Articles Posted in Immigration News

UPDATE – DHS Public Charge Final Rule

A District Court has ordered the DHS and USCIS NOT to enforce or apply the new DHS Public Charge Final Rule, including Form changes!

USCIS has published new versions of Forms I-485, I-129, I-539, I-864, I-864EZ and I-944 and released them late on Wednesday, October 9^th! These new versions of forms have been updated to comply with the new Public Charge Rule. The new Public Charge Rule takes effect on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 and these new versions of the forms must be used on and after that date.

USCIS announced that it is creating four “hubs” on military bases to provide military naturalization services. The four “hubs” will be located at Camp Humphreys, South Korea; Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan; U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, Germany; and Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. Service members and their eligible family members will now be able to complete their naturalization process at one of these four “hubs”. USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli stated, “These service members and their families sacrifice so much to keep our country safe and free. I thank the Department of Defense for partnering with USCIS to ensure naturalization services remain available throughout their deployments overseas.”

For further details please review the USCIS News Release, “USCIS Announces New Locations for Onsite Overseas Military Naturalization Services”.

Source of Information:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on August 14^th officially released the final “Public Charge” rule to the Federal Register for public inspection! This version of the “Public Charge” rule will take effect in 60 days from its release date. The rule will decrease the number of immigrants eligible for green cards and admission to the United States because of income and for certain use of public benefits. Ken Cuccinelli, Acting Director of USCIS stated, “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge,”

Below is part of the *USCIS News Release:

*This final rule amends DHS regulations by prescribing how DHS will determine whether an alien is inadmissible to the United States based on his or her likelihood of becoming a public charge at any time in the future, as set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act. The final rule addresses U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) authority to permit an alien to submit a public charge bond in the context of adjustment of status applications. The rule also makes nonimmigrant aliens who have received certain public benefits above a specific threshold generally ineligible for extension of stay and change of status.

Several of USCIS offices in the Southeast are closed, will be closing or have changed their hours as Hurricane Dorian path moves up the East Coast of the United States. If you have an appointment with the USCIS and you think it might be affected, check the list daily!

For complete details, please review the USCIS Web Page, “USCIS Office Closings” for more details.

Source of Information:

List of some of the Top News Stories related to Deportation:

Time (Time.com), 9/27/19:

Trump Administration Ends Protection That Lets Migrants Avoid Deportation While Receiving Medical Care

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has alerted Immigration Lawyers that USCIS has discontinued the practice of providing courtesy (free) premium processing for I‑539s filed concurrently with an I‑129 petition. USCIS cited the need to meet new biometrics requirement for all I‑539 applicants.

 
Background

USCIS (USCIS.gov) I-539 , Application To Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) held their 2019 Annual Conference on Immigration Law from June 19^th through the 22^nd in Orlando, Florida. The Keynote Speaker was Julián Castro, besides being the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) during the Obama Administration; he is one of the 25 Democratic Candidates for the 2020 Presidential Race.

I have posted the link to the VIDEO below.

AILA Annual Conference 2019: Julián Castro’s Keynote Speech – VIDEO

USCIS has announced that beginning July 1, 2019 it will no longer accept Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status at any of their international field offices.

The announcement states:

Individuals who wish to voluntarily record abandonment of their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status must submit Form I-407 via mail to: