Monthly Archives: May 2016

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Nicaragua (and those without nationality who last habitually resided in Nicaragua) for an additional 18 months, effective July 6, 2016, through Jan. 5, 2018.

Current TPS Nicaragua beneficiaries who want to extend their TPS must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from May 16, 2016 through July 15, 2016. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourages beneficiaries to re-register as soon as possible once the 60-day re-registration period begins.

To re-register, current TPS beneficiaries must submit:

Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status (re-registrants do not need to pay the Form I-821 application fee);
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, regardless of whether they want an EAD;
The Form I-765 application fee (or a fee-waiver request) only if they want an EAD. If the re-registrant does not want an EAD, no application fee is required; and
The biometric services fee (or a fee-waiver request) if they are age 14 or older.

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Honduras (and those without nationality who last habitually resided in Honduras) for an additional 18 months, effective July 6, 2016, through Jan. 5, 2018.

Current TPS Honduras beneficiaries who want to extend their TPS must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from May 16, 2016 through July 15, 2016. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourages beneficiaries to re-register as soon as possible once the 60-day re-registration period begins.

To re-register, current TPS beneficiaries must submit:

Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status (re-registrants do not need to pay the Form I-821 application fee);
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, regardless of whether they want an EAD;
The Form I-765 application fee (or a fee-waiver request) only if they want an EAD. If the re-registrant does not want an EAD, no application fee is required; and
The biometric services fee (or a fee-waiver request) if they are age 14 or older.

Huffington Post: Welcome to Trump World: Immigration
By: Bob Burnett

Reuters: Exclusive: U.S. plans new wave of immigrant deportation raids
By: Julia Edwards

NYT: On Immigration, Law is on Obama’s Side
By: Richard Lugar

Washington Times: Montana court strikes down last piece of anti-immigrant law
By: Matt Volz

The Report of the Visa Office is an annual report providing statistical information on immigrant and non-immigrant visa issuances by consular offices, as well as information on the use of visa numbers in numerically limited categories.

The Report of the Visa Office does not contain information on these categories:

– Refugees entering from abroad or asylum-seekers in the United States or
– Non-numerically controlled visa categories for people in the United States who are adjusting status (getting a green card or becoming a permanent resident) through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security (USCIS).

To read the entire report, click here.

According to the New York Times analysis of FY 2014 enrollment of the Affordable Care Act, almost 1 million of the 8.7 million insured have been non-citizens. Specifically, Hispanics comprised 60 percent of newly insured noncitizens, “mostly natives of Mexico and Central America who had been living in the United States for decades. Another third were Asian, mostly newer arrivals living in states like California, New York and Texas. Illegal immigrants are not eligible for insurance under the law, but legal immigrants can qualify for subsidies in the insurance exchanges and those who have been in the country for more than five years can qualify for Medicaid.”

To read the full NYT analysis, click here.

The Yearbook of Immigration Statistics is a compendium of tables that provides data on foreign nationals who, during a fiscal year, were granted lawful permanent residence (i.e., admitted as immigrants or became legal permanent residents), were admitted into the United States on a temporary basis (e.g., tourists, students, or workers), applied for asylum or refugee status, or were naturalized. The Yearbook also presents data on immigration enforcement actions, including alien apprehensions, removals, and returns. The Yearbook tables are released as they become available.

To view the Yearbook, click on the following link.

At ALO, we assist clients with their citizenship applications, including preparing the paperwork and relevant evidence, any correspondence with USCIS, and preparation for the citizenship interview and exam. To assist our current clients as well any followers of our firm, please refer to the following sites for citizenship help:

Naturalization Video Overview

Test & Interview Prep Video

Study Materials for the Civic Exam

USCIS has reached the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2017. USCIS will use a computer-generated process, to randomly select the petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 visas for the general category and 20,000 for the advanced degree exemption.

Before running the lottery, USCIS will complete initial intake for all filings received during the filing period, which ended April 7. Due to the high number of petitions, USCIS is not yet able to announce the date it will conduct the random selection process.

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, will also not be counted toward the congressionally mandated FY 2017 H-1B cap.

The conservative think tank, American Action Forum (AAF) has released a report on the effects of Republican Presidential nominee, Donald Trump’s immigration plan. In addition to his hateful and racist rhetoric concerning immigrants of all races, Trump has stated on numerous occasions that if elected, he plans to remove all 11.3 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the country.

The AAF has reported that “fully enforcing current law towards all undocumented immigrants would take at least 20 years and cost the government $400 billion to $600 billion. Removing all undocumented immigrants in just two years, as Donald Trump has proposed, would require monumental expansions in U.S. immigration enforcement operations. Most importantly, under both the 20-year and 2-year time frames, the U.S. economy would shrink by over $1 trillion.”

To read the entire report, click here.

Agarwal Law Offices is currently seeking enthusiastic, diligent, and informed college and grad students to assist us with blogging and following current immigration events. The position would be assignment based on a weekly basis and start time would be immediately. Great for full-time students looking for a little extra work. Pay is negotiable.