Articles Posted in Notice to Appear

donald-2911302_1280Trump Administration Plans Revocation of CHNV Parole Leaving Thousands Without Legal Status


In a shocking turn of events, new information has been released by CBS News about the Trump administration’s imminent plans to revoke the legal status of those who were granted humanitarian parole under the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) humanitarian parole programs.

It is estimated that more than 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans are currently in the U.S. under these programs.

What is CHNV Parole?


The CHNV parole program was first enacted in 2023 by the Biden administration. Much like the Uniting for Ukraine parole program, nationals from qualifying countries (Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela) were required to have a U.S.-based supporter, pass enhanced security vetting, and meet other criteria to gain admission to the U.S.

Those admitted were granted entry to the U.S. for a temporary period of up to two years, including the ability to apply for temporary employment authorization with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Following President Trump’s day one executive order entitled, “Securing Our Borders,” on January 28th USCIS stopped the acceptance of Form I-134A, Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support, for these parole programs pending further review. This was the first sign of trouble for the CHNV program. The CHNV parole webpage is no longer available on the USCIS website.

DHS Notice to Revoke CHNV


According to internal government documents reviewed by CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security will soon publish a notice in the Federal Register terminating the CHNV parole programs and revoking the parole status of all who were granted entry to the United States under the CHNV humanitarian parole programs.

Such individuals will be placed in removal proceedings if they do not have any other lawful basis to remain in the country.

What this means: 

  • Those whose parole classification is revoked, and who lack another immigration status, will be immediately ineligible to remain in the United States, and can no longer work on a lawful basis.
  • Accelerated Deportations: The Department of Homeland Security has expanded expedited removal procedures, targeting individuals without permanent legal status
  • Alternative Legal Pathways: those in the U.S. under CHNV parole must explore alternative legal avenues to remain in the U.S. or prepare to depart

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Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a new online portal known as the “ICE Portal,” designed to centralize communications between noncitizens and the federal government.

This new online portal will allow noncitizens to conveniently schedule appointments, update their address with ICE, and check immigration court hearing information all in one place.

It will incorporate previous online capabilities and improve upon them like ICE’s Appointment Scheduler and the change of address tool. Noncitizens will be able to look up information regarding upcoming immigration court hearings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

The portal is now live and ready to be accessed by the public here.

It is ICE’s latest initiative to streamline and simplify compliance requirements for noncitizens on ICE’s non-detained docket.


Will ICE collect my personal information by using this portal?


No. Except for login information used to create an account, the ICE Portal does not collect other personally identifiable information provided by an individual when using ICE’s digital services.


Who should use the ICE Portal?


Any noncitizen who has been placed in removal proceedings. It provides important information for noncitizens to complete necessary tasks related to the immigration process such as:

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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 so by phone or in-person.

To process an online change-of-address, the system requires a full name, A-number, and validated non-commercial address. It takes approximately one minute to complete the form.

This tool will make it easier for noncitizens to comply with their immigration obligations and improve the accuracy of address information reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by utilizing address autofill to ensure U.S. Postal Service standardization.


Reporting a Change of Address with USCIS


As a reminder, all noncitizens in the United States, except A and G visa holders and visa waiver visitors, must also report a change of address to USCIS within 10 days of relocating.

You may change your address with USCIS online here.


Reporting a Change of Address with Immigration Court


Once a noncitizen has entered a valid mailing address, if they are currently in removal proceedings pursuant to Section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the interactive online system will provide the noncitizen with information on how to also change their address with the immigration court as required, using the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) Form EOIR-33, Change of Address/Contact Information. Form EOIR-33 can be submitted by mail, in-person at the immigration court, or online through EOIR’s Respondent Access.

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On June 4th, 2021, the interim guidance memorandum (“The Memo”) was publicly released. The reason the memo sent many, like me, into a frenzy was because of the million people currently in immigration court limbo who have just had their lives transformed by these thirteen pages.

This memo is proof the Biden Administration has set a new tone towards immigration. The memo beautifully states, “the government wins when justice is done,” reminding OPLA attorneys they should remain mindful that “immigration enforcement obligations do not consist only initiating and conduction prompt proceedings that lead to removals at any cost.” The memo provides internal direction to OPLA attorney’s regarding the following: 1. Removal Priority Cases, 2. Prosecutorial Discretion, 3. Ability to cancel NTAs, 4. Authority to Administrative closure or Continuance of Proceedings, and 5. Authority to Terminate  Proceedings.

(It is important to note this memorandum was released For Official Use Only by the Department of Homeland Security. You should seek the advice and counsel of an attorney to review your case specifically.)

  1. REMOVAL PRIORITY CASES

It is directed that OPLA attorneys prioritize agency resources in the following priority categories:

A. Noncitizens who engaged in or suspect to engage in terrorism or whose apprehension is otherwise necessary to protect the national security of the United States.

B. Noncitizens who were apprehended at the border or port of entry, while attempting to enter unlawfully into the United States after November 1, 2020.

C. Noncitizens convicted of an “aggravated felony” or convicted of an offense related to a criminal street gang and determined to pose a threat to public safety.

The memo also provides a non-exclusive list of civil immigration enforcement and removal decisions where the agency should identify any opportunities of a non-citizens process to ensure just fair and legally appropriate outcomes.

