26May 2019
Delays in processing at USCIS have reached “crisis levels” Applicants that used to wait five months for an application in 2014 are waiting twice as long now. There are many reasons for the delays and, unfortunately, nothing that can be done about them other than to have realistic expectations about how long applications will take and plan accordingly. Of course, it helps to complete the applications as thoroughly and accurately as possible and to submit the proper evidence and supporting documents. That’s where we come in!
Recent Court Victory for DACA:
The Virginia-based court determined the administration’s termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was unlawful, because it lacked an adequate explanation. This is the second court to find that rescinding the program was “arbitrary and capricious.”
With the June 28, 2018 announcement of its new policy on the issuance of Notices to Appear (NTA), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has dramatically shifted away from its longstanding service-oriented mission to one that is centered on enforcement. The new memorandum, “Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens,” requires USCIS to issue NTAs, the charging document that initiates immigration court proceedings, in far more cases than ever before. In particular, it calls for the issuance of an NTA if an applicant or beneficiary is “not lawfully present” at the time an application or petition is denied. This turns the agency’s role on its head. Since USCIS’s creation in 2003, it has primarily served as the benefits adjudications arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for only about 12 percent of all NTAs that are issued for enforcement purposes.