How the Immigration System Works
How the United States Immigration System Works
- How the Immigration System Works
- June 23, 2024
U.S. immigration law is very complex, and there is much confusion as to how it works. This fact sheet provides basic information…
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USCIS’ Changes to ‘Affidavit of Support’ Make It Harder for Americans to Sponsor Immigrant Family Members
The Department of Homeland Security has proposed a rule that would make it much more difficult for U.S. citizens and legal immigrants—especially those experiencing financial hardship—to sponsor family members for green cards. If the rule goes into effect, the process of family-based immigration will become even more cumbersome… Read More
USCIS Cancelled Planned Staff Furloughs, But Budgetary Challenges Remain
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) told Congress in May that it was running out of money and would need a $1.2 billion bailout to maintain its operations without major disruptions. The agency threatened to furlough over 13,000 of its staff in the process—a step that would bring the… Read More
USCIS Fee Hikes Will Go Into Effect for These Applications
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an advance copy of a final rule on July 31 that will impose significant fee increases across many facets of the legal immigration system. These changes include an astronomical 80% increase to the cost of becoming a U.S. citizen and a first-time… Read More
Trump’s Public Charge Rule Is Blocked Again Over Impact of COVID-19
A federal judge in New York has once again put the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule on hold, but only for the duration of the COVID-19 national emergency. This rule, which went into effect in February after the Supreme Court stepped in, has restricted the ability of low-income immigrants to… Read More
Canadian Court Rules US Is No Longer a ‘Safe Third Country’ for Asylum Applicants
A Canadian court has ruled that the United States is no longer a country to which the Canadian government could safely return asylum seekers who crossed the U.S-Canada land border. This upends more than 15 years of bilateral cooperation between the two countries. On July 22, the Federal Court of… Read More
USCIS Wastes Time and Money With Increased Vetting in Citizenship Processing
The Trump administration has justified major changes to citizenship processing to “safeguard” the U.S. immigration system from application fraud. Yet the increased vetting has not lowered the number of approvals over the last few years, indicating an absence of fraud. The time it takes to approve those applications, however,… Read More
USCIS Holds Drive-Thru Naturalization Ceremonies to Work Through COVID-19 Backlog
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expects, by the end of July, to have worked through nearly the entire backlog of naturalization oath ceremonies put on hold in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency is now providing new ways to take the oath, including drive-thru naturalization ceremonies. The… Read More
Supreme Court Safeguards Federal Court Review of Torture Protections
The U.S. Supreme Court found on Monday that federal courts have the authority to review certain claims from people who are seeking protection from torture. The case, Nasrallah v. Barr, is about what happens when certain people seeking protection under the Convention Against Torture are denied protection by the Board… Read More
Board of Immigration Appeals Green Lights Major Errors on Notice to Appear Forms
The U.S. government rejects an immigrant’s entire application for a visa or immigration benefit over a single blank field on a form. Applications can be rejected if a box is left unchecked or has a missing line—say, for an apartment number when the applicant lives in a house, or… Read More
What You Need to Know About President Trump’s Latest Ban on Immigration
At a time when our country is united in the fight against the coronavirus, President Trump is seeking to divide us by turning to a familiar target—immigrants. The president first threatened a full ban on immigration via a tweet Monday night. On Wednesday, he issued a somewhat narrower ban… Read More
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