In its recent decision in Matter of Khan, 26 I&N Dec. 797 (BIA 2016), the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) held that an Immigration Judge does not have jurisdiction to consider a waiver of inadmissibility under section 212(d)(14) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) for an applicant for U nonimmigrant status. The BIA held that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) holds exclusive jurisdiction over both the application for U...

Cases for U non-immigrant status are taking an abnormally long time to process with USCIS currently. The backlog is frustrating for applicants and attorneys, alike. The delays are attributed to many factors, including an increase in petitions, a cap on visa limits, and a large backlog at the Vermont Service Center of USCIS. U non-immigrant status is available to foreigners who have been victims of certain crimes. Waivers available under the...

On December 29, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that it had issued the statutory maximum of 10,000 U nonimmigrant approvals (U Visas) for Fiscal Year 2016 (October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016). Congress has set an annual statutory maximum of 10,000 available U Visas for qualified applicants. For the seventh (7th) straight year in a row, USCIS has reached the annual limit of 10,000 within the...

Dear Santa, With Christmas approaching quickly, I wanted to make sure you knew what gifts we’d love to have this year under our Christmas Trees. We’ve worked really hard this year to help our clients with their immigration problems, but we could use a few more tools around our office to better help our clients. Here is my wish list: • DAPA – Last year, the White House tried to give...

Recently, USCIS released statistics regarding Form I-918 U Nonimmigrant Status Petitions. While the numbers were generally not surprising, they give us a general indication of the strains on the U visa program. U Nonimmigrant Status, commonly referred to as a U visa, is available to people who have been victims of certain crimes, and who have cooperated with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of the crimes. The crimes are...