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While the best-case scenario would be for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to approve a person’s naturalization application, receiving a denial after a naturalization interview is not the end of the road. If USCIS denies the naturalization application, persons can seek a USCIS hearing to appeal the denial by submitting form N-336 (informally known as an administrative appeal). Although the process is simple, many do not take advantage of this process. 

The majority of states have legalized some use of marijuana, but marijuana remains a federal Schedule I controlled substance. Therefore, any conduct involving marijuana can be very dangerous for immigrants – including conduct that is permitted under state law. Admitting that one has “legally” used marijuana, being employed in the fast-growing cannabis industry, and any conviction can cause serious immigration problems. A prior marijuana conviction must be vacated based on some error; the fact that the state has since legalized the conduct does not erase it, and many state “mass expungement” actions also do not. Evidence that a person has sold marijuana can harm any noncitizen, in some cases including immigrant youth. Marijuana issues can cause bars to eligibility for affirmative applications such as adjustment of status and naturalization; admission at the border; and cancellation and other applications in removal proceedings. 

This resource is a comprehensive client intake form meant to assist practitioners in screening for immigration relief options.  Accompanying the intake form are notes to assist practitioners in spotting issues and relief options.

USCIS recently updated the Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status.  Among other notable changes, the new form has increased in length from six pages to 18 pages, the form instructions are now 42 pages, and the section on eligibility and inadmissibility has been expanded to include entirely new questions about working without authorization, false claims to U.S. citizenship, and unlawful voting.  This advisory provides an overview of changes to the Form I-485, and discusses a few new or changed questions that we think merit particular attention.  The changes we discuss apply to both the June 2017 and December 2017 revisions to the Form I-485.

Enacted on December 20, 2019, the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LIRF) act began a program that will allow many Liberians living in the United States to apply for permanent residence. The statute originally had a one-year application window that ended on December 20, 2020, but Congress extended the application period another year to December 20, 2021 in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

In June 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Sanchez v. Mayorkas that addressed a circuit split regarding whether a grant of TPS was an “admission” such that it allowed an applicant for permanent residence to meet the threshold “inspected and admitted or paroled” requirement to adjust status within the United States. Previously, the Sixth, Ninth, and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeal had held that it did, whereas the Eleventh, Fifth, and Third Circuits had held that it did not. In Sanchez, the Supreme Court found that a grant of TPS is not an “admission” for adjustment purposes. This practice alert provides a brief summary of the Sanchez decision, discusses who is and is not impacted by the decision, and provides some suggestions for next steps and other resources.

This advisory discusses how the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) protect children of permanent residents in their applications for permanent residency. We discuss how a child’s age is calculated and how they might move through different preference categories through their process to become residents.

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) was devised to protect intending immigrant children from “aging-out” while undergoing the lengthy process to status. This advisory discusses how CSPA protects children of U.S. citizens in their applications for permanent residency. This is one of three advisories in a series detailing the benefits and limitations of the CSPA in the immigration process. For more information on the CSPA, see our advisories, “The CSPA and Children of Permanent Residents” and “The CSPA and Asylees.”

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 complete Form G-639 and also  includes tips about alternatives to Form G-639, such as online submission options.

The ILRC submitted these recommended priorities to USCIS for improvements to the USCIS Policy Manual. This letter follows our list of USCIS Policy Manual recommendations provided to USCIS on September 2, 2021 (available here: https://www.ilrc.org/sites/default/files/resources/ilrc_uscis_pm_suggestions.pdf). While every change we suggested is important, a few have become more urgent as they are needed immediately to prevent further erroneous denials of benefits to immigrants and unnecessary chilling effects. The following priorities were gathered after conversations with partners across the country, and in direct response to requests from immigration practitioners and community members who are seeing benefits denied in the meantime. Furthermore, these changes will help rectify the Trump administration’s policies, increase access to immigration benefits, and reduce backlogs.

On June 5, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a third notice regarding its plans to dramatically change fee waiver eligibility and process. The June 5 notice attempts to provide additional justification for its plan to eliminate means-tested benefits as a basis for requesting a fee waiver, among other changes, following April 5 and September 28 notices that lacked rationale for why such changes to fee waivers are justified. Now, USCIS is also claiming lost fee revenue as a reason for its proposed changes to fee waivers, making clear its intention to reduce the number of fee waivers that are granted. If finalized, these proposed changes will discourage eligible individuals from filing for fee waivers and immigration benefits and place heavy time and resource burdens on those who do still apply for fee waivers. 

This new handout, written for youth and families with questions about the “public charge” rule, provides an overview of public charge and answers common questions about its application.

