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.

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.

On September 28, 2026, the ILRC submitted a comment in opposition of an interim final rule (IFR) entitled Affirmative Asylum Referrals without Interview. This rule will deprive many asylum seekers of their ability to fully present their cases at the asylum office and instead, push them into the immigration court backlog where they face and adversarial system and ever-growing due process violations. ILRC also opposes the issuance of this rule without the notice and comment period required by the Administrative Procedures Act.