Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Asylum Offices

by

welcome-gbca88963d_1920

It is not every day that one of our very own paralegals is honored for her work in immigration law, helping provide a voice to those who do not speak the English language. It is with great pride that we celebrate Kely Martell, for her recent feature in the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration (COI), profiling her work as an interpreter volunteer.

Ms. Kely Martell works as a case manager in the business department of our law office, but what you may not know is that for the past year and a half, she has also been dedicating her time as a volunteer Spanish language interpreter and translator for the Immigration Justice Project (IJP). There, she has been working closely with attorneys on pro bono defensive asylum cases, helping reduce barriers to justice for the most vulnerable members of our society.

Growing up in Lima, Peru, Kely immigrated to the United States at a young age with no knowledge of the English language. These struggles shaped her early interest in immigration law and her desire to make a difference in the lives of others. At the height of the asylum crisis when thousands of migrant caravans made their way to the United States, Kely was inspired to action and decided to volunteer as an interpreter for several immigration organizations. She immediately made a positive impression for going beyond what was expected of her, not only helping clients understand their legal rights, but also helping clients and their families navigate the complex intricacies of the immigrant detention system. She displayed an extraordinary commitment to handling these complexities with ease.

Kely first became involved with the ABA’s Immigration Justice Project after reaching out to Senior Staff Attorney and Pro Bono Coordinator Ambreen Walji and the rest was history. She describes her experience working for the Immigration Justice Project as being truly rewarding because of the opportunity she has helping detained immigrants on a day-to-day basis, which are some of the most underserved individuals that are most in need of translator services. Continue reading

by

hiring-g89bff9159_1920

This week brings positive immigration news indeed. We are happy to report that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated its policy guidelines regarding validity periods for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for asylees and refugees, noncitizens with withholding of deportation or removal, noncitizens with deferred action, parolees, and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioners.

What is the new policy all about?

In the new policy alert, USCIS points out that under current guidelines the agency has been issuing initial and renewal Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) with a 1-year validity period, to asylees and refugees, noncitizens with withholding of deportation or removal, and VAWA self-petitioners.

Furthermore, in at least some cases involving deferred action or parolees, initial and renewal EADs are being issued for an even shorter duration, than that of the underlying deferred action or parole period, forcing applicants to file multiple applications for Employment Authorization to prevent employment gaps to cover their entire period of deferred action or parole.

The government is now recognizing its incredible inefficiency and is changing its policy to align with the Biden administration’s agenda. The USCIS policy manual has now been revised to state that initial and renewal EADs may be issued with a maximum validity period of up to 2 years for asylees and refugees, noncitizens with withholding of deportation or removal, and VAWA self-petitioners. For deferred action and parolee applicants, USCIS will now issue EADs up to the end of the authorized deferred action or parole period for individuals seeking an EAD in these filing categories.

Please note that replacement EADs will not be affected by this policy change.  USCIS will continue to issue replacement EADs with the same validity date as the original EAD.

When is this new policy effective?

The updated policy guidance, contained in Volume 10, Part A of the USCIS Policy Manual, is effective as of today Monday, February 7, 2022.

Accordingly, USCIS will immediately apply the updated validity period guidelines to EADs issued for impacted categories on or after February 7, 2022.

Continue reading

by

refugees-1186359_1920

Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! In this post, we continue with our efforts to provide our readers with an overview of President Biden’s recent executive orders on immigration.

Last week, we discussed the major provisions of Executive Order, “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans.”

In today’s blog post, we continue to break down President Biden’s new executive orders focusing specifically on, “Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework to Address the Causes of Migration, Manage Migration Throughout North and Central America, and to Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border,” and what it means for you.

What is this Executive Order all about?

President Biden signed this executive order on February 2, 2021, to create a multi-pronged approach that will help the United States manage and address the root cause of mass migration from North and Central America.

President Biden plans to work with civil society, international organizations, and govenments in the region to create a strategy that will increase opportunities for vulnerable groups of immigrants to apply for asylum protection closer to home. With this order, his administration hopes to streamline the asylum process in these regions by expanding systems and resettlement capacity.

Among its provisions, the order will increase lawful pathways for vulnerable groups of people to immigrate to the United States, while strengthening our asylum system.

