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.

This practice advisory analyzes the recent changes in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Policy Manual regarding the implementation of neighborhood investigations in naturalization adjudications. The advisory includes practical tips and considerations that practitioners should use when advising clients on applying for naturalization under this new policy.

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 August, 24, 2026, the ILRC submitted a comment opposing a proposed rule entitled Naturalization Application Fee Adjustments. The rule seeks to raise the application fee for Form N-400 by 75-80% as well as eliminates the fee waiver and fee reduction for naturalization applications. ILRC opposes this rule given that it will create a substantial barrier for low-income naturalization applicants who could be permanently priced out of citizenship.