Sobre la base de una reciente decisión del Noveno Circuito o viajando por Advance Parole, una persona que entró inicialmente sin inspección en los EEUU puede ajustar de estatus y solicitar la residencia permanente. Este aviso en español contiene información para personas con el estatus de protección temporal y para personas que viajaron con Advance Parole sobre cómo pueden ser elegibles para este proceso.

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: 

This practice advisory discusses how the Child Status Protection Act protects children of asylees and refugees through the immigration process, including the asylum application, the Form I-730, and adjustment.

In December 2017, the Department of Homeland Security announced its intent to revoke Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) for H-4 visa holders. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is expected to be published in the coming months. We encourage people to oppose this senseless, cruel, and unnecessary rule. This rule will strip work authorization from over 100,000 women, forcing many to choose between work, family, and their home. This resource provides a description of the rule and its disproportionate effect on AAPI women, why you should oppose the rescission, and what you can do to stop this harmful proposal.

On May 7, 2020, ILRC co-authored and signed on to a comment opposing recently published USCIS policy manual instructions for adjustment applications under the  Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (LRIF).

The Central American Minors program allows qualifying children in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to enter the United States and live here lawfully if they have a parent or legal guardian in the United States with certain kinds of immigration status. This fact sheet provides information on basic eligibility and where to go for help.

This advisory explains unlawful presence under INA § 212(a)(9)(B) and the differences between the I-601 and I-601A waivers of unlawful presence. It covers who needs a waiver of unlawful presence, what are the requirements for a waiver of unlawful presence, and which waiver process to use depending on the applicant’s circumstances.

ILRC commends USCIS on the recent USCIS Policy Manual additions clarifying guidance on the unlawful presence bars. We further thank USCIS for rescinding Matter of Z-R-Z-C and updating its interpretation on the effects of authorized travel by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries. These changes will benefit affected applicants significantly, create clarity and consistency across adjudications, and help USCIS achieve its overall mission to uphold America’s promise as a nation of welcome and possibility.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center created this template to help you draft your own comments in opposition to this interim rule with request for comment. The new rule can be found here. Comments are due by October 25, 2019.  We are very concerned about this rule’s “reorganization” at EOIR that eliminates OLAP, the office that has operated the Recognition and Accreditation (R & A) Program  and the legal orientation programs until now. The rule places the  remaining functions of OLAP under an Office of Policy.

In April, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) put out a request for public input regarding Identifying Barriers Across U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Benefits and Services. The ILRC has submitted these comments.

This practice advisory is designed to introduce practitioners to the concept of Conditional Permanent Residence, and to explain the requirements and processes  for removing the conditions on residence,  thereby enabling the conditional resident to obtain Lawful Permanent Residence that can last indefinitely.

Effective December 20, 2019, the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) act opened a one-year window that will allow many Liberians living in the United States to apply for permanent residence. The act was buried in Section 7611 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. This practice advisory will provide a summary of the law, which went into effect immediately and will only allow applications for relief up to December 20, 2020.

In July 2021, African Communities Together, the UndocuBlack Network, and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center submitted a memo to USCIS outlining the reasons that an expired Liberian passport should be considered primary evidence of nationality for LRIF eligibility.

This introductory practice advisory explains 245(i), including “grandfathering” and “after acquired,” and includes screening questions to assist in identifying and evaluating possible 245(i) options for your clients. 

A prospective client’s complete entry and exit history to the United States is one of the most important pieces of information to gather so that you can properly evaluate their immigration case. However, sometimes it can be challenging to figure out what questions to ask to elicit the information you need, or what the answers mean. This practice advisory describes different types of entries to the United States—entries without inspection, entries with valid documents, entries with fraudulent documents, “wave throughs”—as well as different outcomes of unsuccessful attempted entries—voluntary returns or expedited removals—and the legal significance of these different entries and attempted entries. We also provide suggestions for questions to ask clients to identify what happened at each entry or attempted entry. This discussion applies to entries and attempted entries made by people who are not lawful permanent residents; it is primarily meant to help you assess a client’s options for obtaining legal status, by understanding their entry and exit history to the United States.

On August 13, 2020, ILRC submitted comments on recent changes to USCIS’s policy manual. The new chapters on discretion will radically alter adjudications of  a wide variety of applications for immigration benefits. We recommend that the changes be stricken because they are ultra vires, lack legal support, and will exacerbate USCIS’s current crisis. The policy manual changes compound agency inefficiency, waste, and mismanagement at a time when the agency has crisis-level backlogs and is seeking a bailout from Congress. Instead of looking for ways to streamline adjudications, the policy manual imposes a secondary adjudication process on dozens of application types that will require adjudicators to multiply the amount of time that they spend determining eligibility, a move that will  grind adjudications to an even slower pace  and deny applicants relief for which they would otherwise be eligible.