Immigration
Blogs & News

President Joe Biden has raised the cap on refugee admissions from 15,000 to 62,500 after his April promise to stick to the Trump-era figure elicited backlash from his party. The new number undoes the “historically low” cap set by the Trump administration, which “did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports […]

Prosecutorial Discretion is Back – Ibrahim Law Office’s Analysis of ICE’s New Enforcement Priority Memo Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)  released an updated interim guidance in May regarding arrests, detention, charging and deportation of non-citizens . The memo includes guidance on “prosecutorial discretion,” a type of deportation relief that may help non-citizens who otherwise would […]

On June 14, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its Policy Manual to allow for certain U nonimmigrant visa applicants the chance to obtain an employment authorization document, or “work permit.” While the U visa is a potential pathway to permanent residency, unprecedented wait times over the last few years have hindered the […]

USCIS Updates Policy Manual  On June 9, 2021, USCIS made three updates to its Policy Manual regarding Expedited Processing, Requests for Evidence and Work Permit Validity, all forms of documentation sometimes required of applicants and petitioners. The updates, in part, discuss the circumstances in which USCIS officers should issue Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and Notices […]

Federal Court Strikes Down DACA – What We Know So Far On July 16, 2021, a Texas judge struck down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in a  ruling that forced U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to stop granting initial DACA applications. What do we know thus far? Currently, nearly 616,000 people […]

Withdrawal of U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan has caused chaos and uncertainty amongst the Afghan people, as the Taliban have rushed to take over most of the country, and the Afghan government has fled. The situation in Afghanistan is a nationally recognized humanitarian crisis. Observers have reported panic and fear, confusion, and acts of desperation […]

U.S. President Joe Biden said last month that immigration should be a part of an upcoming budget bill. Biden had indicated his intent to provide a pathway for Dreamers — beneficiaries of the DACA program — in the past. According to Reuters, he told White House reporters last month that it remains uncertain whether or […]

President Joe Biden in July extended Trump’s provision enabling swift expulsions of immigrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally during the pandemic. As COVID infection rates in the US continue to rise — an incline attributed to the mutated Delta variant of the virus that causes the disease — Biden is taking a step rooted in immigration […]

With the Taliban’s August 2021 takeover of Afghanistan, a dire humanitarian crisis is in full effect. Reports indicate that over 550,000 Afghans are displaced. Afghan nationals are desperate to flee. Many of these individuals with family connections in the United States are seeking permission to enter the United States. In August, President Biden directed DHS […]

On September 28, 2021, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA was a policy initiated in 2012 that deferred the removal of certain noncitizens who came to the United States as children, meet other criteria, and […]