These four step-by-step guides will walk you through the steps for filing your first petition for habeas corpus (immigration) in each of the California federal district courts--the Eastern District of California, the Northern District of California, the Central District of California, and the Southern District of California.

USCIS recently announced that naturalization applicants may receive neighborhood visits to ask neighbors and/or co-workers questions about the applicant’s work, family status, social activities, travel, criminal history, and more. USCIS also acknowledged that it has discretion to waive these neighborhood visits. New USCIS guidance invites applicants to affirmatively submit two-character reference letters as consideration to waive the neighborhood visit. These letters are not required for naturalization eligibility. ILRC has created the following template letter to help applicants who choose to submit letters.

On September 22, 2026, the ILRC submitted a comment opposing a proposed USCIS rule to increase the filing for for H-1B Visa petitions. The proposed rule set a filing fee of over $100,000 and also proposed to use the USCIS filing fees for other agencies.

This resource takes a brief look at the history of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), how it was coopted by the Trump Administration and used as part of the larger enforcement mechanism in the U.S. We will look at the impact of adding ICE administrative warrants into NCIC, why the Houston Police Department’s entanglement goes beyond what state law requires and how this policy betrays Houstonians.