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.  

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All Immigration Benefits and Relief Content

October 10, 2017

The White House released its Immigration Principles and Policies late Sunday night, providing an outline of the Trump administration’s proposals on immigration. The principles were sent to...

October 4, 2017

With the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) renewal deadline fast approaching, thousands of young immigrants are scrambling to have their paperwork in by October 5 for a final, two-year...

September 27, 2017

The announcement of the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative has hit home for many. The public has demonstrated a strong distaste for taking away young, undocumented...

September 22, 2017

While undocumented immigration remains a concern among two-thirds of the American public, most Americans, including Republicans, support proposals which provide law-abiding immigrants a chance to...

September 21, 2017

With the stroke of a pen, the Secretary of Homeland Security upended the lives of over 1,000 Sudanese nationals living in the United States with the announcement this week that Temporary Protected...

September 8, 2017

Industries across the nation may find themselves in dangerously short supply of workers if no solution is found for the 800,000 young immigrants now at risk of deportation due to the termination...

September 7, 2017

With the Trump administration announcing it was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative on Tuesday, a number of states, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and DACA...

September 6, 2017

On January 13, 1898, the novelist Émile Zola penned a now famous open letter in the French newspaper L’Aurore, accusing the French government of anti-Semitism for falsely convicting military...

September 5, 2017

The Trump administration brought the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative (DACA) to an end on Tuesday, striking one of the largest blows to America’s immigrant community since taking...

September 5, 2017

The Trump administration announced the end of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) today. This means no new applications will be accepted and only those individuals with current DACA that...

October 31, 2019

At a House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Hearing on Tuesday, Congress heard testimony from experts about the impact of recent immigration policies affecting foreign-born military members,...

October 30, 2019

The cost of filing an application for citizenship—usually a hefty $725—has long been a barrier for some immigrants. Now, a change to the naturalization process may leave even more people priced...

October 15, 2019

The Supreme Court began a new session this October, and in the coming months, the justices will hear several high-profile immigration cases. These cases involve the attempted termination of the...

October 15, 2019
A federal court in San Francisco certified two nationwide classes of immigrants and attorneys claiming that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have a systemic pattern and practice of failing to provide access to immigration case records within deadlines set by the Freedom of Information Act. The case records, known as A-files, contain information about individuals’ immigration history in the United States. This is the first time a court has certified a class in a lawsuit alleging a pattern and practice of violating FOIA
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October 4, 2019
This practice advisory summarizes the most common grounds raised by the government in motions to dismiss federal court agency adjudication delay lawsuits and outlines arguments that can be made in response.
October 1, 2019

Newly released documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reveal that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) rolled out a major policy change impacting petitions for...

September 11, 2019

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently proposed a rule that will further delay asylum seekers’ ability to receive work authorization. Under current law, USCIS must grant or...

September 10, 2019

The strongest hurricane to ever hit the Bahamas ripped through the islands last week. In the wake of such devastation, it would not be unusual for the U.S. government to announce temporary...

August 28, 2019

Without so much as a formal announcement, the Trump administration sent letters to families of sick children containing a dire warning: leave the country in 33 days or face deportation and a years...

August 15, 2019

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released more details about its plan to close its international offices. In an August 9 memorandum, USCIS clarified that all but seven of...

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