NEWS
The EB-5 visa allows foreign investors, their spouses, and unmarried children under 21 years of age to obtain lawful permanent residency in the U.S. The program was created in 1990 to stimulate the economy and foster job growth. To qualify for an EB-5 visa, an investor must meet specific requirements, which were recently updated by the Department of Homeland Security and will go into effect on November 21, 2019. Minimum Investment Increases Currently, when a…
The public charge rule implemented by the Trump Administration was set to go in place on Tuesday, October 15th, 2019. But on October 11th, 2019, the rule was blocked with a nationwide injunction by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The public charge rule allowed immigration officials to deny green cards to immigrants who rely on public assistance, such as Medicaid, food stamps, and housing vouchers. When an immigrant applies…
In this blog, we clarify some of the misconceptions about Brazilian immigrants in the U.S. by reviewing some of the facts and statistics that have been reported by the Migration Policy Institute: There are approximately 450,000 Brazilian immigrants living in the U.S. Brazilians make up 1% of the immigrant population in the U.S. Approximately 3,000 Brazilian immigrants are apprehended at Mexico’s border each year. States with the highest Brazilian immigrant populations include: Florida (80,000), Massachusetts…
On September 3rd, three House Democrats introduced new legislation that would eliminate policy changes from the Trump administration that impact how service members pass U.S. citizenship to their children. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy that eliminated the guidelines that say children of U.S. military members and other federal workers abroad are granted automatic citizenship. Under USCIS’s new policy, the following people will be affected: Children of non-U.S. citizens adopted by…
Are you a beneficiary of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Syria’s designation? If so, you must re-register between September 23rd and November 22nd if you plan to maintain your status through March 31st, 2021. You can find the TPS re-registration procedures, including what you need to know about renewing employment authorization documents (EADs) here: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status If you want to renew your status, you will have to submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. You…
The Trump administration is being sued by The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and Lawyers for Civil Rights after it announced U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would be ending “deferred action” programs for immigrants. Last month, immigrants who requested to stay in the U.S for medical treatment and other hardships received letters informing them that pending applications would be denied and applicants would be ordered to leave the country with 33 days. The…
Since 2017, the Trump administration has taken steps to bolster immigration enforcement throughout the United States. In the first fiscal year of Trump’s term in office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USCIS) deported 61,094 immigrants from the U.S. This was a 37% increase from 2016. During this same period of time, ICE arrested 110,568 people, a 42% increase from 2016. Of these arrests, more than 31,888 didn’t have any type of criminal conviction. However, under…
Since the early days of Trump’s presidential term, he has made it clear that his administration will take a hard stance on immigration. Trump made immigration the centerpiece of his campaign in 2016, and it will once again be front and center during the next election cycle. As president of the United States, Trump has been able to substantially alter U.S. immigration policy with executive orders that have resulted in sharp cuts to legal immigration…
On August 8th, The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s plan to impose an asylum ban after it approved the ban for migrants who cross the U.S. border into Texas and New Mexico. Although the court denied the government’s request to reverse a decision that halted the policy, its ruling ultimately upheld the injunction for states on the border inside of the 9th Circuit’s jurisdiction. The 9th Circuit…
After ICE carried out the largest immigration raid in U.S. history at seven food-processing plants in Mississippi, many people are now asking what will happen to the business owners who profit from the labor of illegal workers. Since President Trump has been in office, criminal charges pressed against business owners and managers for employing unauthorized workers has stayed the same. Meanwhile, nearly every other enforcement measure used to crack down on immigration has increased. Although…