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In a welcome reversal of a 2017 policy instituted under the Trump administration, USCIS has announced that it will be reverting back to its previous policy of extending deference to prior determinations when adjudicating extension requests. What this essentially...
Last week, USCIS amended its Policy Manual to incorporate some very importance guidance on the exercise of discretion. While discretion has always implicitly factored into an officer's adjudication, the new amendments, announced by way of a Policy Alert, formalize and...
On July 31, 2019, USCIS issued an important policy memorandum adopting a case decided by the Administrative Appeals Office. The case is Matter of H-G-G, decided by the AAO on July 31, 2019. This case is particularly relevant to individuals who hold Temporary Protected...
Last week witnessed the release of the much-dreaded final rule pertaining to the public charge ground of inadmissibility. To say that the new policy is a drastic reworking of the current practice is an understatement. The policy changes not only significantly expand...
This month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced an important policy change pertaining to enforcement against individuals who have filed for protection under the U visa program. The changes are formalized in Directive 11005.2 and summarized in a Questions and...
Last week, we wrote about New Jersey Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive 2018-6, which directs state law enforcement to refrain from actively enforcing immigration law except in narrowly defined circumstances. Two salient aspects of the directive prohibit law...
Early this month, BuzzFeed News obtained an internal government memo relating to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion by immigration prosecutors. Dated August 15, 2017, the memorandum provides specific guidance to government attorneys who work for the Office of...
On September 26, 2018, USCIS quietly announced that it will be implementing the June 28 updated guidance on issuance of Notice to Appears (NTAs). This will be an incremental roll out, with the new memo being applied to different types of cases at different stages....
USCIS just released a new policy memorandum that may be of interest and help to surviving relatives of US Citizens. PM 602-0126 is entitled "Approval of a Spousal Immediate Relative Visa Petition under Section 204(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act after the...
Few people may be aware that the much-vilified Secure Communities Program has actually been discontinued and replaced by a purportedly more focused Priority Enforcement Program, or "PEP." The death knell of Secure Communities was actually heard in November of 2014...