Kuzmin & Associates, PC

On Wednesday, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. Biden was set to send a comprehensive immigration reform bill to Congress shortly after being sworn in to office, proposing overhauls to key parts of the country’s system that would include a pathway to citizenship for many. The proposed legislation, titled the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, provides a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants, includes additional funding for border technology, and aims to address the root causes of migration in Central America. The bill would also seek to overhaul aspects of the legal immigration system by expanding certain visa programs, such as providing dependents of H-1B visa holders work authorization and preventing children from aging out of the system.

USCIS is planning to limit work permits given to people with final orders of deportation who cannot be deported and granted release. While the goal is to protect the US workers, this new rule will spell disaster to many immigrant families, including their US-born children. Also in the news: A new naturalization test is coming for those applying after December 1, 2020. It has not been revised in years.

On Saturday November 14, a federal judge n NY found Trump's new rules on DACA invalid. Those rules did not allow filing of new DACA applications and limited renewals to 1 year only. Changes are on the way- slowly but surely!

We recently filed two federal court petitions challenging denial of credible fear of asylum applicants who were then ordered removed. The decisions by DHS were totally unsupported and, frankly, twisted the truth. Apparently we are not the only ones having a problem with asylum guidelines. In its Nov 2, 2020 decision, the federal court in DC found that the Trump administration's new guidelines on asylum-seekers' initial fear screenings are illegal and ordered new fear screenings of those who were rejected. The truth prevails! The case is Kiakombua et al. v. Wolf 19cv01872.

UPDATE to previous post. The Seventh Circuit just stayed the decision of the District Court. This means that Form I-944 must still be filed if an immigrant wants to apply for a green card. But the fight is not over yet... Stay tuned.