Including Visa and Family Immigration Updates
The Biden Administration is hoping to update policies regarding immigration on many fronts. As a result, U.S. immigration is a dynamic and ever-changing field that all must wade through. Knezek Law Firm is here to help navigate the difficult waters of immigration. Let’s take a look at what’s happening:
H1B Visa Program
Trump-era restrictive changes to the program related to selection priorities being based on the highest wages have been abandoned. As vaccinations spread, the Covid restrictions and reopening of U.S. Consulates to full capacity promise better days ahead. Something that will be helpful in processing such cases, and indeed immigration cases in general, is that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has rescinded a July 2018 Trump-era memo that permitted immigration officers to deny benefit requests like a visa application or an extension application outright, instead of first seeking further evidence or issuing a notice of intent to deny.
Family Immigration
The Biden administration recently announced it would expand sponsorship eligibility of immigrant parents living in the U.S. with pending applications for asylum to sponsor their children. U visa applicants who are victims of serious crimes and who are assisting law enforcement will also be able to sponsor children while their U visa applications are pending. Legal guardians of children in Central America will also be allowed to file petitions.
Refugee Developments
The number of backlogged immigration cases in the U.S. is rising each month with far more new cases being added than completed, according to new data published by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a nonprofit research organization that is part of Syracuse University. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a new policy saying immigration judges should cease following the Trump-era rules that made it tough for immigrants who faced domestic or gang violence to win asylum in the United States. The move could make it easier for them to win their cases for humanitarian protection and was widely celebrated by immigrant advocates.
EB-5 Program
The key issue is the potential imminent expiry of the regional center program on June 30th, 2021. Congressional gridlock could block immigration reform in general, and making renewals like the EB-5 program in particular, very difficult.
Here at Knezek Law Firm, we know modifications in the immigration system could be life-changing for those impacted. Our team stays on top of the ever-changing dialogue related to immigration. If you have any questions about how you or your family may be impacted, contact us today.