To all of our clients and readers of our blog, without you, we wouldn’t have (or love) our jobs! So we want to just say thanks on this Labor Day weekend and wish you a safe and healthy celebration!
In observance of the Labor Day holiday our offices will be closed Monday September 2nd. We will return to our normal business hours on Tuesday September 3rd. We look forward to serving you.
Parole in Place – Keeping Families Together Updates
As previously reported, a federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked the Biden administration from approving parole requests under the Keeping Families Together program.
What does this mean for parole in place applications?
Due to a 14-day administrative stay handed down by District Court Judge J. Campbell Barker on August 26, 2024, in the case, Texas v. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) cannot approve parole in place applications filed under the Keeping Families Together program.
The order may be extended by the judge at the conclusion of the 14-day period.
USCIS has stated on its webpage that during the district court’s administrative stay, USCIS will:
USCIS also reminds the public that the administrative stay does not affect any parole in place applications that were approved before the court’s administrative stay order was issued at 6:46 p.m. Eastern Time on August. 26, 2024.
Those who are eligible must consult with an immigration attorney as soon as possible to determine whether to proceed with applying for parole in place while applications are still being accepted by USCIS.
For more information about this lawsuit, please click here.
EB-1 Visa Updates
Recently, the State Department confirmed that all numbers in the EB-1 preference category have been utilized for fiscal year 2024 and that no further EB-1 visas/green cards will be issued for the remainder of this fiscal year which ends on September 30, 2024.
It is also foreseeable that the EB-2 and EB-4 categories will become unavailable in the near future.
In this blog post, we discuss what undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. Citizens can expect after applying for Parole in Place using the new USCIS online application called Form I-131F.
What to Expect After Filing Form I-131F Parole in Place
Once you have properly submitted the Form I-131F using your myUSCIS online account, you will receive a I-797 receipt notice from USCIS by mail as proof that your application was submitted. This receipt notice will contain your receipt number which you can use to track your case on the USCIS case tracker.
Please note that the receipt notice can also be accessed on your myUSCIS portal
The Biometrics Appointment
Several weeks after filing Form I-131F, you will receive a biometrics appointment notice, which will indicate the date, time, and location where you must appear for USCIS to collect your fingerprints, photographs, and a signature.
Your biometrics information will be used to run a background check for criminal history, verify your identity and, and to prepare certain immigration documents (for example, an Employment Authorization Document also known as a work permit).
If USCIS has collected your biometrics information in the past, it is possible that they will reuse such information. If that is the case, USCIS will notify you via your myUSCIS online account and send you a notice by mail.
Receiving a Decision
Those who meet the eligibility criteria for parole in place under the Keeping Families Together program, will receive a discretionary grant of parole for a 3-year period.
As part of the decision-making process, USCIS will take into consideration various factors to determine whether a favorable exercise of discretion is warranted in your case such as:
Those who have any disqualifying criminal history or are found to be a threat to national security, public safety, or border security, may be denied for parole in place.
Factors such as pending criminal charges will make you ineligible for parole in place while the charge remains pending. Certain criminal convictions can also make you ineligible for parole in place under this process. Please discuss any criminal records with an experienced immigration attorney before filing Form I-131F.
Recently, the Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC) released the August 2024 Immigrant Visa Backlog report, which provides data and statistics of the number of documentarily complete immigrant visa cases currently at the National Visa Center waiting for interviews, documentarily complete cases that have been scheduled for visa interviews, and those that are still awaiting visa interviews.
In this post, we compare the increase in the backlog from July to August.
According to the National Visa Center’s Immigrant Visa Backlog Report for the month of August 2024, there has been a substantial increase in the immigrant visa (IV) backlog rising from 394,835 pending cases in July to 408,937 cases in August — nearly a 3.5% increase amounting to 14,102 additional cases added to the backlog in just a one-month period.
Additionally, when comparing the July and August Immigrant Visa backlogs, we can see that the number of immigrant visa applicants whose cases were documentarily complete and therefore ready to be scheduled for interviews decreased by 23,519 cases, from 488,285 (in July) to 464,766 (in August).
August 2024 Immigrant Visa Backlog Report
| Number of IV applicants whose cases are documentarily complete at NVC and ready for interview as of July 31 | 464,766 |
| Number of documentarily complete IV applicants scheduled for August 2024 interview appointments | 55,829 |
| Number of eligible IV applicants still pending the scheduling of an interview after August 2024 appointment scheduling was completed | 408,937 |
July 2024 Immigrant Visa Backlog Report
| Number of IV applicants whose cases are documentarily complete at NVC and ready for interview as of June 30 | 488,285 |
| Number of documentarily complete IV applicants scheduled for July 2023 interview appointments | 53,450 |
| Number of eligible IV applicants still pending the scheduling of an interview after July 2023 appointment scheduling was completed | 394,825 |
Note: In Calendar Year 2019 on average, 60,866 applicants were pending the scheduling of an interview each month.
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs recently published the September Visa Bulletin. In this blog post, we breakdown the movement of the employment-based and family-sponsored categories in the coming month.
USCIS Adjustment of Status
For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will continue to use the Final Action Dates chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of September.
For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of September.
Highlights of the September 2024 Visa Bulletin
Employment-Based Categories
EB-3 Final Action Dates
Other Categories
Employment Based Demand Will Reach FY 2024 Limits in September
Family-Sponsored Categories
Now let’s dive into our analysis.
