Benefits & Relief
An Undocumented Woman’s Complicated American Pride on the Fourth of July
Written by Andrea Ramos, Digital Communications Specialist at the American Immigration Council My first Fourth of July was in the Texas country. Fireworks, lawn games, little American flags, burgers, and Old Navy tees—I got the full experience. As a young immigrant, I was slowly growing accustomed to the culture. I… Read More
New USCIS Center Is Good News For Some Of Its Worst Backlog Victims
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is opening a new service center to try to fix some of its most egregious backlogs. The agency reportedly has already reassigned 150 employees – and plans to have over 300 – to staff a virtual service center, which will eventually… Read More
Florida Has Everything to Lose If It Repeals In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students
Undocumented students, like millions of other students in the United States, have the ambition to succeed. College opportunities are often priceless for these students. And though a degree can mean many things—like financial security and greater opportunities—a college diploma signifies perseverance in the face of hardship for many of these… Read More
USCIS Policy Change Will Reduce Number of People Who ‘Age Out’ From Green Card Eligibility
A recent policy change by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) should reduce the number of children who age out of green card eligibility. For immigration purposes, a “child” means someone who is under 21 years old and unmarried. Because of backlogs, noncitizens whose only path to a green… Read More
USCIS Faces New Class Action Lawsuit for its Extreme Delays in Processing Waivers
Many families in the United States live in a frightening limbo when processing delays prevent one family member from becoming a lawful permanent resident. A lawsuit was recently filed against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of 248 people, and a class of tens of thousands more,… Read More
USCIS’ Funding Crisis Might Be Too Big for the Agency to Fix by Itself
On January 3, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finally published a new proposed fee schedule for immigration benefits—which is to say, it took an important step to becoming a solvent, functional federal agency that can adjudicate applications in a timely manner again. The fee rule (which will be… Read More
USCIS’ 2022 Progress Report Shows Promise, But Agency Still Has a Long Way to Go
From the displacement following the Russian invasion of Ukraine to migrant bussing across the United States, the immigration field has faced unique challenges this year while continuing to manage the ongoing COVID pandemic, backlog for legal immigration and asylum cases, and more. Last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)… Read More
Once Again, Undocumented Youth Find Themselves in Legal Limbo After Court Decisions
After months of waiting for decisions on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth are back to where they started—waiting for a legislative fix to their ongoing legal limbo. The Biden administration and the states suing to end DACA continue… Read More
A New Bill Would Allow Millions of Immigrants to Apply for Green Cards
On September 28, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill in Congress that would allow millions of immigrants who have lived in the United States for many years to become Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs). This pathway to LPR status (also known as a green card) would benefit both long-term… Read More
DACA Is Facing a Crisis That the Senate Can No Longer Ignore
Written by Jorge Loweree and Raul Pinto of the American Immigration Council More than a decade after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) first created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to shield certain undocumented youth from deportation, it remains the subject of ongoing litigation. This has… Read More
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