Late last month, we received a denial of a Humanitarian Deferred Action request and it’s left me questioning the humanity of USCIS. Yes, I know I question their decisions and their motivations a lot, but even though things have gotten more difficult, we were still getting approvals on good, solid cases. I also know that […]
No Heart for a Child with Heart Disease? Read More »
USCIS is feeling extra experimental these days. From cutting of liaison inquiries to forcing InfoPass appointments to go through a phone call vetting system to conducting more and more interviews, USCIS customers and immigration attorneys hardly know what to expect when appearing for an interview. One of the latest changes deals with how Naturalization interviews
New Naturalization Procedures in Atlanta Read More »
Q. What did we do in Tijuana? A. We volunteered with Al Otro Lado. Alina did “intake” talking with people who had numbers in a very long line to seek asylum. She was one of 6-9 people doing 30-minute interviews. As an immigration lawyer, I went over the interview notes, asked people to summarize their stories,
Volunteering with Potential Asylum-Seekers in Tijuana Read More »
Yes, we could focus on all of the negative news surrounding immigration – from the recent government shutdown over the wall to legislation (that failed) to take away children’s rights to apply for asylum if they were born in Central America to the decline of service at USCIS…but not today. Sometimes I get tired of
Optimism in Difficult Times Read More »
Happy New Year! We’ve talked before about USCIS and how their customer service has declined over the past year or so…and the trend continues for 2019, sadly. Starting on February 4, 2019, you will not be able to self-schedule an InfoPass appointment in Atlanta. Instead, you will need to call the National Customer Service Center (1-800-375-5283), explain your problem,
The End of InfoPass at USCIS Atlanta Field Office Read More »
Man oh man…what a year. Does anyone else feel like their hair is on fire?! Before diving into law and numbers, I want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reach out, to allow us to be part of their immigration story, and to our friends and family who give
Crazy 2018 – A Year in Review Read More »
I can’t believe we got through October – Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the start of the new Fiscal Year for U visas – and I didn’t mention U visas at all! Better late than never – there’s been some news on the status front. Increased Filings In 2009 USCIS received only 4,102 U applications for the
What’s New with U? Read More »
Every few days, it seems like the President announces some crazy idea to change our immigration laws and policies. In just the past two weeks, he’s said he wants to get rid of the 14th Amendment that guarantees US citizenship to every individual born in the United States. He’s also said that he wants to make people who enter the
Staying Away From the Rumors Read More »
Last week, our local USCIS liaison committee received troubling news. Our quarterly liaison meetings are canceled moving forward and our AILA emails will all be ignored from this point forward. This is yet another example of how this administration and its policies are turning USCIS away from service, taking away transparency, and I have to
The End of the Liaison Era Read More »
It’s been a busy summer at USCIS. They’ve issued several policy memos that have the potential to absolutely upend our legal immigration system. I’ve written a bit about the NTA and RFE memos, but we know more about them now than we did a few months ago. Then there’s the public charge memo that came out a few weeks ago
Recent Changes at USCIS: NTAS, RFES, and Public Charge Read More »
