These summaries are not intended as legal advice. Please contact a licensed attorney to discuss the specifics of your case.
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USCIS Announcements
The Department of Homeland Security has extended TPS for Yemen for an additional 18 months, expiring on March 3, 2020.
The full text of the announcement can be found here:
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/07/05/secretary-nielsen-announcement-temporary-protected-status-yemen
The Department of Homeland Security has extended TPS for Somalia for an additional 18 months, expiring on March 17, 2020.
The full text of the announcement can be found here:
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/07/19/secretary-homeland-security-kirstjen-m-nielsen-announcement-temporary-protected
The Secretary of Homeland Security has cancelled the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Nepal. Termination has been delayed by one year. Thus, TPS will cease to exist for citizens of Nepal on June 24, 2019.
The full text of the announcement can be read here:
The Secretary of Homeland Security has extended the Temporary Protected Status designation for Syria for another 18 months, or through September 30, 2019.
The official announcement can be read here:
USCIS has resumed processing of DACA renewals pursuant to a federal court order. DACA recipients are strongly encouraged to consult with a licensed immigration attorney to determine how this court order affects them.
The official USICS announcement can be found here:
The Department of Homeland Security has cancelled Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador, effective on September 9, 2019. Salvadoran citizens with TPS are strongly encouraged to consult with a licensed immigration attorney to determine if they qualify for other immigration status in the United States.
The full text of the cancellation announcement can be found here:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has terminated Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, but allowed an 18-month delay to allow an orderly end to the program:
The full text of the announcement can be found here:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nicaraguans, but has allowed a one year extension to facilitate the orderly end of the program. USCIS was unable to reach a decision on whether TPS should be extended or terminated for Honduras. This failure to issue a decision resulted in an automatic six month extension of TPS for Hondurans.
Both of these announcements can be read here:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Sudan and an extension of TPS for South Sudan.
The announcement of termination of TPS for Sudan can be found here:
https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/temporary-protected-status-sudan-terminate-november-2018
The announcement of the extension of TPS for South Sudan can be found here:
The Department of Homeland Security has rescinded the November 2014 memo that would have expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and would have offered deferred action to certain parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. These programs never went into effect, as an injunction was issued by a federal district court in Texas before they could be implemented. The original DACA program remains intact. Though not entirely unexpected, this announcement still comes as a disappointment to all of the families that hoped to benefit from the expansion of deferred action.
The announcement can be found here:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has extended Temporary Protected Status for Haitians for an additional six months. This extension is effective July 23, 2017 through January 22, 2018. Secretary of Homeland Security Kelly stated that, "“This six-month extension should allow Haitian TPS recipients living in the United States time to attain travel documents and make other necessary arrangements for their ultimate departure from the United States, and should also provide the Haitian government with the time it needs to prepare for the future repatriation of all current TPS recipients."
Secretary Kelly's statement can be found here:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued a final regulation governing the use of parole on a case-by-case basis with respect to entrepreneurs of start-up entities who can demonstrate through evidence of substantial and demonstrated potential for rapid business growth and job creation that they would provide a significant public benefit to the United States. Such potential would be indicated by, among other things, the receipt of significant capital investment from U.S. investors with established records of successful investments, or obtaining significant awards or grants from certain Federal, State or local government entities. If granted, parole would provide a temporary initial stay of up to 30 months (which may be extended by up to an additional 30 months) to facilitate the applicant's ability to oversee and grow his or her start-up entity in the United States.
The full rule can be found here:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/17/2017-00481/international-entrepreneur-rule
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis for an additional 18 months. The re-registration period continues until March 20, 2017, and the designation has been extended until September 17, 2018.
The TPS page for Somalia can be found here:
The Department of Homeland Security has rescinded the "wet foot, dry foot" policy for Cuban citizens. Cubans are now subject to expedited removal orders and will no longer be automatically granted parole upon arrival in the United States. The Cuban Medical Professionals Parole Program has also been cancelled:
The official announcement can be found here:
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/DHS%20Fact%20Sheet%20FINAL.pdf
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has extended the designation of Yemen as a country whose citizens are eligible for temporary protected status. The 18-month extension will run from March 4, 2017 to September 3, 2018.
The full announcement can be found here:
Effective December 23, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is raising the fees on applications for immigration benefits. These increases include (but are not limited to) raising the fee for a Form I-130 from $420 to $535, a Form I-485 from $985 to $1140 (plus biometrics fees), and a Form I-601 from $585 to $930.
The full fee schedule can be found here:
https://www.uscis.gov/forms/our-fees
Get those applications in soon, folks!
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has published new guidance on what factors will meet the extreme hardship requirement for certain waivers of inadmissibility. This guidance, which goes into effect on December 5, 2016, includes a list of "particularly significant factors" that "often weigh heavily in support of finding extreme hardship." These factors include:
-Qualifying relative granted Iraqi or Afghan Special Immigrant Status, T visa status, asylum, or refugee status
-Qualifying relative or related family member dependent on qualifying relative is disabled
-Qualifying relative is a member of the U.S. military
-The Department of State has issued travel warnings recommending against travel to the applicant's country of origin
-Substantial displacement of care of applicant's children
The full text of the policy manual updates can be read here:
https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume9-PartB-Chapter5.html#S-E
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has extended Temporary Protected Status for citizens of Nepal for an additional 18 months, effective December 25, 2016.
The full text of the announcement can be read here:
https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/temporary-protected-status-extended-nepal
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson is extending TPS benefits for beneficiaries of TPS under the designations of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone for 6 months for the purpose of orderly transition before the designations terminate, effective May 21, 2017. After reviewing country conditions and consulting with the appropriate U.S. government agencies, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has determined that conditions in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone no longer support their designations for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
To provide for an orderly transition, current TPS beneficiaries will automatically retain their TPS and have the validity of their current Employment Authorization Documents extended through May 20, 2017. Beneficiaries do not need to pay a fee or file any application, including for work authorization, in order to retain their TPS benefits through May 20, 2017.
The full text of the announcement can be found here:
USCIS will implement a parole policy in 2017 for U visa petitioners and derivatives. Though the final policy was not announced, USCIS indicates that the following policy recommendations were made by the Ombudsman's Office:
1. Consistent with its regulations, USCIS should afford parole to eligible U petitioners and family members on the waiting list who reside abroad by creating a policy to facilitate entry into the United States while waiting for a visa to become available.
2. The parole policy created by USCIS should allow for concurrent filings of the U visa petitions and requests for parole.
3. Cases should be adjudicated at the Vermont Service Center, where U petitions currently are processed, to ensure consistent and effective adjudication, and where Congress expressly authorized the placement of the adjudication of vulnerable populations.
We'll anxiously await the final policy next year!
The announcement of the policy can be read here:
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/cisomb-u-parole-recommendation-061616.pdf
