United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) has updated its guidance on how to calculate the age of a child applying for adjustment of status under the Child Status Protection Act (“CSPA”). Under the new policy, USCIS will use the State Department’s monthly Visa Bulletin “Dates for Filing” chart, as opposed to the “Final Action Date” chart in order to protect child adjustment of status applicants who risk aging out of availability to obtain a green card as derivative beneficiaries of their parents’ immigrant petitions, upon reaching age twenty-one.
Read moreUSCIS Updates Policy to Automatically Extend Green Cards for Naturalization Applicants
As of December 12, 2022, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has updated its policy manual to provide twenty four month automatic extensions to Green Card expirations to Lawful Permanent Residents (“LPRs”) applying for naturalization when they properly file an N-400, Application for Naturalization. The automatic extension applies to those LPRs filing N-400s on or after the 12th of December 2022.
Read moreUSCIS Extends Green Card Validity Extensions to Two Years for Renewals
In an effort to relieve longer than usual processing times for those seeking to replace or renew their Permanent Residency cards (or Green Cards), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that as of September 26, 2022, it will automatically extend the validity of Permanent Residency cards, or Green Cards, to twenty four months for those lawful permanent residents (“LPRs”) who file Form I-90 (Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card) to renew an expiring or expired Green Card.
Read moreUSCIS Will Replace Sticker That Extends Validity of Green Cards in January 2021
Beginning in January 2021, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) will replace the sticker that is currently issued to lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to extend the validity of their Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (PRC, and also called a “Green Card”), with a revised Form I-797, Notice of Action for Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card. USCIS states that the revised I-797 receipt notice, along with an applicant’s Green Card, will serve as temporary evidence of lawful permanent resident status for twelve months from the expiration date on front of the Green Card. USCIS notes:
Read moreAILA: Extensive Delays for Printing of EAD Cards and Green Cards
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) states that in recent weeks they have received reports from members of delays in the issuance of Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) and Lawful Permanent Resident Cards (i.e., Green Cards) for some employment-based, family-based, and asylum-based immigration applications. Columnist Catherine Rampell in The Washington Post also confirmed the delays noting that US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has shut down printing EADs and Green Cards at one facility in Corbin, Kentucky, weeks ago, as well as scaled back printing at a second facility in Lee's Summit, Missouri, all of which have led to these massive delays.
Read moreHow to Replace or Renew Your Green Card
Whether it is a lost Green Card (you know the feeling when you have searched everywhere and slowly come to the dreaded realization that it’s gone) or an expired ten-year Green Card, or even if there is a mistake on your Green Card, you will have to get a new card. And, of course, this type of thing always seems to happen when you have to travel internationally or are starting a new job in a few days. What to do???
Read moreEmployment-Based Green Card Options: An Overview
There are a variety of ways to become a lawful permanent resident through employment in the United States. The five main employment-based Green Card categories are: EB-1 (for foreign nationals with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors/researchers, or multinational executives/managers); EB-2 (for foreign nationals holding an advanced degree or its equivalent, or foreign nationals with exceptional ability); EB-3 (for skilled workers, professionals, or other workers—as defined within the immigration regulations); EB-4 (for special immigrants—as defined within the immigration regulations); and EB-5 (for immigrant investors). Under each category, there are several ways to pursue a Green Card.
Read moreMcClatchy: “Under pressure, Trump team backs off proposal to cull foreign tech workforce”
After reports late last month that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was considering a policy change that could have prevented certain H-1B workers who are applying for permanent residency from extending their H-1B status beyond the normal time limit of six years, the agency has reportedly reversed course. Facing intense pressure from the business and technology communities, the Trump administration appears to be no longer considering the policy change that could have potentially forced hundreds of thousands of foreign skilled workers out of the country.
Read moreDoD: “Policy Changes to Lawful Permanent Residents and the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) Pilot Program”
Earlier this month the Department of Defense (DoD) announced key changes to its policies regarding screening of Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) and qualifying service for the purposes of military naturalization. The DoD states that they made the changes after “lessons learned” from the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) Pilot Program—a program devised as a way for legal noncitizens to obtain expedited citizenship when they join the US military and provide critical and in-demand skills, including medical and language skills. After criticism of the security screening for MAVNI recruits, along with threats that the program would be discontinued, the DoD says that, while expedited US citizenship achieved through military service can be valuable, it is in the “national interest to ensure that all current and prospective service members complete security and suitability screening prior to naturalization.”
Read moreUSCIS Launches Mobile Form for Replacing Green Card
US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has introduced a new way to file the Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card. Lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders) who file the online Form I-90, without assistance from an attorney or accredited representative, can now file the I-90 and upload the necessary evidence entirely on a mobile device. This redesign of the online Form I-90—which applicants use to renew or replace a Green Card—also allows lawful permanent residents to navigate the online site more easily and should, USCIS claims, make the overall process of renewing or replacing Green Cards “more convenient.” The I-90 is one form that can easily be prepared and filed by foreign nationals themselves without the assistance of attorneys. Protima previously discussed the process of applying for an I-90, which is helpful knowledge in case the Green Card is ever lost (God forbid!) or needs to be replaced or renewed.
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