In the wake of a deadly shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been instructed to pause all asylum decisions until further notice. Asylum officers at USCIS, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, have been told to refrain from…
Articles Posted in Affirmative Asylum
USCIS Announces New Annual Fees for Asylum Seekers, Increases TPS Registration Fees, and Makes Changes to EAD Validity Periods
On Tuesday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will issue a Federal Register notice enforcing new fees for certain immigration benefit requests postmarked on or after July 22, 2025. Benefit requests submitted to the agency without the proper fees will be rejected. These new fees are part of the…
Justice Department Sues New York Over Legislation Blocking Immigration Courthouse Arrests
The growing presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at immigration courthouses nationwide has prompted several states to enact laws preventing ICE from arresting or detaining individuals attending their immigration hearings. One such law passed by the state of New York is the “Protect Our Courts Act,” which…
The United States and Mexico Announce Bilateral Action to Address Illegal Immigration
As the 2024 U.S. presidential elections draw nearer, Biden and Mexico’s President Andres Manual Lopez Obrador, have announced joint efforts to combat illegal border crossings. The two leaders have said that their administrations will take steps to decrease illegal border crossings by ordering their national security teams to cooperate. While…
Biden Gets Tough on Immigration, Executive Actions Addressing Migrant Crisis and Asylum on the Horizon
Ahead of the U.S. presidential election, President Biden is considering the rollout of a set of new executive actions aimed at curbing illegal migration at the U.S. southern border and measures that would create new obstacles for asylum applicants. Individuals speaking on condition of anonymity have said these policies could…
USCIS Updates Policy Manual Increasing Validity Period of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) to Five Years
It’s official. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that it will be increasing the validity period of work permits also known as Employment Authorization Documents (EADS) to 5 years, for certain categories of noncitizens who are employment authorized incident to their immigration status and those who must…
Asylum News: USCIS To Require Interpreters for Affirmative Asylum Applicant Interviews starting September 13th
“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.” Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 United Airlines Captain Jason Dahl In remembrance of the lives lost on September 11, 2001 In this post, we would like to share with our readers…
New ICE Change of Address Tool for Noncitizens Awaiting Immigrant Court Proceedings
We are happy to inform our readers that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has launched a new online change of address form for noncitizens. What is the online change of address form? This new form gives noncitizens the option to update their information online instead of having to do…
What’s New in Immigration? USCIS Updates Policy Manual Clarifying Physical Presence Requirement for Asylees and Refugees, and H-1B Electronic Registration Webinar February 8, 2023 2 pm ET
USCIS Updates Policy Manual Clarifying Physical Presence Requirement for Asylees and Refugees The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated its Policy Manual to clarify that BOTH asylees and refugees must have been physically present in the United States for one year at the time the Immigration Officer adjudicates…
Biden administration to launch Afghan family reunification portal
This week in immigration news, we share new developments for Afghan nationals. The Biden administration recently announced its plan to launch a new portal that would facilitate the reunification of Afghans immigrants with their family members. What is it all about? The U.S. Department of State run portal would provide…