While conversations in the office may mostly be around immigration, we also know how to take a break to celebrate wins. And even though Charlotte supports the “other” team, we’re doing our best not to hold it against her.
Paralegals Tana Mauch, Charlotte Stanley, Eimi Gaucher, and Situ Bhojpure.
After the devastating typhoon that hit the Philippines on November 8th of last year, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) pressed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to consider granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to impacted Filipinos. In a letter responding to that request, Director Alejandro Mayorkas states that USCIS will “continue to monitor the situation in the Philippines,” but makes no suggestion that TPS will be granted to nationals of the Philippines. The Director encourages those impacted by the typhoon to utilize other forms of relief, such as those outlined on the USCIS website. These options include expedited processing of some petitions and extensions of certain grants of parole.
Earlier this month, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released their annual report on removals for fiscal year 2013. ICE performed 368,644 removals, of which 133,551 were within U.S. borders. According to ICE, the majority of individuals who were picked up within the U.S. have criminal convictions, suggesting that they came into contact with law enforcement, which then triggered an order of deportation. Of the 235,093 deportations not originating from within the interior of the U.S., 95% were intercepted by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) before being turned over to ICE for removal proceedings. ICE maintains that it focuses its efforts on the deportation of individuals with criminal records, while also preventing immigrants from crossing the border without documentation.
Most of the deported individuals hail from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador respectively, with the vast majority being Mexican nationals.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be expanding the definition of “members of a family residing in one household” to include long-term same-sex couples. In practice, this means that same-sex couples and their families will be able to file one joint customs declaration upon entry to the United States. CBP reports that they anticipate the change saving “up to $2.8 million annually in personnel time.” Additionally, the rule provides for “other domestic relationships” such as foster children and stepchildren. The rule will go into effect on January 17, 2014 and applies to U.S. citizens, legal residents, and international visitors.
Mere months after the start of the 2014 fiscal year, USCIS announced that is has approved the annual statutory maximum number of U visas. Until the 2015 fiscal year visa numbers become available on October 1, 2014, U visa petitions will still be reviewed and those petitioners that are eligible for a U visa will be placed on a waiting list . U visas grant non-immigrant status to individuals who have been victims of certain crimes, such as domestic violence, and who assist law enforcement in the prosecution of the crime. U visas were first issued in 2008 and over the last five consecutive years the statutory cap of 10,000 has been reached. USCIS reports that over 89,600 victims of crime and their families have received U visas since 2008.
On Tuesday, several immigration activists, who had been fasting for the past 22 days to draw attention to the need for immigration reform, passed on their fasts to new fasters. Democratic Representative Joe Kennedy, one of the seven new fasters, will fast for 24 hours before passing on the fast to another member of Congress. The “Fast for Families: A Call for Immigration Reform and Citizenship” has been held on the National Mall since November 12th and has garnered support from President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, who both paid visits to the group of faith, immigrant rights, and labor leaders.
Although Speaker John Boehner has not responded to meeting requests from the group, he recently hired Rebecca Tallent, former director of immigration policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a move which activists hope is an indication that immigration reform is still likely.
E-Verify will be rolling out new E-Verify Memorandums of Understanding geared toward the various types of E-Verify access methods. While the enrollment process remains unaltered, new users must sign the new MOUs, which become available on December 8, 2013. It is important to note that existing users, who are not required to sign the new MOUs, are nonetheless bound to the rules of the new MOUs. However, existing users will want to review the new versions as readability has been improved, making the MOUs far more accessible to users.
The USCIS website has been redesigned and was launched today in both English and Spanish. Director Alejandro Mayorkas describes the updates as part of USCIS’ “ongoing commitment to improving the quality of service we provide,” and adds that the agency gathered user feedback as part of their efforts to make the site more accessible. The updated site boasts a better search function and easier navigation menus as well as a more user-friendly change of address online tool.