VisaNation.

On August 24, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a new update to its policy manual clarifying a previous policy change aimed at expanding green card eligibility under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) for children who lost eligibility, or “aged out”, due to the years-long visa backlogs.   Before getting into the new […]

The post USCIS updates key CSPA interpretation to protect some immigrant youth, but visa backlogs continue to cause hardships appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas today announced the extension and redesignation of South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months, from November 4, 2023, through May 3, 2025, due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in South Sudan that prevent individuals from safely returning.

The Biden administration’s humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) went on trial last week. The trial, held in a federal court in Texas, was the result of a lawsuit filed in January 2023 (shortly after the program was expanded to Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua) by Texas and several other state governments. […]

The post With Challenge to CHNV Parole Program, the ‘Right to Welcome’ Goes on Trial in Texas appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Michael Vastine describes how he has deployed the "'categorical approach' challenging many settled notions about what crimes should have immigration consequences" and previews the upcoming Fall Conference track where "experts will summarize the dominant lines of cases from each Court of Appeal."

The post Find a Unicorn, Slay a Dragon: The Categorical Approach, Circa 2023 first appeared on Blog: Think Immigration.

When Fortune released this year’s Fortune 500 list—the magazine’s iconic ranking of the year’s top-grossing American companies—one fact remained unchanged from previous years: the profound role that immigrants and their children have played in establishing many of this country’s most successful and influential companies. Research by the American Immigration Council finds that nearly half of […]

The post Fortune 500 Companies with Immigrant Roots Generated More Money Than the GDP of Most Western Nations appeared first on Immigration Impact.

When the Trump administration proposed an overhaul of federal policy regarding when immigrants could be denied green cards or visas based on use of public benefits – the public charge rule – it made an impact in immigrant communities long before it technically took effect. Even early reports of what the administration was considering as […]

The post The Ghost of Public Charge Keeps Scaring Immigrant Families Away From Public Benefits appeared first on Immigration Impact.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is updating guidance in our Policy Manual to provide clarification on voter registration access at our administrative naturalization ceremonies.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Sudan and Ukraine last week. This is a welcome development, but more must be done to provide resources to USCIS as continuing worldwide conflicts and natural disasters increase calls for more designations. TPS is a humanitarian […]

The post Ukraine and Sudan Receive TPS Extensions, Redesignations as Global Displacement Continues to Rise appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In this blog post, AILA member Shelly Anand and co-author Audrey Moor describe how and why current labor laws fail to protect child workers and urge immigrant rights' advocates and labor law reform advocates to work together to pass legislative reforms that will ensure clear and lasting protections.

The post Recent Child Labor Violations Highlight Need for Critical Labor Reforms first appeared on Blog: Think Immigration.

We are updating the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify how we will apply the extraordinary circumstances exception to the “sought to acquire” requirement under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) in light of a Feb. 14, 2023, policy change.

Form I-134, Affidavit of Support, is required when wanting to sponsor a visa applicant (temporary visitor visa or K1/K2 visa) in order to demonstrate that they will not become a “public charge” to the government. There have been a few definition versions of what it means to be a public charge. During the Trump administration,...

The post I-134 – Complete Guide to Affidavit of Support in the U.S. 2023 appeared first on VisaNation.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has launched a new online form for individuals, attorneys, and accredited representatives to request an in-person appointment at their local field office without having to call the USCIS Contact Center.

AILA member Mariam Atash reflects on the two years since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and urges everyone to take action and advocate for passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act to protect the many still waiting for safety.

The post Afghanistan – Two Years Later, an Immigration Attorney Reflects first appeared on Blog: Think Immigration.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Sudan for 18 months, from October 20, 2023, through April 19, 2025, due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Sudan that prevent individuals from safely returning.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukraine for 18 months, from October 20, 2023, through April 19, 2025, due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Ukraine that prevent individuals from safely returning.

On Thanksgiving Day 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested Kamyar Samimi—a lawful permanent resident with a decade-old conviction for drug possession—and sent him to the privately run ICE Processing Center in Aurora, Colorado. Two weeks later, he was dead. Facility staff had forced him to stop methadone treatment cold turkey and then […]

The post Biden Keeps Ties with Billion-Dollar Business of Immigration Detention, Despite Reports of Serious Abuse appeared first on Immigration Impact.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reopen an international field office in Havana, Cuba.

Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), announced the reopening of an international field office in Havana, Cuba.

When the Biden administration launched new Family Reunification Parole programs earlier this year, it pointed to existing programs for Cuban and Haitian families as the model. The new programs would allow some people from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras stuck in the immigrant visa backlog to join their family members in the United while […]

The post Biden’s Family Reunification Parole Programs Offer Hope—But With a Blind Spot appeared first on Immigration Impact.