Results
Date Published: 06/25/2021
For many family members, being a derivative on a U petition may be the only way they will be able to get legal status in the United States. Because of this, it is important to understand when a derivative can be included on a petition and USCIS’s current interpretation of age-out protections. ICWC...
Date Published: 06/24/2021
Children and youth compose a significant portion of the U.S. immigrant population and often qualify for various forms of immigration relief, many of which involve an application filing fee. Under the Trump administration, USCIS promulgated a final rule intended to dramatically raise fees for many...
Date Published: 06/24/2021
California has passed four bills in recent years concerning access to the U visa, an important form of immigration status. Although the federal government decides who receives a U visa, the state can increase access to the remedy by creating processes for noncitizens to obtain a U visa...
Date Published: 06/21/2021
ICE enforcement priorities have changed under the Biden administration , signaling a return to the use of prosecutorial discretion. On May 27, 2021, the ICE Principal Legal Advisor issued guidance for OPLA attorneys about how and when to exercise prosecutorial discretion during various stages of...
Date Published: 06/18/2021
On January 1, 2021, multiple California criminal reform laws took effect. These laws were passed to help all defendants regardless of immigration status, but they can be of special help to noncitizens. Advocates should understand how these laws may help a client’s immigration case. They include: A...
Date Published: 07/29/2021
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) allows certain noncitizens (regardless of gender) abused by a family member to seek immigration relief by "self-petitioning" based on the abusive relative's immigration status, without having to involve that abusive family member in the immigration process, and...
Date Published: 06/09/2021
Most H-4 spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants are ineligible for employment authorization and thus are financially dependent on the principal visa holder spouse. This dependence can be used as a tool for abuse and control in relationships and exacerbate domestic violence situations. INA § 106 allows...
Date Published: 06/08/2021
This updated guidance, written with our partners Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and Legal Services for Children (LSC), includes recommendations for what information to include in state court predicate orders for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) in California. It includes sample predicate...
Date Published: 06/03/2021
Immigration law has its own definition of what constitutes a criminal conviction. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and other courts have held that certain types of pretrial diversion and intervention agreements that result in dismissal under state law can still constitute a conviction for...
Date Published: 05/27/2021
In this practice advisory co-drafted with Public Counsel, we answer common questions on how to tackle disclosure of juvenile adjudications and dissemination of court records for individuals interested in applying for DACA. It also includes a sample DACA request packet, which shows various ways to...
Date Published: 04/14/2021
In Pereida v. Wilkinson, 141 S.Ct. 754 (March 4, 2021), the Supreme Court issued another opinion on the categorical approach, which is the analysis authorities use to decide whether a criminal conviction triggers removal grounds. Pereida focuses on the “modified” categorical approach, which is how...
Date Published: 04/14/2021
This practice advisory reviews the general eligibility requirements for DACA, as well as issues advocates should look out for when determining eligibility. There has been a lot of interest from community members and advocates in the DACA program since the program was reinstated by a federal court...
Date Published: 03/29/2021
The Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (LRIF) created a limited-term program allowing many Liberians living in the United States to apply for permanent residence. Initially, LRIF’s application period opened on December 20, 2019 and was set to expire on December 20, 2020. On January 3, 2021,...
Date Published: 03/24/2021
This practice advisory from the ILRC, NIPNLG, and IDP advises criminal defense attorneys on new immigration enforcement policies and how to use the new guidance to defend clients in criminal proceedings.
Date Published: 03/23/2021
ICE enforcement policies have changed under the Biden administration, and opened new opportunities to defend your clients from arrest, detention, and deportation. This practice advisory from the ILRC, NIPNLG, and IDP provides immigration practitioners with an overview of the interim enforcement...
Date Published: 09/09/2021
This updated practice advisory provides a comprehensive overview of advance parole, its requirements, and suggestions to successfully apply under the DACA program. We also cover some of the risks to consider before traveling outside the United States, including prior removal orders, common grounds...
Date Published: 03/19/2021
In 2020 and 2021, USCIS changed its interpretation of discretion in adjudication of immigration benefits in three separate releases of policy manual guidance. [i] These chapters add voluminous positive and negative discretionary factors that adjudicators are instructed to analyze in more than a...
Date Published: 03/16/2021
The Biden administration announced the designation of Venezuela for TPS, effective March 9, 2021 through September 9, 2022. TPS provides protection from removal, work authorization, and the option to request permission to travel abroad. The 180-day registration period is currently open through...
Date Published: 02/18/2021
Certain criminal convictions are bars to eligibility for DACA. However, if these convictions can be “expunged,” they will cease to be an absolute bar. Here, an “expungement” refers to any legal process where a criminal court can withdraw, erase, seal, or otherwise eliminate a conviction under a...
Date Published: 01/21/2021
In this resource, we discuss the visa backlog for youth from certain countries applying for a green card through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). We discuss how to determine when your client may apply for a green card, and provide practice tips for representing youth seeking SIJS who may...
Date Published: 08/29/2022
This practice advisory explains the various immigration consequences of a conviction for Assault under Texas Penal Code § 22.01 and provides tips for mitigating such consequences in criminal proceedings. This August 2022 update includes analysis of the Texas Assault statute in light of the Supreme...
Date Published: 09/03/2021
Individuals applying for admission to the United States or adjustment of status are subject to the public charge ground of inadmissibility unless they fall into categories that are exempt from public charge or are not subject to this ground of inadmissibility. This advisory provides an overview of...
Date Published: 12/11/2020
In October 2020, DHS and DOJ published a final regulation that sets out wide-ranging and draconian bars to applying for, and bases to terminate a grant of, asylum. For example, the bars include conviction of any felony, any controlled substance offense, a single DUI with injury, a DUI with a DUI...
Date Published: 12/02/2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a myriad of challenges for immigration legal service providers. While some research and best practices for providing remote legal services have been developed, serving immigrant survivors of domestic violence requires a unique set of considerations. This advisory...
Date Published: 11/20/2020
In some cases, the amount of an imposed, potential, or served criminal sentence can determine the outcome of the immigration case. The law governing how state sentencing dispositions affect immigration penalties is fast-changing. The good news is that an informed defender often can structure a...
Date Published: 11/19/2020
T nonimmigrant status (often called a “T visa”) is a form of immigration relief for survivors of human trafficking that provides four years of lawful immigration status, employment authorization, access to certain public benefits, and the opportunity to apply for lawful permanent residency. However...
Date Published: 10/20/2020
On June 30, 2020, the Third Country Asylum Rule, or asylum transit ban, was found unlawful and struck down nationwide in CAIR Coalition v. Trump . This advisory discusses the asylum transit ban, the CAIR Coalition decision, and possible strategies for people who have been denied under the ban to...
Date Published: 10/09/2020
USCIS attempted to drastically limit fee waiver availability and fee waiver standards through the 2020 fee rule. The agency also tried to limit fee waivers by changing the I-912 fee waiver form. For now, these attempted changes have been stopped by injunctions. Applicants can continue to apply for...
Date Published: 12/14/2021
A FOIA request can be an invaluable tool in immigration law to help an immigrant and their representative gain a complete understanding of one’s immigration history. This guide details how to complete a FOIA request for USCIS, ICE, OBIM, and CBP. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to...
Date Published: 08/27/2020
This resource provides helpful charts of the grounds of inadmissibility as applied to special immigrant juveniles (SIJs). It also describes the waiver standard and process for SIJs.