Immigration Updates
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Posted: 5/1/2018 1:15 PM
Last week a federal district court ordered the Trump Administration to fully reinstate the DACA program. However, the Judge delayed his decision for 90 days to allow the Administration that time to come up with a legal justification for ending DACA. Some headlines have treated this as 90 days until DACA is re-opened. However, it is also very possible that the Judge will accept the new reasoning the Trump Administration is likely to provide during this 90 day window. If the Administration can sa…
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What does the Sessions v Dimaya Supreme Court Ruling mean?
Posted: 4/19/2018 11:00 AM
This week the Supreme Court ruling in Sessions v. Dimaya potentially means thousands of immigrants will be protected from deportation as "aggravated felons" because the Immigration and Nationality Law was too vague in describing a "crime of violence." Prior to this decision, many crimes could be categorized as a "crime of violence" leaving that person open to possible removal from the US. These included crimes such as burglary. It is still the case that crimes such as murder, rape, or sexual abu…
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Posted: 2/26/2018 9:09 AM
Several Federal District Courts have ruled that the administration must temporarily maintain the DACA program on a nationwide basis as the legal challenges to the president's decision to terminate the program proceeds. In February the Supreme Court declined to intervene, which means the legal challenges to ending DACA will continue to proceed through the courts. In the mean time, USCIS is accepting renewal applications for prior DACA recipients. No new DACA applications are being accepted, but r…
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How long can I stay in the US?
Posted: 1/12/2017 10:08 AM
How long can I stay in the US? If you are not a US citizen, or green card holder, when you are inspected at the US border, you will be admitted for a specific amount of time (a period of lawful admission). It is important to pay attention to this admission period. If you stay longer than permitted by your last entry to the US, you may be overstaying your entry. If you overstay, you could be deported. If you overstay for 6 months or more, you could be barred from returning to the US for three…
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Posted: 8/4/2016 10:08 AM
The filing fee for Form I-765 is $410, effective 12 a.m. Eastern U.S. time, December 23, 2016. A deadline for 2017 has not been listed yet. See USCIS.gov for details. If you are now on a 17-month OPT (Optional Practical Training) extension, you may apply to extend your OPT period for an extra 7 months. You must file form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) by August 8, 2016. This form must be signed and submitted with the correct fee. For more information on the 7-month extensi…