Legal Consequences and Remedies for Green Card Holders Staying Outside the U.S. Beyond the Statutory Period

Legal Consequences and Remedies for Green Card Holders Staying Outside the U.S. Beyond the Statutory Period

By Brian Figeroux, Esq.  A green card, or lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, grants noncitizens the right to live and work in the United States indefinitely. However, this status is not unconditional. One of the most critical obligations for green card holders is maintaining continuous ties to the United States. Extended absences from the country […]

Green Card Backlogs and Visa Processing Delays: Causes, Impacts, and Solutions

Green Card Backlogs and Visa Processing Delays: Causes, Impacts, and Solutions

By Brian Figeroux, Esq. | Editorial credit: Evgenia Parajanian / shutterstock.com  To address these challenges, a combination of short-term and long-term solutions is needed. Hiring immigration attorneys and filing mandamus lawsuits can provide immediate relief for individuals stuck in the backlog, but these options are costly and do not address the root causes of the […]

New Board of Immigration Appeals Decision Sets Roadblock for Cubans, Others Seeking Green Cards

New Board of Immigration Appeals Decision Sets Roadblock for Cubans, Others Seeking Green Cards

By Emma Winger | September 28, 2023 A recent Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision bars certain recently arrived noncitizens from becoming lawful permanent residents. In Matter of Cabrera-Fernandez, the BIA held that the petitioner had not been paroled into the United States when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released him from immigration detention. Without parole he […]

New Board of Immigration Appeals Decision Sets Roadblock for Cubans, Others Seeking Green Cards

New Board of Immigration Appeals Decision Sets Roadblock for Cubans, Others Seeking Green Cards

By Emma Winger | September 28, 2023 A recent Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision bars certain recently arrived noncitizens from becoming lawful permanent residents. In Matter of Cabrera-Fernandez, the BIA held that the petitioner had not been paroled into the United States when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released him from immigration detention. Without parole he […]

The Ghost of Public Charge Keeps Scaring Immigrant Families Away From Public Benefits

The Ghost of Public Charge Keeps Scaring Immigrant Families Away From Public Benefits

Editorial credit: aaronschwartzphoto / Shutterstock.com By American Immigration Council Staff | Aug 25, 2023   When the Trump administration proposed an overhaul of federal policy regarding when immigrants could be denied green cards or visas based on use of public benefits – the public charge rule – it made an impact in immigrant communities long before it technically took […]

New USCIS Center Is Good News For Some Of Its Worst Backlog Victims

New USCIS Center Is Good News For Some Of Its Worst Backlog Victims

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is opening a new service center to try to fix some of its most egregious backlogs. The agency reportedly has already reassigned 150 employees – and plans to have over 300 – to staff a virtual service center, which will eventually operate fully remotely (though it will accept paper as well […]

A New Bill Would Allow Millions of Immigrants to Apply for Green Cards

A New Bill Would Allow Millions of Immigrants to Apply for Green Cards

By Walter Ewing, Immigration Impact On September 28, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill in Congress that would allow millions of immigrants who have lived in the United States for many years to become Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs). This pathway to LPR status (also known as a green card) would benefit both long-term undocumented immigrants and […]

USCIS Restores Pathway to a Green Card for TPS Holders

USCIS Restores Pathway to a Green Card for TPS Holders

Washington, DC – May 11, 2022: TPS activists rally at Union Station to call on the Biden administration to make good on the promise to continue the program along with creating a path to citizenship. (Shutterstock) By Kjerstin Lewis, Immigration Impact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new policy memorandum on July 1 that eliminated […]

The Biden Administration Needs to Change Course on Green Cards Before It’s Too Late

The Biden Administration Needs to Change Course on Green Cards Before It’s Too Late

Washington DC, USA – February 10 2021: President Joe Biden delivers remarks to Department of Defense personnel, with Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. (Shutterstock) By Walter Ewing, Immigration Impact The Biden administration failed to issue many of the immigrant visas—more commonly known as green cards—that were allotted last […]

A New Win for Immigrants as USCIS Agrees to Restore Path to Permanent Residency for TPS Beneficiaries

A New Win for Immigrants as USCIS Agrees to Restore Path to Permanent Residency for TPS Beneficiaries

Washington, DC – October 23, 2017: Immigration reform protesters demonstrate outside the White House calling for no further deportations and a means to gain legal residency and a path to citizenship. (Shutterstock) By Linda Nwoke In December 2019, Trump’s administration decided to slightly modify an immigration condition which they described as a ‘mere clarification ‘that […]