Immigration Benefits and Relief

The immigration laws and regulations provide some avenues to apply for lawful status from within the U.S. or to seek relief from deportation.  The eligibility requirements for these benefits and relief can be stringent, and the immigration agencies often adopt overly restrictive interpretations of the requirements.  Learn about advocacy and litigation that has been and can be undertaken to ensure that noncitizens have a fair chance to apply for the benefits and relief for which they are eligible.  

Recent Features

The Dream Act: An Overview

The Dream Act would permanently protect certain immigrants who came to the United States as children but are vulnerable to deportation. 

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  • Practice Advisories

Arriving Noncitizens and Adjustment of Status

This Practice Advisory discusses the impact of an interim rule repealing two former regulations which barred all “arriving aliens” from adjusting status if they are in removal proceedings.

All Immigration Benefits and Relief Content

  • Advocacy

Letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano (submitted Feb. 9, 2012)

This sign-on letter expresses concerns about DHS’s implementation of the new prosecutorial discretion policy, including the agency’s failure to grant work authorization to those who receive a favorable exercise of discretion. The letter also makes recommendations to ensure that DHS fulfills its pledge to implement an effective and fair prosecutorial discretion policy nationwide.
  • Advocacy

NIJC Recommendations Regarding Implementation of the Prosecutorial Discretion Initiative (submitted Sep. 30, 2011)

This letter to several Administration officials was submitted in response to the DHS/White House announcement on August 18, 2011 that it would form a "Prosecutorial Discretion Working Group" to...

  • Advocacy

Memorandum, “Executive Branch Authority Regarding Implementation of Immigration Laws and Policies” (April 29, 2011)

This memorandum, which was released by the American Immigration Council and co-signed by two general counsels of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, offers an overview of the scope of executive branch authority and outlines specific steps the Administration could take to forestall removals in sympathetic cases.
  • Advocacy

Letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano (submitted April 6, 2011)

This letter requests written guidance setting forth detailed criteria for the favorable exercise of prosecutorial discretion and the assignment of a high-level officer to monitor implementation of...

  • Advocacy

Regulatory comment: Adjustment of Status of “arriving aliens” who are in removal

The Council submitted comments on June 12, 2006, on the interim regulations that lifted the ban on “arriving aliens” being able to adjust their status if they are in removal proceedings.

  • Advocacy

Letter to DHS Urging Interim Relief Pending Final Resolution of Section 3 of DOMA

Following the Obama Administration’s February 2011 announcement that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional, AILA and the Council, joined by dozens of other organizations, urged the Administration ...

  • Advocacy

Letter to EOIR Urging Interim Relief Pending Final Resolution of Section 3 of DOMA

Following the Obama Administration’s February 2011 announcement that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional, AILA and the Council, joined by dozens of other organizations, urged the Administration to adopt interim measures in immigration cases involving marriages to a lesbian or gay noncitizen. Such interim measures are needed to maintain the status quo until there is a final judicial or legislative resolution regarding Section 3 of DOMA.
  • Advocacy

Letter to DOJ Urging Interim Relief Pending Final Resolution of Section 3 of DOMA

Following the Obama Administration’s February 2011 announcement that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional, AILA and the Council, joined by dozens of other organizations, urged the Administration to adopt interim measures in immigration cases involving marriages to a lesbian or gay noncitizen. Such interim measures are needed to maintain the status quo until there is a final judicial or legislative resolution regarding Section 3 of DOMA.
  • Amicus Briefs

United States v. State of Texas, No. 15-674 (S.Ct., amicus brief filed November 30, 2015)

The American Immigration Council, in collaboration with the National Immigration Law Center, the Service Employees International Union, American Federal of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Advancement Project, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, among others, filed an amicus brief on behalf of a coalition of 224 immigration, civil rights, labor and social service groups, urging the Supreme Court to review the case that has blocked expanded DACA and DAPA.
  • Blog

Federal Judge Strikes Down DACA: What You Need to Know

July 19, 2021

Nearly a decade after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to provide protections to undocumented immigrants brought here as...

  • Blog

Attorney General Garland Brings Back Administrative Closure for Immigration Judges

July 16, 2021

Attorney General Merrick Garland vacated Matter of Castro-Tum on July 15, reviving a key tool to help judges prioritize cases in the overburdened immigration court system and allow people facing...

  • Blog

DACA Has Allowed Me to Pursue Education, But We Need A Permanent Solution Now

June 15, 2021

My name is Hali Calzadillas-Andujo and I’m originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. I first came to the United States with my mother and siblings when I was eight years old. I didn’t even know what it...

  • Blog

Problems at USCIS Persist, Despite Biden’s Progress on Immigration in His First 100 Days

April 29, 2021

When President Biden took office, he inherited a legal immigration system that was teetering on the brink of collapse. Delays within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have reached...

  • Blog

Biden Begins to Restore Temporary Protected Status. Which Countries Could Get TPS Next?

March 25, 2021

By the end of the Trump presidency, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was all but destroyed. The former administration had attempted to end crucial protections for the hundreds of thousands of...

