Immigration Law Blog

Biden’s Sweeping New Immigration Proposals

President Joe Biden, sworn into office on Wednesday, will present Congress with a sweeping immigration reform bill. This bill represents a reversal of many of the previous administration’s immigration policies.

The most prominent feature of the bill is an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States without legal status. » Read More

Owing to the pandemic, federal immigration agencies are facing significant delays in processing various immigration applications. On January 8, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) acknowledged delays in processing as the result of COVID-19 restrictions, increases in filings, and current postal service volume and other factors. » Read More

On Trump’s last day of office, the White House approved deferred deportation for some Venezuelans. The White House issued a memo yesterday that approved Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Venezuelans. Venezuelans who are eligible for deferral can continue to live and work in the U.S., » Read More

Earlier this month, U.S. immigration authorities provided the first-ever update about the situation at Application Support Centers, when United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced delays in issuing receipt notices for some applications filed at the USCIS lockbox facility. In a sense, the agency’s issues date back almost to the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when in-person services at USCIS offices were canceled from March to June of 2020. » Read More

Google Backs Biden’s Immigration Efforts and Covers DACA Fees

On Wednesday, following President-elect Joe Biden’s announcement that he would propose immigration legislation to Congress immediately after his inauguration, tech giant Google issued a statement that the company would support these immigration efforts. » Read More

A new study released by the pro-immigrant reform group, FWD.us, shows that more than two-thirds of undocumented immigrant workers have frontline jobs considered essential to the U.S. fight against COVID-19. According to the 2019 American Community Survey by the Census Bureau, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that 69% of undocumented immigrant workers hold jobs that are deemed essential. » Read More

New Jersey was scheduled to begin issuing driver’s licenses for immigrants without legal documents by the beginning of January 2021, but Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) officials announced there will be a delay due to the COVID pandemic. » Read More

Trump Administration Extends Restrictions on Visa Applications for Foreign Workers

The White House has extended through March 31, 2021, restrictions on visa applications and entry into the United States for certain foreign national workers. The restrictions had been set to expire on December 31, 2020. » Read More

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published its year-end report, stating that the illegal immigrants arrested by ICE during fiscal year (FY) 2020 had an average of four criminal convictions or pending criminal charges each. The United States is home to about 10.5 million undocumented immigrants. » Read More

Last week, Congress passed the $900 billion coronavirus relief package that was signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 27, 2020. In this package, the U.S. government will allow mixed-status households to receive stimulus checks. In mixed-status families, at least one member of the household must have a Social Security number (SSN). » Read More