Immigration Law

If your Green Card aspirations have been blocked by Trump’s public charge policy, there’s at least a little good news on the horizon. A federal judge just blocked the public charge rule. Though some form of the public charge rule has existed for over 100 years, the Trump administration added policy provisions that allowed USCIS…

A green card is a permanent resident card, and it allows you to live and work in the United States permanently. While it doesn’t make you a citizen, it does keep you safe from deportation and give you the right to move around the United States like anyone else who lives here. It’s definitely one…

USCIS is still desperate to raise funds, especially now that the federal courts have shot down their fee hikes. That’s why Congress recently passed HR 8337, which gives the agency more power to raise funds with premium processing fees. The new law has greatly expanded the categories that may be used. The length of time…

The Trump Administration has stripped “temporary protected status” from people from El Salvador, Haiti, and Sudan, many of whom first received protection in the 1980s. Many of these immigrants have been safely and legally in this country ever since.  The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld this decision. The protections…

It’s a good idea to stay faithful if you’re trying to become a legal permanent resident of the United States through marriage. If you have an affair you may incentivize your spouse to withdraw the I-130 petition, which could jeopardize your status. Thinking you’ll just stay with your new sweetheart? Sadly, your next petition may…

The June 22, 2020 Trump administration ban suspends entry for foreign nationals on H-1B, H-2B, J-1, and L-1 visas until December 31, 2020. On August 12 the State Department released a few exceptions. Many will not find these exceptions helpful, but they offer options to a narrow range of professionals. The entire ban and the…

If you’re seeking to get naturalized you’ll need more money than you used to. The Trump Administration just all but doubled the fees. What was once a $640 fee for an online application has shot up to $1,160.  Even asylum-seekers are seeing new fees. While the $50 fee for asylum seekers may seem modest to…

On July 6, 2020 the Trump Administration provoked outrage and lawsuits by instituting a rule which said international students could not keep their visas if they were taking online-only classes to protect themselves from Covid-19. Pennsylvania was one of 17 states who sued over it. Harvard and MIT also launched separate lawsuits, and were joined…

It’s been another tumultuous couple of weeks in immigration, with several major stories in the news worth paying close attention to. Here are some of those stories…and what they might mean to you and for you as you seek to navigate your own immigration issues. Here are the three top stories. Federal Judge Strikes Down…

Hiring an H-1B worker is a lot harder in today’s climate, and right now the Trump Administration is considering closing down this form of immigration for at least a year.  Yet many employers will still want to attempt to bring on H-1B workers to fill gaps in their employment. To do this, they must take…