Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti will be extended and redesignated for 18 months from February 4, 2023, until August 3, 2024.
TPS for Haiti had been extended five times, until January 22, 2018, due to economic, security, political, health care, and humanitarian crises. DHS announced…
Starting on Jan. 5, 2023, COVID-19 travel restrictions are back for those travelling to the United States from China, Hong Kong, or Macau. Individuals will have to show evidence of a negative COVID-19 test or of recovery from COVID-19.
Restrictions will apply to everyone over the age of 2 boarding a flight from China, Hong…
The new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) final rule is in effect – to the extent permitted by court orders.
DACA allows temporary protection from deportation for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States under the age of 16. There are approximately 600,000 immigrants, known as “Dreamers,” who are protected by DACA.
The…
Announcing a new final rule, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is officially reinstating the 2020 asylum rules in light of the court decision that said they were invalid.
In February 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated two 2020 Trump-era rules that for two years had made it more…
After years of litigation followed by uncertainty, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken the official action of issuing a new final rule that “restores the historical understanding of a ‘public charge’ that had been in place for decades . . . .” The new rule, which goes into effect on December 23, 2022,…
As of 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, June 12, 2022, passengers flying to the United States from abroad will no longer need to present a negative COVID-19 test to board (or prove that they have recovered from COVID-19 within the prior 90 days). Non-U.S. citizens, including those entering on temporary visas (with limited exceptions), must still…
The Department of State (DOS) has reinstituted talks with Cuban representatives about how to support family reunification and safe, orderly migration from Cuba to the United States.
Talks of this nature were instituted in 1984 and continued biannually from 1994 until 2018 when the talks were paused by the Trump Administration.
The Biden Administration is…
USCIS has changed its mission statement again – this time to adopt a more immigration-friendly stance.
In 2018, USCIS, under the Trump Administration, changed its mission statement to align with President Donald Trump’s focus on enforcement, strict scrutiny, and extreme vetting. The statement did not emphasize customer satisfaction, i.e., the satisfaction of petitioners, applicants,…
USCIS entered into a settlement agreement in Madkudu v. USCIS that may signal changes in how USCIS will determine which positions qualify as a “specialty occupation” for H-1B purposes. During the Trump Administration, USCIS often denied cases because more than one degree would meet the requirements for the position. The Madkudu case specifically puts that…
More business immigrant visas may become available if the latest version of the Build Back Better reconciliation bill passes.
If approved by the Parliamentarian and passed as it stands, the bill would make more immigrant visas available by:
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