October 27, 2015|Contributed by: Courtney E. Butler, Esq.
On Tuesday, October 20, 2015, the United States Senate considered Senator David Vitter’s (R-LA) “Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act” (S. 2146). The Senate rejected the motion to proceed on the bill. The vote would have required 60 “Yea” votes to begin debate; the motion failed 54-45. So-called “sanctuary cities” are those cities that […]
October 23, 2015|Contributed by: kirby@immigrationissues.com
On October 19, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued updated regulations for comment on the extension of Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) for F-1 students earning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (“STEM”) degrees from U.S. universities and on “Cap-Gap” measures. The agency is doing so because similar regulations it issued in 2008 will be vacated […]
October 23, 2015|Contributed by: Koby L. Polaski, Esq.
In an important decision issued this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that subsection 16(b) of the United States Code, Title 18, is unconstitutionally vague in the context of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). Dimaya v. Lynch, No. 11-71307, slip op. (9th Cir. Oct. 19, 2015). This subsection is incorporated into the […]
October 1, 2015|Contributed by: Koby L. Polaski, Esq.
As previously reported on the Joseph & Hall P.C. Blog, the U.S. State Department published on September 9, 2015 its monthly Visa Bulletin containing major, long-awaited changes to the government’s visa issuance process. Perhaps the most substantial and welcome change was the addition of a date on which applicants can submit adjustment of status applications. […]
September 25, 2015|Contributed by: kirby@immigrationissues.com
On September 25, 2015, the Department of State issued revised Visa Bulletin for October 2015. The revised bulletin supersedes the previous bulletin which had been published on September 9, 2015. The Department of Homeland Security will rely on the priority dates as listed in the newly revised version of the bulletin. USCIS anticipates many October […]
September 24, 2015|Contributed by: Courtney E. Butler, Esq.
Each month, the Department of State publishes family-based and employment-based visa availability in the Visa Bulletin, which indicates when visas are available to adjustment-of-status applicants based on their individual priority dates. Beginning in October 2015, USCIS will publish two charts. One, the “Application Final Action Dates” chart, will list the dates when visas may be […]
September 24, 2015|Contributed by: kirby@immigrationissues.com
Reports about Syrian refugees have inundated the media in the last few weeks, given the recent uncontrollable surge in migration across European borders and the worsening of the crisis. Stories of migrant deaths, including young children, have been particularly grim and shocking. Earlier this week, concerned Americans were relieved to hear that the United States […]
September 22, 2015|Contributed by: Aaron C. Hall, Esq.
Pope Francis is set to use his first papal visit to the U.S.in part put a spotlight on the plight of immigrants. Pope Francis’s natural connection with immigrants in the United States goes beyond the fact that he is the first Latin American pontiff. Francis is the son of an immigrant, with his father having […]
September 11, 2015|Contributed by: kirby@immigrationissues.com
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that individuals with approved immigrant visa petitions who are stuck in the family-based and employment-based immigrant visa backlogs will be allowed, under specific circumstances, to begin filing their immigrant visa or adjustment of status applications before their priority dates become current. Visit the USCIS website for […]
August 28, 2015|Contributed by: Jennaweh Hondrogiannis, Esq.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has confirmed that the card production facility in Corbin, KY is undergoing maintenance. For that reason, all card production was transferred to the production facility in Lee’s Summit, MO. Due to the transfer, Lee’s Summit is experiencing a backlog of cases. As such, many clients are experiencing […]
