Tag: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

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More Immigration Petitions May Be Denied Outright Under New USCIS Policy

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On September 11, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services started implementing a new policy with regard to the “Issuance of Certain RFEs and NOIDs”. The new Policy Memorandum was published on July 13, 2018 and is identified as PM-602-0163. Under this policy, USCIS examiners may deny an application, petition, or request without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) if initial evidence is not submitted or if the evidence in the record does not establish eligibility.

This new policy rescinded the long time rule enacted under the USCIS 2013 Policy Memo which required USCIS examiners to issue RFEs or Notices of Intent to Deny (NOID) if it appears that the petition is approvable upon submission of additional documents. The reason given by USCIS for the issuance of this policy is to discourage frivolous or substantially incomplete filings used as “placeholder” filings and encourage applicants, petitions and requestors to be diligent in collecting and submitting requested evidence. Interestingly, the USCIS states that it is not intended to penalize filers of innocent mistakes or misunderstanding of evidentiary requirements. But implementing the policy as written in the new Policy Memorandum will have the effect of penalizing filers of “innocent mistakes” by depriving them of opportunity to correct the error. How is this new policy applied?

James, a U.S. citizen filed a petition for his spouse Jane. He submitted the accomplished forms I-130, G325s with supporting documents. When his petition is being examined, James appear to have had marriages and divorces prior to marrying Jane. He did not submit copies of his divorce decrees.

Before September 11, 2018, the U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services will send a Request for Evidence providing James an opportunity to prove that he was indeed divorced by submitting certified copies of divorce judgment. After USCIS receives the requested documents, the petition will be approved. But with the new policy effective September 11, 2018, failure to show eligibility on initial filing will result in outright denial without an opportunity to correct it through an RFE. This means without proof of eligibility, the petition may be denied right away based on the new guidance. USCIS mentions in the published guidance that if the regulations, the statute or form instructions require the submission of an official document or other form of evidence establishing eligibility at the time of filing and there is no submission, the petition may be denied.

Immigration Benefits Affected

Petitioners and applicants who file immigration benefit applications with USCIS will be affected by this new policy. This includes the following applications and petitions filed after September 11, 2018: naturalization applications, all family based petitions, temporary work visas such as H1Bs, Os and other business related visas, immigrant petitions and adjustment of status under any preference category, or the Violence Against Women Act.

The new policy will make it easier for USCIS to deny petitions and applications. If the request for immigration benefit is denied under the new policy, a new application or petition may be re-filed with new supporting documents but they will be penalized with paying a new filing fee.

In June 28, 2018, there was another USCIS proposed policy that mandates USCIS to put in removal proceedings those individuals with denied applications and petitions if the effect of the denial would render the individual applicant or beneficiary to be in unlawful status. This will have a devastating effect on significant number of applicants or beneficiaries with denied petitions. Also, this will result in the unnecessary use of of government resources to put them in removal proceedings because most of these individuals would have their immigration benefits granted anyway if provided with the right opportunity to do so.

To avoid the harsh consequence of this new policy, one must be very diligent in preparing USCIS petitions and applications. Consulting with legal professionals before filing will be a prudent step in order to ensure that they are eligible for the benefits being applied for and that they have approvable applications and petitions.

(Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq is a partner at the Tancinco Law Offices, a Professional Law Corp. Her office is located at One Hallidie Plaza, Ste 818, San Francisco CA 94102 and may be reached at 1-888-930-0808; email at law@tancinco.com, www.facebook.com/tancincolaw or visit website at tancinco.weareph.com/old.)

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3 Categories of Immigrants Who Risk Being Stripped of U.S. Citizenship

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in June 2018 the establishment of a Denaturalization Task Force within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The new USCIS office will focus on investigating cases of naturalized U.S. citizens and determine whether they will be recommended for denaturalization.

From among the 20 million naturalized U.S. citizens, who are at risk of being stripped of their U.S. Citizenship?

Denaturalization may be found in Section 340 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. There are only certain legal basis to denaturalize an individual and this is initiated by the government through the federal district courts. In the past, it was seldom utilized except in extreme cases like in denaturalization of former Nazis who lied about their past who illegally procured naturalization.