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A new lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California now allows Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) applicants to challenge long standing delays in receiving their immigration records from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The U.S. District Court has certified two class action lawsuits allowing FOIA applicants and attorneys requesting FOIA records on their behalf to join in the class action so that class members may receive timely determinations on their FOIA requests. This decision was made in response to significant delays that applicants face in obtaining their immigration records from the agency.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick who granted the class action request wrote in his order that delays in receiving immigration records are particularly precarious for, “Noncitizens in removal proceedings” who “particularly rely on FOIA requests because discovery is not available. Consequently, obtaining A-Files from defendants is critical in immigration cases; delays in obtaining A-Files leave noncitizen and their attorneys “in legal limbo” that inflicts substantial hardship.”

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On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced a proposal that will change the settlement agreement reached in Flores v. Reno, an agreement that limited the amount of time and conditions under which the U.S. government could detain immigrant children.

Reno v. Flores prevented the government from holding immigrant children in detention for over 20 days. The Trump administration is now seeking to do away with that prohibition and hold undocumented families traveling with children for an indefinite period of time.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan, announced the administration’s plans to publish a final rule in the Federal Register to do away with the Flores rule. The rule would become effective 60 days after publication. The proposal however will likely be met with great opposition and result in years long litigation.

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Several months ago, we reported that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) amended its policy regarding the issuance of Notice to Appear (NTA) documents in removal proceedings.

During the month of June, USCIS released a policy memorandum indicating the agency’s intent to revise NTA policy to better align with the President’s Executive Order 13768 “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States.” NTAs are documents that are issued to alien’s subject to removal from the United States. Issuance of an NTA initiates the process of removing an individual from the United States.

Specifically, the Executive Order 13768 called on DHS to “prioritize the removal of aliens described in INA §§ 212(a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(6)(C), 235, and 237(a)(2) and (a)(4) … who are removable based on criminal or security grounds, fraud or misrepresentation, and aliens subject to expedited removal.”

In addition, the Executive Order called for the removal of individuals who:

  • (a) Have been convicted of any criminal offense;
  • (b) Have been charged with any criminal offense that has not been resolved;
  • (c) Have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense;
  • (d) Have engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation in connection with any official matter or application before a governmental agency;
  • (e) Have abused any program related to receipt of public benefits;
  • (f) Are subject to a final order of removal, but have not departed; or
  • (g) In the judgment of an immigration officer, otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security

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“Fake Dates” Appear on Notices of intent to Deny

Across the nation, news outlets are reporting that dozens of individuals have received court orders from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ordering them to appear in court by a certain date.

The problem? When these individuals showed up to court on the date indicated on the notice, they were turned away by court staffers who notified them that their names were not listed on the judge’s official dockets.

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Return of Unselected H-1B Petitions

H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in the fiscal year 2019 visa lottery have been returned to unlucky applicants. If you filed a petition between April 2 and April 6 and you did not receive a receipt notice for your application, you will be receiving your returned petitions in the mail by August 13. If you do not receive a returned petition by this date, you should contact USCIS.

Updated NTA Policy

On June 28th USCIS issued a policy memorandum providing updated guidance for the referral of cases and issuances of notices to appear (NTAs) in cases involving inadmissible and deportable aliens. The policy memorandum outlines the Department of Homeland Security’s priorities for removal as well as guidelines for referring cases and issuing NTAs.

Under the updated policy the following classes of aliens are prioritized for removal, aliens who are removable based on criminal or security grounds, fraud or misrepresentation, and aliens subject to expedited removal,” as well as alienswho, regardless of the basis for removal:

(a) Have been convicted of any criminal offense;

(b) Have been charged with any criminal offense that has not been resolved;

(c) Have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense;

(d) Have engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation in connection with any official matter or application before a governmental agency;

(e) Have abused any program related to receipt of public benefits;

(f) Are subject to a final order of removal, but have not departed; or

(g) In the judgment of an immigration officer, otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security”

Today, USCIS announced that it is postponing implementation of this policy guidance because operational guidance has not yet been provided to immigration officers. The policy memorandum gave USCIS 30 days to implement proper protocols for NTA issuance consistent with the updated policy memorandum. We will notify our readers once we receive information about when the NTA policy will be implemented.

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In this post, we bring our readers important information regarding revisions to the Notice to Appear “NTA” policy guidelines. On June 28, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released new policy guidance outlining the Department’s priorities for enforcement and removal of undocumented immigrants from the United States.

Form I-862 also known as a Notice to Appear is a document that is given to an individual to initiate removal proceedings. The Notice to Appear instructs the individual of a date and time to appear in immigration court for removal proceedings.

To better align with the President’s Executive Order 13768 “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” USCIS has revised its NTA policy expanding the class of individuals who may be referred to ICE and issued a Notice to Appear. Under the revised policy, USCIS may now refer cases “with articulated suspicions of fraud to ICE prior to adjudication,” of cases filed with USCIS. The revised policy does not apply to recipients and requestors of Deferred Action (DACA) when (1) processing an initial or renewal DACA request or DACA-related benefit request; or (2) processing a DACA recipient for possible termination of DACA. For this class of individuals the 2011 NTA guidelines will apply.

The President’s Executive Order 13768 specifically calls on DHS to “prioritize the removal of aliens described in INA §§ 212(a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(6)(C), 235, and 237(a)(2) and (a)(4) … who are removable based on criminal or security grounds, fraud or misrepresentation, and aliens subject to expedited removal.”

In addition, the Executive Order prioritizes the removal of individuals who:

  • (a) Have been convicted of any criminal offense;
  • (b) Have been charged with any criminal offense that has not been resolved;
  • (c) Have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense;
  • (d) Have engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation in connection with any official matter or application before a governmental agency;
  • (e) Have abused any program related to receipt of public benefits;
  • (f) Are subject to a final order of removal, but have not departed; or
  • (g) In the judgment of an immigration officer, otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security

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