Immigration Benefits and Relief
The immigration laws and regulations provide some avenues to apply for lawful status from within the U.S. or to seek relief from deportation. The eligibility requirements for these benefits and relief can be stringent, and the immigration agencies often adopt overly restrictive interpretations of the requirements. Learn about advocacy and litigation that has been and can be undertaken to ensure that noncitizens have a fair chance to apply for the benefits and relief for which they are eligible. Providing avenues for legal status, protection, and family reunification is vital to ensuring humanitarian protection for immigrants. We are leading policy changes that open more opportunities like asylum, visas for victims of crime or human trafficking, and relief for long-term residents. Explore the resources below to learn more.
Biden Moves to Stabilize the Lives of Hundreds of Thousands of DACA Recipients, but Critical Work Remains
Last week, the Biden administration published the final version of a regulation that seeks to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative and provide a modicum of stability to the hundreds of thousands of people living in the United States who benefit from its protections. While this… Read More
Biden Administration Moves to Shore Up DACA Protections but Congress Needs to Act
The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) welcomed newly published regulations that will offer more certainty for the DACA program and represent a positive step towards protecting some Dreamers. Read More
What you need to know about the new proposal to update The Registry
Democrats in the House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least seven years to legalize their status. The bill would change a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act known as “Registry,” which allows… Read More
USCIS Restores Pathway to a Green Card for TPS Holders
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new policy memorandum on July 1 that eliminated a barrier for many Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients and restored a pathway many have used to obtain a green card. It also provides beneficiaries with a process for traveling outside of the… Read More
Council Sues USCIS To Obtain Records About Humanitarian Parole Applications of Afghan Nationals
This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit seeks to compel U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to disclose information about the massive delays in processing of applications for humanitarian parole filed for Afghan nationals who have not been able to travel to the United States. Read More
Lawsuit Challenges Delays in U.S. Citizenship Application Processing Due to Cave-Stored Files
Thirteen U.S. lawful permanent residents filed a lawsuit to end the delay by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in processing their applications to become U.S. citizens. The excessive delays are now threatening their ability to vote in the November 2022 elections. The plaintiffs each filed their applications in… Read More
U.S. Residents Sue USCIS and NARA for Delays in U.S. Citizenship Applications
Thirteen people waiting to become U.S. citizens filed a lawsuit challenging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ unreasonable delays and failure to process U.S. naturalization applications filed in 2020. Read More
Challenging USCIS To End Naturalization Application Delays
This lawsuit challenges USCIS' unreasonable delay in processing naturalization applications that were filed in 2020 and has prevented applicants from becoming U.S. citizens. Read More
Supreme Court Rejects Review Over Factual Questions in Immigration Removal Proceedings
The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision on May 16 rejecting federal court review of fact-finding done by immigration courts. The Court’s reasoning could have wide-ranging impacts on many more types of immigration relief. The case—Patel v. Garland—centers around Pankajkumar Patel, a native of India, who erroneously checked a… Read More
Council and Partners Submit Comment on Department of Education’s Proposed Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Guidance
The Council and 29 other organizations submitted a comment to the Department of Education in response to a notice in the federal register detailing proposed changes to how institutions of higher education report data to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Read More
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