U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law
| “I would be happy if not a single refugee foot ever again touched America’s soil.” |
| — Stephen Miller, senior advisor to President Trump on immigration matters. Meanwhile, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency, there are 25.9 million refugees worldwide who have been forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in other countries. |
President Trump and an adviser, Stephen Miller, have cooked new public charge rules, subsequently issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS), as well as a Presidential Proclamation requiring immigrant visa applicants to buy health insurance.
Implementation has been chaotic, and these rules have been challenged in court. This article explains the status of each initiative.
The USCIS public charge rule was published in the Federal Register on Aug. 14, 2019. USCIS then published corrections on Oct. 2, 2019. For a summary, see the USCIS Fact Sheet and our firm’s client alert.
Continue reading “Latest News: Chaos in Implementing the USCIS/DOS Public Charge Rules and Presidential Proclamation Requiring Health Insurance”
Reuters reports that yesterday, a federal judge ruled that U.S. border agents need “reasonable suspicion” but not a warrant to search travelers’ smartphones and laptops at airports and other U.S. ports of entry. The ruling sets a higher standard than the one CBP agents must apply to conduct routine searches of electronic devices under current policies. CBP had no immediate comment on the ruling.
The number of electronic device searches at the border has ballooned during the Trump administration, rising from about 8,500 in FY2015 to more than 30,000 in FY2018.
Read also our firm’s advice about Preparing for Possible Search of Your Luggage and Devices at the Border.
Shanghai Daily reports that foreigners and persons from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan arriving in Shanghai can now complete the temporary residence registration (临时住宿登记) process online instead of going to the police in person.
Continue reading “Shanghai Online Temporary Residence Registration for Foreigners”
On August 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule related to public charge in the Federal Register. The rule was set to take effect on October 15, 2019, but is currently tied up in litigation. The rule will not apply to immigration applications filed before it takes effect.
Continue reading “Highlights of the Dep’t of Homeland Security Public Charge Rule”
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Sept. 25 the arrest of Ji Chaoqun on the charge that he was as an agent of the Chinese government acting in the U.S. without registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Continue reading “Ji Chaoqun Arrested on Charges of Acting as an Illegal Agent for the Chinese Government”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reports that Li Dongyuan has entered a plea of guilty on charges that she ran a birth tourism scheme. The agency’s full press release follows:
Continue reading “Suspect Pleads Guilty in “Birth Tourism” Scheme”
Aug. 9 Update: USCIS announced in a news release today that they have cancelled plans to close operations at 7 international field offices: Beijing, Guangzhou, Nairobi, New Delhi, Mexico City, San Salvador, and Guatemala City. The news release calls these operations “cost-effective and high value”: they will continue to “adjudicate complex immigration petitions that require in-person interviews, to enhance integrity through fraud detection and national security activities, and to liaise with U.S. and foreign government entities to improve migration management capacity.” The news release gives no reason for the partial retreat in plans to axe all international offices.
Continue reading “USCIS Partial Retreat: Some International Field Offices, including Beijing and Guangzhou, Will Remain Open”
A member of the U.S. Congress may be willing to inquire with a Federal immigration agency, such as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS), if you are having problems with your case.
Continue reading “Making a Congressional Inquiry for Help with Your Immigration Case”
Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent resident married to a spouse living overseas? Maybe you are living overseas together, or maybe you are in the U.S. waiting for your spouse to immigrate.
Continue reading “Filing Tax Returns When Married to a Nonresident Alien”
Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks have twin sons, born four minutes apart. The U.S. State Department has maintained that one is a U.S. citizen and one is not. The same-sex couple has been fighting the U.S. government in federal court for citizenship rights for their young child.
Continue reading “U.S. State Department Appeals to Ninth Circuit a Ruling That Same-Sex Couple’s Child Acquired Citizenship Upon Birth Abroad”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ processing of Forms I-751, Petitions to Remove Conditional Resident Status is in a state of disarray.
Sandra Feist writes for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that USCIS has been adding new procedural delays and hurdles to I-751s, like brick after brick in an “invisible wall” making life difficult for spouses of U.S. citizens.
Continue reading “USCIS Processing of I-751s in Disarray”
Happy Lunar New Year!
The U.S. Embassy and Consulates General in China will be closed Feb. 4 to 7.
Chodorow Law Offices will be closed for the official holiday, Feb. 4 to 10.
The federal government is now in partial shutdown due to a failure by President Trump and Congress to agree on how to fund the government. How does this impact key immigration agencies?
Continue reading “How the Government Shutdown Impacts Immigration Agencies”President Trump baldly asserted this week that he can issue an executive order ending birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to undocumented parents. My initial reaction was frustration. How can the President claim–with no explanation–the power to act in a way that appears contrary to the plain words of the U.S. Constitution? Is this a serious proposal that just sounds like a flippant remark, or is it merely a cynical political ploy to rally his base before the midterm elections?
Continue reading “Trump’s Wrong Assertion That He Can End Birthright Citizenship by Executive Order”There are backlogs in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processing of applications and petitions. This leaves businesses and families to wonder what the processing times are. In March 2018, the agency began a pilot program to calculate processing times for some cases in a new way. Continue reading “How USCIS Calculates Processing Times for Petitions and Applications”
Gerry Shih reports for the AP today that the U.S. government may pursue sanctions on Chinese officials involved in human rights abuses in the western region of Xinjiang. Shih has recently reported elsewhere on a sweeping security crackdown in the region.
Continue reading “AP: Potential Visa Sanctions on Chinese Officials Over Xinjiang Abuses”
The latest Immigrant Visa Instructions published by the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou on Nov. 24, 2017, require that an applicant who has “ever used another name or alias on legal documentation or for other official purpose must provide a certified alias certificate” (别名证明文件). Continue reading ““Alias Certificates” Required from Immigrant Visa Applicants at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou”
The Trump administration’s war on immigration has included an array of tactics. There have been full frontal assaults, such as the Muslim ban, cancellation of DACA, the border wall, and the RAISE Act. Simultaneously, the Trump administration is using the tactic of death by a thousand cuts: numerous assaults in the administrative agencies and courts intended to make immigration slower, more expensive, and painful. Here’s but one example. Continue reading “Death by a Thousand Cuts: Evisceration of the Foreign Service”