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On November 7, 2024, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a judgment in the case of State of Texas v. Department of Homeland Security, vacating the Keeping Families Together (KFT) parole process. The Keeping Families Together program was designed to create a pathway for noncitizen spouses and stepchildren of […]
Continue ReadingEspañol As we saw during the first Trump administration, we will likely again see mandates for interviews in all lawful permanent residency cases (both family and employment-based cases) and a decrease in critical agency resources dedicated to reviewing and adjudicating cases, leading to longer processing times. We will see changes in discretionary guidelines for agency […]
Continue ReadingEnglish Como vimos durante la primera administración de Trump, es probable que volvamos a ver la implementación de entrevistas obligatorias en todos los casos de residencia permanente legal (tanto basados en familia como en empleo) y una disminución en los recursos críticos de las agencias dedicados a la revisión y adjudicación de casos, lo que […]
Continue ReadingLast week, from June 12-15, 2024, Kolko and Casey, P.C. Senior Associate Attorneys Petula McShiras and Andrea Sweeney, attended the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois where they attended various panels on business immigration, family immigration, and humanitarian immigration. They also participated in open forums with the U.S. government agencies, such […]
Continue ReadingOn July 31, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a final rule on the USCIS fee schedule, which includes a major restructuring of the filing fees for processing applications and benefits with the agency. While the administration has many adjustments to the filing fees for processing […]
Continue ReadingOn March 18, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) closed its Field Offices for in-person services due to COVID-19. This has resulted in processing delays for applicants with pending applications for adjustment of status (lawful permanent residency / “green card”) and naturalization (U.S. citizenship) which require in-person interviews. In early June, USCIS Field […]
Continue ReadingLast Friday, on October 25, 2019, the U.S. Attorney General William Barr decided two cases that could have a significant impact on an individual’s eligibility for certain types of immigration relief. Both cases pertain to an individual’s criminal history and its impact on his or her ability to remain in the United States. In Matter […]
Continue ReadingIf you were issued a two-year lawful permanent resident card, this means that your residency status is conditional and you will need petition to remove the conditions on your residency. This is done by filing Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residency with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during the 90-day window […]
Continue ReadingAttorneys and clients alike are experiencing frustration with the processing times of cases at the local USCIS office. On April 13, 2015, the Denver Field Office issued a processing time report, which is essentially a snapshot of the cases they were working with on February 28, 2015. On that date, the local office was processing […]
Continue ReadingOn November 20, 2014, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced a new program to promote citizenship and the naturalization process. Beginning in 2015, USCIS will be conducting a program aimed at lawful permanent residents who are eligible to apply for naturalization. The program will seek to promote citizenship education and raise public […]
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