A New Win for Immigrants as USCIS Agrees to Restore Path to Permanent Residency for TPS Beneficiaries

A New Win for Immigrants as USCIS Agrees to Restore Path to Permanent Residency for TPS Beneficiaries

Washington, DC – October 23, 2017: Immigration reform protesters demonstrate outside the White House calling for no further deportations and a means to gain legal residency and a path to citizenship. (Shutterstock) By Linda Nwoke In December 2019, Trump’s administration decided to slightly modify an immigration condition which they described as a ‘mere clarification ‘that […]

USCIS to Offer Deferred Action for Special Immigrant Juveniles

USCIS to Offer Deferred Action for Special Immigrant Juveniles

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on March 7, 2022 announced that it is updating the USCIS Policy Manual to consider deferred action and related employment authorization for noncitizens who have an approved Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification but who cannot apply to adjust status […]

USCIS Issues Guidance on Informal Marriages for Derivative Refugee and Asylee Status

USCIS Issues Guidance on Informal Marriages for Derivative Refugee and Asylee Status

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate (RAIO) announced guidance recognizing that a spousal relationship may exist for the purpose of obtaining derivative refugee or asylee status, in certain circumstances, if there is evidence of an informal marriage. This guidance applies to the adjudication of a pending or newly filed Form I-589, […]

Why USCIS’ New Mission Statement Is So Crucial

Why USCIS’ New Mission Statement Is So Crucial

Thirteen immigrants officially become new U.S. citizens in a special naturalization ceremony on Flag Day at the historic Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia. – Philadelphia, PA / USA – June 14, 2019 By Wendy Feliz, Immigration Impact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unveiled a new mission statement this week, signaling an important shift in […]

USCIS Announces New Agency Mission Statement

“USCIS upholds America’s promise as a nation of welcome and possibility with fairness, integrity, and respect for all we serve.”

USCIS Announces New Agency Mission Statement

WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur M. Jaddou announced the agency’s new mission statement. Last year, USCIS leadership empowered employees to submit words that they felt best illustrated the agency’s work. The new mission statement is a reflection of this feedback from the workforce, the priorities of the Biden Administration, and Director […]

U.S. Citizenship Applicants are in Limbo Because Their Immigration Files are Locked in Caves Underground

U.S. Citizenship Applicants are in Limbo Because Their Immigration Files are Locked in Caves Underground

By Walter Ewing, Immigration Impact Thousands of applicants for U.S. citizenship have been waiting for well over a year for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to process their applications. But the problem isn’t the usual bureaucratic red tape. In this case, thousands of paper-based immigration records (known as “A-Files”) are locked in man-made caves that USCIS […]

In 11-Mile March, Immigrant NYers Refuse to Back Down On Pathway to Citizenship

In 11-Mile March, Immigrant NYers Refuse to Back Down On Pathway to Citizenship

On Friday, November 12, in an 11-mile march, immigrant New Yorkers, the New York Immigration Coalition, Center for Popular Democracy, Make the Road New York, New Immigrant Community Empowerment, and allies brought their demand for a pathway to citizenship from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Starting at 110th street in Harlem and ending at Grand Army Plaza […]

Changing Cut Off Dates Leave India EB-3 Applicants in an Immigration Limbo

Changing Cut Off Dates Leave India EB-3 Applicants in an Immigration Limbo

By Leslie Dellon, Immigration Impact Annual limits on immigrant visa numbers, combined with processing delays and wasted numbers, mean even longer waits for people to become U.S. permanent residents. In November, the “cut off” date for visa eligibility retrogressed (moved backward in time) for people born in India who are in the employment-based (EB) third […]

Class Action Settlement Gives Second Chance to Qualifying US Employers for H-1B Petition Approval

Class Action Settlement Gives Second Chance to Qualifying US Employers for H-1B Petition Approval

By Leslie Dellon, Immigration Impact A recent class action settlement is expected to result in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approving more market research analyst H-1B petitions. The lawsuit was filed by four U.S. employers whose H-1B petitions had been denied when USCIS determined that market research analysts were not a “specialty occupation” as required for […]