On Monday, November 9, 2015, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s preliminary injunction (temporary block) of President Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans & Residents (DAPA) program and expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program. The decision of the 3 judge panel was a divided decision; with 2 Judges determining that the 26 states that brought suit had standing to bring suit and...

On October 16, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an advanced copy of its proposed rule for an extension of Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 nonimmigrant students with STEM degrees. The proposed rule will be published on October 19, 2015 and the DHS will accept comments through November 18, 2015. The rule in its current form is a proposed rule and is not yet final. The proposed rule...

Managing Partner David Kolko and Partner Jennifer Casey recently had the opportunity to meet with Democratic Presidential Candidate and former Governor of Maryland Martin O’Malley. Attorneys Kolko and Casey were privileged to engage in a frank discussion with Governor O'Malley about U.S. immigration policy. Discussions included the expanded DACA and DAPA programs, executive action on immigration, the current administration's policies of detention of refugee families at our southern border and current...

In September 2015 the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) jointly announced a new framework for foreign national beneficiaries in the employment based and family based visa preference categories. This new framework is implemented through the new Visa Bulletin which took effect on October 1, 2015. The new Visa Bulletin provides two separate charts for each of the Employment Based and Family Based visa preference...

As previously reported, on September 9, 2015, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced an important change to the visa processing system in the United States. Under the new scheme, the the agencies announced that beginning in October 2015 the monthly DOS Visa Bulletin would contain two (2) separate charts for each of the Employment Based and Family Based Visa Preference categories. The new...

On September 9, 2015, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced an important change to the visa processing system in the United States. In order to understand the changes, we should first review the basics of our immigrant visa system and then discuss the changes announced this week. The Basics … The Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) sets limits on the number of immigrant...

Today, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the United States Department of State (DOS) announced new procedures for determining when applicants may file their applications to receive permanent residency in the United States. The changes will be reflected in a new monthly Visa Bulletin, published by DOS. Previously, the monthly Visa Bulletin provided only one set of dates: the priority dates which had become current (i.e., available for an...

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson has designated Yemen for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for a period of 18 months. The Secretary has determined that due to on-going armed conflict in Yemen, the country is experiencing extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent its nationals from returning in safety and that permitting such aliens to temporarily remain in the United States is not contrary to U.S. national interests. The 18...

Managing Partner David Kolko is spending his week this week volunteering at the family immigration jail in Dilley, Texas. The Dilley facility is an ICE processing center where refugee women and children are being held in Texas, waiting to fight their cases. These women and children are fleeing gang violence and lawlessness in Central America, primarily Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Mr. Kolko is also joined by our recent Spring 2015...

Today, August 31, 2015, USCIS announced that it has simplified the payment process for the USCIS Immigrant Fee. Since February 2013, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has charged an “Immigrant Fee” of $165.00 USD to individuals entering the United States on an immigrant visa. Individuals who apply for and receive an Immigrant Visa by processing their visa application at a U.S. Embassy or Consular Post abroad are required to...

Blog Post by Alex Sheppard, Summer 2015 Intern On August 29, 2013, the Obama administration released a memo saying that despite marijuana remaining an illegal drug under federal law, the U.S. Department of Justice would not challenge state laws legalizing marijuana in Washington and Colorado. The memo also stated that the Department would turn its prosecutorial efforts away from the recreational use of marijuana in these states, so long as the...

Kolko & Associates, P.C. is pleased to announce the launch of its new website at www.KolkoAssociates.com.  The site provides the latest content in immigration law and contains resources and information for those seeking assistance with their immigration cases.

Kolko & Associates, P.C. is delighted to announce that our own Senior Associate Bryon M. Large Sr. has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2016 in the field of Immigration Law.  Best Lawyers is one of the oldest and most highly-respected peer review guides to the legal profession worldwide. Congratulations Bryon!

In a decision issued this past Friday, a federal judge in the District Court for the Central District of California found that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was in violation of a court settlement agreement due to its practice of detaining families who were apprehended as part of the “surge” of asylum-seekers crossing the Southern border since last summer. The Judge also strongly admonished DHS for the “deplorable” conditions in...

By Zuzana Geremes, Paralegal On April 9, 2015, USCIS published a draft guidance based on its Administrative Appeal Office’s precedent decision, Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC, which held that employers must file amended H-1B petitions when a new Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers is required due to a change in the H-1B worker’s worksite location. More specifically, the Simeio decision stated that an amended H-1B petition must be filed under...

Last month, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson made a major announcement regarding the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy of detaining women and children asylum-seekers from Central America in family detention centers in remote parts of Texas and New Mexico. Secretary Johnson announced that detained families who have passed the initial step in the asylum process – showing that they have a credible or reasonable fear of persecution in their home...

By now, most immigration attorneys have been asked whether a particular foreign national client is eligible for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as “Obamacare.”   The answer to this question is complicated. Whether a foreign national is eligible for enrollment in a healthcare exchange under the ACA and/or required to obtain basic health insurance coverage requires a detailed analysis and consideration of immigration law, tax law...

In the wake of the pending litigation and injunction in Texas regarding the new deferred action programs for students and parents, a federal judge has ordered USCIS to be in full compliance of an injunction he previously issued. There are thought to be approximately 2,000 employment authorization documents (EAD’s) circulating that are not in compliance. Over the past several weeks, USCIS has been sending notices to DACA recipients who are affected....

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published new guidance in June on the care of transgender adults in immigration detention, in a Memorandum titled "Further Guidance Regarding the Care of Transgender Detainees." The Memorandum provides guidelines in several areas of detainee care, including intake procedures, determining housing placement, medical care, conducting searches, and access to clothing and commissary hygiene products. Notably, the guidance provides that transgender individuals may be assigned housing...

We do a fair number of hardship waivers in our office each year, and I am frequently asked by my clients how to write a good hardship letter. While many attorneys have different styles for putting together a hardship waiver application, most attorneys will agree that the letter is one of the most important pieces of the case. The difficult part about a hardship letter is that the attorney shouldn’t write...