EAH Immigration Blog

USCIS’s new policy regarding “unlawful presence” for foreign students (academic and vocational) and exchange visitors and their dependents is now in effect. This means that foreign students (F-1, J-1, M-1) will begin accruing unlawful presence on the day after the student violates the terms of his or status, such as fails...

Around the same time that USCIS issued its new policy regarding RFEs and NOIDs,USCIS updated its guidance for referring cases to the immigration court through the issuance of a Notice to Appear (NTA), and thus increasing its enforcement actions to a whole host of cases that normally are not automatically referred...

At the same time that immigration judges are having their discretion restricted, USCIS adjudicators are having their discretion expanded. The governing regulations explicitly provide an adjudicator the discretion to deny a case outright if the record does not establish eligibility for the immigration benefit, or issue a Request for Evidence (RFE)...

Of the more than 2,500 children who were separated from their parents due to the Trump Administration’s “zero tolerance” policy on border crossers, close to 550 children have yet to be reunified and an estimated 463 of their parents are no longer in the United States. In the wake of this...

Judge Orders DACA Reinstatement: The lawsuit against terminating DACA continues in federal court, where a district court judge ruled that the program must be fully restored. The government has until August 23 to respond or appeal the order. TPS Extensions for Yemen and Somalia: On July 19, 2018, DHS Secretary Kirstjen...

Just before this year’s H-1B lottery, USCIS published a memorandum that requires petitioners who place their H-1B employees at third-party worksites to provide significantly more evidence to establish the employer-employee relationship. Such evidence could include documentation of specific work assignments, copies of contractual agreements, itineraries, and detailed work statements covering the...

Palmer Polaski Senior Partner, David Harston was selected as the 2019 "Lawyer of the Year" for Immigration Law in the Denver area. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the "Lawyer of the Year," making this accolade particularly significant. These lawyers are selected...

Denver, Colorado, August 15, 2018 Senior Partner David Harston and Partner Camila Palmer have both been selected by their peers for recognition in the 25th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America, for their work in Immigration Law.

A district court judge recently issued an important decision regarding the one-year filing deadline for asylum applications. By law, an asylum seeker who is present in the United States may apply for asylum but must do so within one year of arrival. The proper place to file (or lodge) the asylum...

As the Trump Administration continues to take a hardline stance toward China in the sphere of free trade and open markets, the Department of State is considering limiting the issuance of F-1 visas to Chinese nationals. A June 11, 2018 proposal is a direct response to China’s alleged intellectual property violations....

While significant attention is given to the U.S.-Mexico border, our northern border with Canada still merits attention and security. DHS recently released its Northern Border Strategy to secure the 5,525-mile border, the longest land boundary between two countries in the world. The terrain on the border varies widely according to location...

USCIS announced that EB-5 investors filing I-829 applications and marriage-based petitioners who file I-751 applications to remove the conditions on their green cards will be able to use the receipt notice as evidence of continued status for 18 months past the expiration date on their conditional green card. This increased validity...

Courtney has represented clients before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), the Immigration Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Colorado Court of Appeals, and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Her immigration practice includes family, business, asylum, and removal defense. Courtney Butler is a graduate of the University...

The processing times listed on the USCIS website now show a range of expected completion dates as opposed to a concrete date. For example, change-of-status applications filed at the Vermont Service Center for the H-4 category show processing times of 9.5 to 13.5 months. This “cycle time” indicates that 50% of...

In a new “broadcast message,” SEVIS Response Center advises that foreign students engaging in volunteer work that is unrelated to their course of study does not qualify as optional practical training (OPT) and should not be listed as OPT employment. Reporting nonqualifying volunteer work as OPT employment could be considered a...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is required to present an annual report of the number of foreign nationals who are admitted but overstay. Overstays are defined as (1) individuals for whom no departure has been recorded and are likely still in the U.S., and (2) individuals who have a recorded...

Changes and enhancements to immigration enforcement measures continue to develop at a
breathtakingly rapid pace. Currently front and center is the Administration’s separation of family
members on the southern border, which has finally pushed the border wall from the spotlight.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ “zero-tolerance” policy for illegal border crossings resulted in
directing his attorneys to pursue criminal prosecutions for any individual caught crossing illegally,
sparked a national uproar. The President was forced to issue a new Executive Order on June 20,
which continues to produce confusion, uncertainty, and widespread criticism, never mind
abhorrent conditions for those affected. The fate of some 2,300 children separated from their
parents after crossing the southern border remains uncertain and bogged down in tremendous
bureaucratic red tape, and 17 states have now sued the government over its family separation
policy. Simply stated, the situation is a mess.

The following additional items may be of interest to our readers: U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua: Due to the current unrest in Nicaragua, the U.S. embassy in Managua has significantly reduced its hours, and DOS has suspended almost all visa processing. The embassy is prioritizing U.S. citizen services, immigrant visa cases that...

Due process is an essential tenant of the rule of law. In the immigration context, there are certain standards that must be met to ensure a full and fair hearing for the immigrant. The immigration laws require that “Notices to Appear” (NTAs), which are essentially the immigration version of a charging...

On June 26, the Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision, upholding President Trump’s September 24, 2017 Proclamation (“Travel Ban 3.0”), which currently excludes nationals from seven countries, stating that the proclamation was “squarely within the scope of Presidential authority under the INA.” (Trump v. Hawaii, 6/26/18). The travel ban includes...