October 24, 2016|Contributed by: Aaron C. Hall, Esq.
On December 23, 2016, the new fee schedule for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) application and petition filing fees will go into effect. Family-based petitions, employment-based petitions, and naturalization applications will all be affected. For example, the I-130 Petition for an Alien Relative will go up from $420 to $535. The I-129 Petition for […]
October 18, 2016|Contributed by: Courtney E. Butler, Esq.
In an election season fraught with claims of building a wall along the Mexican border and making Mexico pay for it, the importance of an effective border security plan that serves national security concerns but also ensures due process rights for all becomes even more apparent. The truth about border security and detention is not […]
September 29, 2016|Contributed by: Courtney E. Butler, Esq.
The United States Supreme Court announced today that it will decide the question of whether 18 U.S.C. § 16(b), as incorporated into the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), is unconstitutionally vague. In 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the statute, which defines a “crime of violence,” is unconstitutionally vague. A conviction for […]
September 23, 2016|Contributed by: Joseph & Hall P.C.
The Diversity Visa Lottery is a congressionally mandated system that provides immigrant visas to randomly selected individuals from regions and countries around the globe with historically low numbers of immigrants to the United States. For Fiscal Year 2018 (which runs from October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018), 50,000 immigrant visa numbers are available to […]
September 21, 2016|Contributed by: Aaron C. Hall, Esq.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over immigration cases in Colorado, on Monday ruled in a case called Golicov v. Lynch that a portion of the immigration law’s “crime of violence” statute is unconstitutionally vague. Section 16 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code defines the term “crime of violence” to include […]
August 26, 2016|Contributed by: Jennaweh Hondrogiannis, Esq.
After President Obama announced his plan to expand Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and to introduce Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA), which would defer the deportation of undocumented parents of U.S. citizens, 26 states joined in a suit against the administration stating that the President had exceeded his executive authority. The suit was […]
August 25, 2016|Contributed by: Aaron C. Hall, Esq.
Visitors to the United States, including those using the Visa Waiver Program and those using Visitors Visas, have long been required to fill out forms to submit to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) prior to admission to the United States. On June 23, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) submitted a proposal which would […]
August 24, 2016|Contributed by: Courtney E. Butler, Esq.
On August 25, 2016, the National Park Service (“NPS”) will celebrate its 100th anniversary. As a birthday present representing its partnership with NPS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will conduct 16 naturalization ceremonies at national parks across the United States, welcoming 450 new United States citizens. USCIS plans to hold at least 100 naturalization […]
August 22, 2016|Contributed by: Joseph & Hall P.C.
As of July 21, 2016, there are 500,051 cases pending in Immigration Courts across the United States. Since 2011, more than 200,000 cases have been added to the docket and the number will continue to rise until the Court hires more Judges to meet the need. Congress has not allocated sufficient funding to Immigration Courts […]
July 29, 2016|Contributed by: Jennaweh Hondrogiannis, Esq.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the final rule regarding the expansion of the provisional waiver will be released tomorrow, July 29th. The final rule will become effective on August 29, 2016. This long awaited expansion to the provisional waiver has been pending since the proposed rules were published on July 22, 2015. […]