Continue reading

by

markus-winkler-cxoR55-bels-unsplash-scaled

Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! In this post, we bring you the latest immigration news for the week.

K-1 Fiancé Visa Blunders

The news of the June 22nd presidential proclamation has caused great confusion among U.S. Consulates and Embassies worldwide regarding whether K-1 fiancé visas are subject to the current presidential proclamation suspending the entry of certain immigrants to the United States. We have received information from our readers that Embassies have incorrectly stated in emails that K-1 fiance visas are subject to the presidential proclamation. We would like to make clear that K-1 fiance visas are non-immigrant visas and are therefore exempt from the proclamation altogether, because the proclamation only suspends the entry of those seeking immigrant visas from outside the United States.

We are aware that the Embassy in London has been disseminating emails initially stating that K-1 fiance visas were impacted by the proclamation. The Embassy has now retracted this information and written on their webpage that K visas are not subject to the current presidential proclamation, although fiance visa holders may be prevented from entering the U.S. due to current U.S. travel restrictions against nationals of the Schengen countries during the pandemic.

The Embassy in Manila has also confirmed on its website that K visas are not impacted by the presidential proclamation.

Therefore, the only obstacle for K-1 fiance visa applicants to receive their visas is the Embassy closures occurring because of the pandemic. The only other obstacle to traveling to the United States depends on the fiance’s country of nationality. The entry of some nationals has been restricted due to high rates of Coronavirus in those regions (such as the Schengen countries, China, Iran, Brazil, etc). To find information about these travel restrictions please click here.

If you have received incorrect information from your Embassy or Consulate telling you that K-1 fiance visas are subject to the proclamation, we encourage you to copy the information provided on the Manila and London Embassy webpages confirming that K-1 visas are not impacted. Alternatively, you can email your examples to jacob@h1b.biz and we will reach out to the Consulate/Embassy directly to seek clarification.

Continue reading

by

sara-kurfess-cMQUNweoDws-unsplash-scaled

We have very exciting news for our readers. Yesterday, May 27th the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that it is preparing to reopen some domestic offices and resume services to the public on or after June 4th.

As you know, on March 18th USCIS made the difficult decision to suspend in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) nationwide to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus. While offices were closed, USCIS continued to provide emergency in-person services.

From the agency’s announcement it is clear that not all domestic offices will reopen to the public by June 4, but we know that at least some will begin to reopen to provide relief to those that have been waiting to attend their interviews or biometrics appointments.

USCIS will be following all state mandated precautions including reducing the number of appointments and interviews scheduled for the day, enforcing social distancing, cleaning and sanitizing facilities, and reducing waiting room occupancy. Members of the public will be required to wear masks covering their nose and mouth. Sanitizer will be provided to the public.

USCIS urges those who are feeling sick to stay home and schedule their appointments once they are feeling better. As a reminder, there is no penalty for rescheduling your appointment if you are sick.

We expect that USCIS will be scheduling far less appointments than usual to reduce the number of people in the facility at any one time. That means that appointment times will be spaced out and there will be a slight delay to reschedule everyone who has been waiting for an appointment. Please be patient and wait to receive a new appointment notice in the mail.

Continue reading

by

board-1647322_1920

Great news. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the agency is preparing to reopen in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASC) to the public on or after June 4.

As we have previously reported on our blog, USCIS first announced the temporary closure of these offices on March 18th to protect to public and its employees from the rapid spread of COVID-19.

Although USCIS is currently closed, USCIS is providing limited emergency in-person services. Those with emergency situations should contact the USCIS Contact Center for assistance. This includes Visa Waiver Entrants who need to request Satisfactory Departure.

Interview Cancellations

USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by the extended temporary closure.

USCIS asylum offices will send interview cancellation notices and automatically reschedule asylum interviews.

When the interview is rescheduled, asylum applicants will receive a new interview notice with the new time, date and location of the interview.

When USCIS again resumes operations for in-person services, USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments due to the temporary office closure.

Individuals will receive a new appointment letter in the mail.

Those who had InfoPass or other appointments must reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices are open to the public again. Please check to see if the respective office has been reopened before calling the Contact Center.