  • Blog

The House Passes Historic Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act

March 18, 2021

The U.S. House of Representatives passed two immigration bills on March 18, signaling that Congress might finally enact major immigration reform for the first time in over three decades. These...

  • Blog

Trump’s Citizenship Test Scrapped by USCIS Over Politicization and Complexity Concerns

March 4, 2021

Individuals hoping to become a naturalized American citizen will take a different civics test beginning this week, as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reverts back to a previous...

  • Blog

Biden Took Eight Administrative Actions on Immigration. Here’s What You Need to Know.

January 22, 2021

On his first day in office, President Biden took significant steps towards undoing the harm of the Trump administration’s immigration policies—and reforming our punitive and inhumane enforcement...

  • Blog

The United States Needs a New Approach to Visas and Immigration Benefits

January 8, 2021

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.  The Biden administration faces a...

  • Blog

Why Immigrants With Strong Ties to the US Should Be Allowed to Stay

January 7, 2021

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.  The Biden administration will soon...

  • Press Release

Divided Fifth Circuit Denies Emergency Stay as Underlying Case on Immigration Action Proceeds

May 26, 2015

Washington D.C. - In a disappointing decision, a divided panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals today  denied  the federal government’s request for an emergency stay of a preliminary in

  • Press Release

Class Action Lawsuit for Unlawful Delays in Employment Authorizations Filed

May 26, 2015

Washington D.C.– Last Friday, three immigrants and two immigration service providers filed a nationwide class action lawsuit against U.S.

  • Press Release

Unprecedented Coalition Ask Court to Reverse Texas Ruling Blocking Immigration Initiatives

April 19, 2015

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

Texas Decision at Odds with Legal Precedent, History and Facts on Immigration Enforcement

February 17, 2015

Washington D.C. - Late last night, a Texas judge issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the implementation of President Obama’s new deferred action initiatives. These initia

  • Press Release

Texas Decision at Odds with Legal Precedent, History and Facts on Immigration Enforcement

February 17, 2015
  • Press Release

Immigration Council Strongly Reaffirms Research on Reagan-Bush Family Fairness Policy

December 5, 2014

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

American Immigration Council Executive Director, Ben Johnson Comments on Executive Action

November 21, 2014

Washington D.C. - Ben Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council offers the following quotes on the polic

  • Press Release

President’s Executive Actions on Immigration Should Spur Congressional Action

November 6, 2014

Washington D.C. – From the perspective of immigration reformers, Tuesday’s election is unlikely to change the gridlock that has stymied immigration reform for more than 15 years.

  • Press Release

136 Leading Experts on Immigration Law Agree: President Has Legal Authority to Expand Relief

September 3, 2014

Washington D.C. — U.S.

  • Press Release

Court Approves Settlement in Duran Gonzalez v. DHS; Webinar Tomorrow

July 29, 2014

Last week, the federal district court issued its final approval of a settlement agreement

  • Blog

Florida Has Everything to Lose If It Repeals In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students

March 10, 2023

Undocumented students, like millions of other students in the United States, have the ambition to succeed. College opportunities are often priceless for these students. And though a degree can...

  • Blog

USCIS Policy Change Will Reduce Number of People Who ‘Age Out’ From Green Card Eligibility

February 23, 2023

A recent policy change by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) should reduce the number of children who age out of green card eligibility. For immigration purposes, a “child” means...

  • Blog

USCIS Faces New Class Action Lawsuit for its Extreme Delays in Processing Waivers

January 26, 2023

Many families in the United States live in a frightening limbo when processing delays prevent one family member from becoming a lawful permanent resident.  A lawsuit was recently filed against U.S...

  • Press Release

Class Action Filed Against USCIS for Extreme Processing Delays that Leave American Families Stranded

January 24, 2023
A group of immigrants filed a federal class action lawsuit in Seattle against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), challenging bureaucratic logjams that have left them in a multi-year limbo.
  • Litigation

Class Action Lawsuit Challenging USCIS Delay in Deciding Applications for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers

This Lawsuit seeks an end to processing delays that prevent immigrants from becoming lawful permanent residents. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has already approved these immigrant petitions filed by their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member.
  • Blog

USCIS’ Funding Crisis Might Be Too Big for the Agency to Fix by Itself

January 17, 2023

On January 3, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finally published a new proposed fee schedule for immigration benefits—which is to say, it took an important step to becoming a...

  • Press Release

AILA and the American Immigration Council Respond to a Bipartisan Framework of Immigration Reform Compromises

December 5, 2022
In response to news of a new bi-partisan framework of immigration reform compromises from Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) —the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council issued the following statement.
  • Blog

Arizona Dreamers’ Chance of In-State Tuition Rely on the Midterm Elections

November 1, 2022

While it seems like all eyes are on the states that could determine the outcome of this year’s midterm elections, it’s important to remember that the consequences of November 8 will extend beyond...

  • Blog

Once Again, Undocumented Youth Find Themselves in Legal Limbo After Court Decisions

October 20, 2022

After months of waiting for decisions on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth are back to where they started—waiting...

  • Blog

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

October 11, 2022

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...

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