We are pleased to inform our readers that yesterday July 9th, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs released the August Visa Bulletin. In this blog post we breakdown the projected movement of the employment-based and family-sponsored categories in the month of August.
USCIS Adjustment of Status
For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that in August it will continue to use the Final Action Dates chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence.
For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence.
Highlights of the August 2024 Visa Bulletin
Employment-Based Categories
Final Action and Dates for Filing EB-2 and EB-3 India Advancement
Other Categories
EB-3 Retrogression in September
Family-Sponsored Categories
Dates for Filing Advancements
F-2A Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents
F3 Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens
F-4 Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens
Final Action Date Advancements
F-2B Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents
The recent Supreme Court decisions handed down in Loper Bright v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Dep’t of Commerce, have overturned a longstanding rule known as the “Chevron” doctrine, which eliminates the need for federal courts to defer to federal agency decisions and regulations moving forward. This move essentially strips power away from federal agency interpretations of the law and gives it back to the courts.
This is positive news in the world of immigration, considering that a federal agency’s interpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) will no longer automatically prevail when litigating cases in court and filing immigration challenges to visa denials.
This will benefit many immigrants and businesses who for many years have been blocked by federal agencies from obtaining employment-based visas and green cards based on ambiguous agency interpretations of their cases.
For instance, in removal cases, those seeking review of decisions previously made by immigration judges’ or the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) will now have a clean slate, since courts no longer have to rely on an agency’s standpoint and can now interpret unclear laws with a new set of eyes.
These rulings could also pave the way for new litigation to be filed to defend challenges to previous visa denials. Where interpretations of the law once made by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) were automatically upheld in court, they will now be challenged forcefully.
U.S. employers seeking a favorable interpretation of a statute granting H-1B or L visa classification to a noncitizen worker may also have greater opportunities to argue their cases in court and win on behalf of their clients.
On this 4th of July, we at the Law Offices of Jacob J. Sapochnick, extend our warm wishes to you and your loved ones. May this day inspire you to embrace the spirit of patriotism and cherish the freedoms we hold dear. Happy Independence Day!
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A recent appellate court decision handed down on June 25th has reversed a lower court’s decision which previously allowed the State Department to adjudicate and approve diversity visa cases from the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years.
The case Goodluck v. Biden, No. 21-5263 (D.C. Cir. June 25, 2024) dealt with the COVID-era presidential proclamation 10014 signed by former President Trump in April 2020, which suspended the entry to the United States of certain immigrant visa applicants following the Coronavirus outbreak.
The suspension had a devastating impact on the Diversity Immigrant Visa program because the State Department refused to issue diversity visas while the presidential proclamation remained in effect. The Department took the position that because the presidential proclamation rendered certain aliens inadmissible to the U.S., it also made them ineligible for visas.
Later, the State Department suspended all routine visa services including the processing of applications for diversity visas due to COVID-19 shelter in place orders.
In response, a class of diversity visa applicants selected in the DV 2020 and 2021 diversity visa lotteries sued the government, arguing that the Department’s policies prevented them from receiving their immigrant visas before the mandated fiscal-year-end deadlines.
As the case moved through litigation, the district courts agreed with the DV selectees ordering the State Department to prioritize processing and issue diversity visas past the end of the fiscal year deadlines.
In subsequent court orders, DV selectees were granted equitable relief which ordered the State Department to reserve diversity visas for DV 2020 and 2021 selectees for processing and issuance after the end of the fiscal year.
Source: Flickr Creative Commons Attribution Gage Skidmore
A estas alturas ya habrás visto los titulares de las noticias. Ahora analicemos la nueva acción ejecutiva histórica del Presidente Biden sobre inmigración y vayamos al meollo de todo lo que necesitas saber sobre esta orden diseñada para mantener unidas a las familias y brindar más oportunidades a los Dreamers.
Proceso para Promover la Unidad y Estabilidad de las Familias– Legalización de cónyuges Indocumentados de Ciudadanos Estadounidenses
Hoy, 18 de junio de 2024, el Presidente Biden anunció un nuevo proceso que permitirá la protección y legalización de los cónyuges indocumentados de ciudadanos estadounidenses que hayan residido en los Estados Unidos durante al menos diez años a partir del 17 de junio de 2024.
En virtud de la autoridad ejecutiva del Presidente, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS), en coordinación con los Servicios de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de los Estados Unidos (USCIS), crearán un nuevo programa discrecional de “permanencia temporal” para que los cónyuges indocumentados de ciudadanos estadounidenses legalicen su estatus mientras permaneciendo en los Estados Unidos.
Aquellos que sean aprobados después de la evaluación caso por caso de su solicitud por parte del DHS tendrán un período de tres años para solicitar la residencia permanente. A los elegibles se les permitirá permanecer con sus familias en los Estados Unidos y ser elegibles para una autorización de trabajo por hasta tres años.
Las personas deben cumplir ciertos requisitos de elegibilidad para convertirse en residentes permanentes legales (titulares de tarjeta verde) bajo este nuevo proceso,
A continuación se encuentran respuestas a preguntas frecuentes sobre esta orden ejecutiva.
Q: ¿Cuáles son los requisitos para que los cónyuges sean elegibles para solicitar el permiso de permanencia temporal y legalizar su estatus en los Estados Unidos?
Para ser considerado caso por caso para una concesión discrecional de permiso de permanencia temporal en virtud de este proceso, una persona debe:
Visa Lawyer Blog