Immigration News Resources

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration and Services is issuing guidance regarding the legal and physical custody requirements for purposes of acquisition of U.S. citizenship under section 320 and naturalization under section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State (State), has announced the lists of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs for the next 12 months.

Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), announced that it expects to make an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, on top of the congressionally mandated 66,000 H-2B visas that are available each fiscal year.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify that a naturalization applicant’s burden to demonstrate they have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence applies only to their initial admission as a lawful permanent resident (LPR) or adjustment to LPR status.

After initially blocking the Biden administration’s recent move to promote family unity for some U.S. citizens with undocumented spouses in August, a federal judge in Texas issued a final judgment last week ending the parole process altogether. Judge J. Campbell Barker found that the whole concept of “parole in place” – the practice of granting […]

The post Judge Strikes Down ‘Keeping Families Together’ Parole Process appeared first on Immigration Impact.

President-elect Donald Trump vowed to deport millions of immigrants in his successful bid for a second term at the White House. This week, we gained a clearer picture about how he aims to fulfill this promise. Tom Homan, former acting chief for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will oversee border policy and work to fulfill […]

The post Biden Should Use His Authority to Protect Vulnerable Immigrants Before He Leaves Office appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The economy was the most important issue for Trump voters this year, 93% of his supporters said it was very important to their vote.

The post What Trump supporters believe and expect appeared first on Pew Research Center.

We are updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 8, Part B, Chapter 3, to reflect that immigration medical examination documentation for certain Afghan nationals who arrived in the United States during Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) is valid indefinitely.

Ports of entry along our borders are supposed to be where people in need of protection can come to seek humanitarian relief. But since 2016, every presidential administration has used different tactics to turn people away from ports of entry (POEs) along the U.S.-Mexico border before they even get there. Finally, in October, the Ninth […]

The post Federal Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Asylum Seekers’ Rights to Present at POEs appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The “bipartisan border bill” has been front and center in the presidential election, but it is often presented to the public without clarity on what the bill would actually do. In May, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced S. 4361, the Border Act of 2024. This bill includes nearly identical provisions to a bipartisan immigration […]

The post What Is the ‘Bipartisan Border Bill’ and How Would It Change the US Immigration System? appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Foreign workers have long provided critical support to American businesses in the busy seasons—filling temporary, seasonal jobs when domestic workers were not available. This support—almost always of manual labor—is possible due to the H-2 visa program, which Congress created in 1952 with the aim of “alleviating labor shortages … particularly in periods of intense production.” […]

The post Seasonal Immigrant Workers Are in High Demand. America’s H-2B Visa Program Isn’t Keeping Up. appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Torrance County Detention Facility, located in the remote deserts of New Mexico, is notorious for its mistreatment of migrants. The facility’s issues are compounded by the fact that Torrance has largely operated in secrecy. However, documents and data uncovered through a FOIA request have provided a glimpse into ICE detention practices into the facility. […]

The post FOIA Documents Show Troubling Gaps in Transparency at Torrance County Detention Facility appeared first on Immigration Impact.

On October 17, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that Secretary Mayorkas was designating the country of Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Through this designation, DHS expects that as many as 11,000 Lebanese individuals currently in the country will be eligible to apply for a potentially renewable 18-month protection to remain in the […]

The post Temporary Protected Status: What’s Up With That? appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In April, the Department of Labor (DOL) published an expansive regulation aimed at increasing protections for the growing number of temporary agricultural workers entering the United States on H-2A nonimmigrant visas. A key component of the regulation establishes new protections for H-2A workers to engage in collective action to advocate for themselves or others regarding […]

The post Collective Action Protections for H-2A Workers Face Uphill Legal Battles appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Are you an attorney looking for a way to provide pro bono legal support to people working on their immigration cases? Or someone who could volunteer as an interpreter for those attorneys?  Consider joining the Immigration Justice Campaign. We give volunteer attorneys all the help they need to take on immigration cases—whether or not they’ve […]

The post Volunteer to Support Immigrants: Pro Bono Attorneys and Interpreters Needed appeared first on Immigration Impact.

At a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric is splashed across the news, it can be easy to get lost in the whirlwind of misplaced fear politicians continue to foster. But this year’s eighth annual Global Talent Chamber Network (GTCN) Convening: Business Leadership on Immigration During an Election Year served as a critical reminder that business leaders […]

The post Business Leadership on Immigration During an Election Year appeared first on Immigration Impact.

We are revising our guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to align with the Classification for Victims of Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons; Eligibility for “T” Nonimmigrant Status Final Rule.

Three-quarters of voters say undocumented immigrants fill jobs citizens don’t want, while 61% say the same of legal immigrants.

The post Most U.S. voters say immigrants – no matter their legal status – mostly take jobs citizens don’t want appeared first on Pew Research Center.

For over a century, the United States has applied the principle of jus soli, or birthplace-based citizenship, to grant American citizenship to anyone born on U.S. territory regardless of their parent’s immigration status. But over the past few decades, anti-immigrant politicians have advocated for the restriction of birthplace-based citizenship to deny birthright citizenship, primarily to […]

The post The Origins of Birthright Citizenship in the United States, Explained appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Written by Yared Avalos Iniguez, Communications Intern and Hannah Boyke, Research Intern Across the globe, immigrants are increasingly being blamed for committing crimes, with right-wing groups often leading the charge. In the United States, this rhetoric has intensified as politicians aim to demonize immigrants during the election season. However, a wealth of research has discredited […]

The post Immigrants Do Not Commit More Crimes in the US, Despite Fearmongering appeared first on Immigration Impact.