Continue reading

by

connection-4884862_1920

In this post, we summarize all of the major and recent developments taken by USCIS, the Department of State, and the Department of Justice in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

These developments directly impact immigration in significant ways that will be discussed in further detail below.

As this situation evolves, we will continue to update this post for your benefit. You may also read all of our COVID-19 related posts here.

USCIS Field Offices, ASCs, and Asylum Offices Temporary Closed to the Public

To combat the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic, on March 18th USCIS announced the temporary closure of field offices, application support centers, and asylum offices, to the public until at least May 3rd.

We suspect that this closure will be further extended given the current public health crisis we are experiencing nationwide.

Applicants who were scheduled to appear for an interview, biometrics, or asylum interview from March 18 to May 3rd will receive a notice in the mail regarding impacted services, as well as a notice rescheduling the appointment.

ASC appointments will be rescheduled once offices are re-opened to the public.

At this time, please continue to be patient and monitor your mail closely.

USCIS Field Office and Service Center Operations Continue

Although USCIS is closing field offices to the public, the agency has stated that office employees will continue to perform mission-essential services that do not require face-to-face contact with the public.

Furthermore, USCIS service centers and facilities continue to operate and will continue to adjudicate petitions filed nationwide.

USCIS Expands RFE/NOID/NOIR/NOIT/I-290B Deadlines

On March 30, 2020, USCIS announced that it will consider any response to an RFE, NOID, NOIR, or NOIT received within 60 calendar days after the response due date set in the request or notice before any action is taken by USCIS.

Continue reading

by

craig-whitehead-E1SID6pKht8-unsplash-scaled
We would like to provide our readers with a quick update regarding the temporary suspension of in-person services at USCIS field offices nationwide.

As first reported, USCIS made the decision to close all offices and application support centers (ASCs) to the public beginning March 18th. USCIS planned to reopen offices on April 7th however today the agency announced that offices will continue to remain closed to the public until May 3rd.

As previously stated on our blog, all applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments who are impacted by this closure will receive notices in the mail with further information.

Continue reading

by

kelly-sikkema-tDtwC11XjuU-unsplash-scaled

Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! In this post, we bring you the latest immigration news for the week.

USCIS Temporarily Closing Offices to the Public March 18-April 1 to Reduce Spread of COVID 19 

In response to the widespread COVID 19 pandemic, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that effective March 18, 2020 the agency will suspend in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and Application Support Centers (ASC) nationwide in an effort to help slow the spread of the Coronavirus.

USCIS plans to suspend in-person services until at least April 1st.

What if I have a scheduled appointment or naturalization ceremony?

USCIS has stated that all applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by this closure will receive notices in the mail.

In addition, USCIS asylum offices will send interview cancellation notices and automatically reschedule asylum interviews. When an interview is rescheduled, asylum applicants will receive a new interview notice with the new time, date and location of the interview.

When USCIS resumes normal operations, USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments impacted by the office closure. Impacted applicants and petitioners will receive a new appointment letter in the mail.

Continue reading

by

border-patrol-2747626_1920

The Trump administration is in full gear to expedite the removal of hundreds of asylum seekers, most of which are arriving from Central America.

As early as October of 2019, the Washington Post made public the existence of a confidential pilot program coordinated by the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice designed to swiftly deport asylum-seekers within a matter of days.

Under the program, Prompt Asylum Claim Review, the government would take a maximum period of 10 days to consider applications for asylum from individuals arriving at the U.S./Mexico border. Those denied would be swiftly removed from the country and returned to their homeland.

As a result, asylum determinations that usually take years to be made, will now be made in a matter of days.

It is easy to see how this type of accelerated removal from the country raises serious due process concerns and delegitimizes the complex asylum process.

A recent lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the Department of Homeland Security reveals that asylum seekers placed in this program are given only one window of approximately 30 minutes to one hour to call family members or retain counsel, and even where detainees have successfully retained counsel, CBP has denied attorneys physical access to speak to detainees, prohibited in-person meetings, and telephonic access. Where attorneys have tried to reach clients before their credible fear interviews, or hearings before an immigration judge, CBP has forced a detainee to proceed without opportunity to counsel with their attorney.

Continue reading