Immigration 101

Recent Features

Why Don’t Immigrants Apply for Citizenship?

There is no line available for undocumented immigrants and the “regular channels” do not include them.

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Fact Sheet
Temporary Protected Status: An Overview

This fact sheet provides an overview of how Temporary Protected Status designations are made, what benefits TPS confers, and how TPS beneficiaries apply for and regularly renew their status.

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How the United States Immigration System Works

U.S. immigration law is very complex. Here's basic information about how the U.S. legal immigration system is designed.

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All Immigration 101 Content

  • Blog

5 Ways to Prevent the Next Migrant Caravan

October 23, 2018

Just two weeks ahead of the midterm elections, much attention is being placed on a migrant caravan of Central Americans making their way north through Mexico. Now reported to include more than 7,...

  • Blog

The Proposed Changes to Public Charge: What You Need to Know

September 24, 2018

Over the weekend, the Trump administration took steps to radically transform a little-known provision of immigration law that could have an outsized impact on legal immigration. In proposed...

  • Blog

This Citizenship Day Marred by Government’s Focus on Stripping People of Their Citizenship

September 17, 2018

Each year on September 17, America marks Citizenship Day, an annual opportunity to reflect on the benefits and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. In years past, it was used as a day to...

  • Blog

Rural Communities Get Boost From Growing Immigrant Population

September 12, 2018

In rural communities throughout the United States, immigration has been a demographic lifeline that offsets—at least in part—the dwindling number of native-born Americans. In fact, as a report...

  • Blog

John McCain’s Legacy on Immigration

August 28, 2018

The United States Senate and Republican Party lost one of their biggest champions for bipartisan immigration reform and most vocal critics of President Trump’s immigration policies when Senator...

  • Blog

USCIS’ Wait Times for Citizenship Have Doubled

August 20, 2018

The average wait time on a U.S. citizenship application was about five months in 2014. Today, the average time a green card holder will wait for their citizenship application to be processed by U....

  • Blog

White House Residents Directly Benefit from America’s Generous Immigration System

August 14, 2018

America’s generosity is reflected in our immigration system. Throughout our nation’s history (with some shameful exceptions), we have allowed individuals to come to the United States to reunite...

  • Blog

How Long Does It Take USCIS to Issue a Green Card?

July 24, 2018

How long does it take to process an application for permanent residence in the United States, or a “green card?” You might be surprised by how difficult it is to find a reliable answer to this...

  • Blog

It Is Legal to Seek Asylum

July 17, 2018

As thousands of asylum-seeking parents were separated from their children in recent months, the Trump administration actively portrayed them as law breakers who must be prosecuted and punished for...

  • Blog

14,000 Become U.S. Citizens to Celebrate Fourth of July

July 3, 2018

Coinciding with the Fourth of July each year, naturalization ceremonies turn immigrants into new American citizens. This Independence Day, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will...

  • Blog

How the Coronavirus Is Impacting Immigration

March 9, 2020

Spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, has caused panic across the United States. With the number of confirmed cases on the rise, the coronavirus has started to affect several facets of...

  • Blog

There’s No Need to Panic Over Trump’s New Denaturalization Office

March 5, 2020

The Trump administration is creating a new office of attorneys tasked with stripping immigrants of their U.S. citizenship. The task force will investigate and prosecute people it suspects...

  • Blog

As Trump Slashes All Immigration, Other Countries Open Their Doors

March 4, 2020

The Trump administration has worked to close the door on all types of immigrants—including people trying to come to the United States on visas. Consequently, the United States is experiencing a...

  • Blog

Judge Voids USCIS Asylum Policies Because Ken Cuccinelli Wasn’t Appointed Legally

March 3, 2020

The Trump administration suffered another blow on Sunday, when a federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to the role of acting director of U.S....

  • Blog

Undocumented, Black, and Unseen

February 27, 2020

I am one of approximately 619,000 undocumented, Black immigrants living in the United States. My immigration story began at seven years old, when I came to the United States from Belize without my...

  • Blog

With Public Charge Rule Now in Effect, Trump Achieves One of the Largest Cuts to Legal Immigration

February 24, 2020

After months in the courts, the Trump administration declared victory and began enforcing its new “public charge” rule. The rule goes into effect on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, inside the United States...

  • Blog

Judge Stops DHS From Arresting US Citizens’ Foreign Spouses During Marriage Interviews in Maryland

February 21, 2020

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been targeting U.S. citizens’ foreign spouses when they apply for legal immigration status. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Maryland put a...

  • Blog

The Fight to Stop ICE From Destroying Records About Deaths and Abuse in Its Custody

February 19, 2020

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to destroy thousands of records documenting horrific treatment of immigrants in the agency’s custody. The records contain vital details about...

  • Blog

USCIS’ Change to How ‘Unlawful Presence’ Is Calculated Is Defeated in Court

February 12, 2020

A federal district court stopped U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from drastically changing how the agency determines when a foreign student or exchange visitor is “unlawfully...

  • Blog

Trump’s Immigration Restrictions Extend to Nearly 7% of the Entire World

February 5, 2020

President Trump issued the fourth travel ban of his presidency on Friday. This ban comes almost three years to the day after the first one brought thousands of protesters to airports around the...

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