Common Sense prevails in the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law providing hope for many people.

Late last year, DHS Secretary Mayorkas issued a memorandum providing guidelines for the enforcement of civil immigration law. The memo in part stated:  “It is estimated that there are more than 11 million undocumented or otherwise removable noncitizens in the United States. We do not have the resources to apprehend and seek the removal of every one of these noncitizens. Therefore, we need to exercise our Read More

Ukrainian TPS and other humanitarian relief

I have received many inquiries about asylum for Ukrainian citizens this past week so thought that I would explain the terminology relating to available U.S. humanitarian relief. I hope that this provides information that will allow my readers to understand what is happening at this time. Refugee A refugee is a person who has been forced to flee their home country due to persecution because of their race, religion, Read More

Declining Immigration is Leaving US Jobs Unfilled and Businesses Struggling

It is not difficult to find loud voices warning about the dangers of immigration to the US economy and our way of life. It is almost impossible to not hear this hate-filled and misleading rhetoric. As an immigration attorney for more years than I want to mention, I have seen the opposite – hard working honest people who fill jobs that citizens cannot do or do not want to do and immigrants who create businesses that Read More

U.S. Department of State gave business visa applicants and their U.S. employers a holiday present.

When a U.S. company petitions for a non-immigrant (temporary) visa for a prospective employee, it is a two-step process. First, they file a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and request that the approval be sent to a specific U.S. Consulate which is usually the country of residence or country of citizenship of the employee. Second, they must obtain the visa at a U.S. Consulate after Read More

A Way to Show Thanks For Thanksgiving

In September, the Washington Post published an article that I saved to include in my Thanksgiving blog. It was about residents at a long-term care facility in Northern Virginia – the Goodwin House. As the article mentions, one of every four workers in long-term care facilities are immigrants. Immigrants make up about 17% of the entire medical workforce in the U.S. More are needed as we continue to deal with the Read More

Practicality and Compassion Shown in New Guidelines For Removal

Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued new guidelines for the apprehension and removal of noncitizens who are physically present in the U.S. The guidelines state that there are an estimated 11 million undocumented or otherwise removable noncitizens in the U.S. and that DHS does not have the resources to apprehend and seek the removal of all 11 million. The Read More

Big Win in Immigration District in Florida for those with TPS

I just received a copy of a newly issued decision that is so good that I have read it several times just to make sure it said what I thought it said. This decision is highly technical but vitally important to the ability of those with TPS (temporary protected status) to obtain permanent residence. Previously (for a short time) in the district that includes Florida, USCIS was approving residence applications for those Read More

Medical Exams For Immigration Now Require COVID-19 Vaccination

For those who are applying for legal permanent resident status (aka Green Card) a vital part of the approval process is the medical examination. The exams are required to be done by medical doctors who have been approved by USCIS. The purpose of the exam is to ensure that aliens entering the U.S. (or already here and applying for resident status) do not pose a threat to the public health and to identify the presence Read More

Immigrants Are Making Shoes in Maine For Team USA and Immigrants Are Bringing Home the Gold

There is an inspiring story on newscentermaine.com about a shoemaker in Maine. Rancourt & Co is a three-generation family-owned shoemaker in Lewiston, Maine. Owner Mike Rancourt was interviewed recently about the challenges the company faced with finding people who wanted to be shoemakers. This created worries about whether the business could continue. Three years ago, a group of French-speaking African Read More

Promoting Naturalization is now a priority of the U.S. Government!

Now I know why so many of my clients have had naturalization interviews over the last few months. According to the USCIS Naturalization Policies Fact Sheet published in June 2021, USCIS processed over 180,000 naturalization applications between March and April 2021 which has allowed them to return to pre-pandemic processing times. Congratulations to all my clients who are now “Americans by Choice”.  On July Read More