EAH Immigration Blog

To our DACA clients, families and friends: We stand with you!  We are all heartbroken about this Administration’s shortsighted decision to terminate the DACA program.  The Department of Homeland Security has issued a memorandum with details about how the program will end. You can find the details here:   https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/09/05/memorandum-rescission-daca Additionally,...

The following additional items may be of interest to our readers: Indian Nationals Eligible to Join Global Entry and Can Avoid Long Immigration Inspection Lines: Citizens of India now join a select group of countries — including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and South Korea — whose...

USCIS has begun to accept premium processing I-907 requests for three cap-exempt H-1B classifications. A petitioner can file an I-907 if it is (1) an institution of higher education, (2) a nonprofit related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education, or (3) a nonprofit research or governmental research...

On July 17, DHS and the DOL issued a temporary rule increasing the numerical limitation on H-2B nonimmigrant visas to authorize the issuance of up to an additional 15,000 through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2017. To file for one of these additional H-2B visas, a petitioner must meet...

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, was set in place by President Obama five years ago in response to the realities of enforcing immigration laws. It was another way to allow ICE to prioritize enforcement: the agency has limited funds and it is best dedicated to the removal of...

The election dust has settled and the candidate who based his campaign on tough immigration enforcement is in the White House. While change takes time, just seven months into President Trump’s term, the nation is starting to fully understand the reality of working with the Trump administration. Indeed, for the...

In a recent letter, New Jersey Chief Justice Stuart Rabner requested that DHS Secretary Kelly urge ICE not to arrest individuals who show up for court appearances in state court. The chief justice said that courthouses should be added to the list of “sensitive locations” outlined in a 2011 ICE...

Refund Requests Generally, USCIS does not issue refunds for filing fees, regardless of the decision on the application. There are very limited exceptions: for example, when USCIS collects the incorrect fee. If an applicant or petitioner believes he or she is entitled to a refund of a fee, the first...

Under the Obama Administration, certain undocumented immigrants were permitted to have their immigration cases administratively closed in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion (PD), which in essence was a form of relief from deportation. Often this was granted when an undocumented parent of U.S. citizen children was placed in removal proceedings....

Two bills are winding their way through the House’s Judiciary Committee that focus on immigration enforcement tactics and ignore any major policy changes: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Authorization Act (H.R. 2406) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Act (H.R. 2407). Included in the former bill is a provision...

The Supreme Court found unconstitutional the gender-based distinction in the immigration act, requiring a shorter period of parental physical presence in the U.S. for acquisition of citizenship through an unwed citizen mother versus an unwed citizen father. Rather than extending the shorter period of required physical presence to children of...

Immigration courts have an enormous backlog that has not only persisted, but grown exponentially over the years. In 2006, the average case processing time was about 198 days. A decade later the same case will take 650 days to process. Government officials attribute the backlog to a number of factors:...

Under the Obama Administration, certain undocumented immigrants were permitted to have their immigration cases administratively closed in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion (PD), which in essence was a form of relief from deportation. Often this was granted when an undocumented parent of U.S. citizen children was placed in removal proceedings....

Armed with a supplemental questionnaire, DS-5535, consular officers around the world have started more intensive vetting of some visa applicants — including requests for their social media handles (user name) — in an effort to block potential terrorists and other national security threats from entering the country. DS-5535 was rolled...

The Department of Labor has a minor but important role in some immigration matters, including the H-1 and H-2 visa programs and labor certification applications for employment-based green cards. After reviewing the DOL’s foreign worker visa programs, Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta announced actions to increase protections for American workers...

In a scathing rebuke of the Administration’s executive order travel ban, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the nationwide preliminary injunction, enjoining the Administration from implementing it. Here’s what that court had to say: “The question for this Court, distilled to its essential form, is whether...

The following additional items may be of interest to our readers: Sunset of Four Immigration Programs : Four immigration programs will collectively sunset (expire) on April 28, 2017 if the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government is not renewed on time. The programs include E-verify, Special Immigrant Religious Workers,...

If you are a legal permanent resident (LPR) and eligible for citizenship, now is a good time to give serious thought to becoming a U.S. citizen. Procrastination, cost, and an emotional bond to your home country may encourage you to remain in LPR status. That is understandable, but only for...

In the waning months of 2016, the growing trend in the executive branch was disdain for the private prison system. The Department of Justice issued a memorandum stopping the practice altogether, which prompted action by other federal agencies. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gave serious consideration to ending the practice...

In light of increased inspection of electronic devises at the border, CBP recently released a handout explaining why a person’s electronic device may be subject to inspection, the authority to search electronic devices, and what happens with the return or seizure of detained such electronic devices. The following is a...