In 2008, Operation Janus was launched by the Department of Homeland Security and identified 854 individuals who had prior removal order, criminal convictions who were able to naturalize. These individuals’ fingerprint records were missing from the centralized DHS database. Now the current administration is planning to refer 1,600 more cases to the Department of Justice for denaturalization.

Those who are most likely to be affected by the administration’s effort to strip U.S. citizenship from naturalized citizens may be divided mainly into 3 categories. These are immigrants who procured their citizenship illegally because of the presence of:

  • Prior criminal conviction that was concealed: Those who concealed their criminal convictions on their naturalization applications and their criminal cases are grounds for removal may have their cases referred for naturalization. Note that criminal charges or convictions must have occurred before and during the naturalization process.
  • Prior removal cases and assumed identities: Ten (10) years ago, the U.S. government discovered hundreds of individuals who had prior deportation orders and who used different names in their green card and naturalization applications. These cases are now being investigated and may be re-opened for denaturalization.
  • Material fraud and misrepresentation. This refers to those who lied in obtaining their green cards through fraud and misrepresentation. The lie must have a relation to the eligibility for green card or naturalization to be a basis for denaturalization.

Once an immigrant is identified for investigation by USCIS for purposes of denaturalization, the matter will be referred to the Office of Immigration Litigation and the Assistant U.S. Attorney. Thereafter, the case will be filed with the federal district court having jurisdiction over the residence of the immigrant being stripped of citizenship. When the case is filed with the court, the naturalized U.S. citizen may present evidence to avoid denaturalization. Note that this is a judicial process and only a federal judge may strip one of U.S. citizenship. There is a due process involved and a right to a hearing. If a citizen is denaturalized, most probably this individual will be put in removal proceedings. Whether or not he will be deported depends on available relief or waivers.

These days the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not the only agency in charge of immigration enforcement. The USCIS, with the creation of the Denaturalization Task Force, is now also involved indirectly in enforcement matters. Likewise, naturalized U.S. citizens must now realize that they no longer have a sense of permanence when it comes to their immigration status. If you believe that you fall into any of the categories of those who might be affected by this denaturalization effort of USCIS, it will be best to revisit and re-examine your naturalization application and have your case assessed by competent legal counsel. If there is a possibility of denaturalization, prepare yourself to defend yourself in the federal court and, in the worst case scenario, explore applicable waivers or defenses to avoid removal.

(Atty. Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq. is a San Francisco based immigration attorney and an immigrant rights advocate. She may be reached at 1 888 930 0808, law@tancinco.com or facebook.com/tancincolaw)

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Int’l Entrepreneur Parole good as Dep’t of Homeland Security loses lawsuit

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No matter how eager the current administration is to restrict immigration policies, the rule of law must still prevail. An immigration regulation that went through the process of the required public notice and comment may not be abruptly rescinded without violating the Administrative Procedure Act. This was the issue of contention in the case against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when it sought to delay the implementation of the International Entrepreneur Parole from July 17, 2017 to March 14, 2018.

The Delay Rule was released by DHS on July 11, 2017 without offering the public the required advance notice, or an opportunity to comment, claiming that there was good cause to issue the rule. A lawsuit was filed against DHS by the Plaintiff National Venture Capital Association, and the court ruled in favor of the Plaintiff. The U. S. District Court rendered the Delay Rule invalid for failure to afford public comments and notice on the change.

As a result of this court ruling, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a statement on December 14, 2017 informing the public that the International Entrepreneur Parole applications will be accepted without further delay.

Entrepreneur Parole Program

The entrepreneur parole program grants parole status to a foreign national who is an “entrepreneur” of a startup and who has an active role in the operation of the business. This entrepreneur must have recently formed a new start-up entity within three years before the date of filing the initial parole application.

Unlike an applicant for investors visa, where the entrepreneur must show infusion of capital to the business that is formed from his own resources, an international entrepreneur seeking parole must show that the start-up business has potential for a “rapid growth and job creation.” There are three alternative ways to prove this: first, that the business has significant U.S. capital investment of $345,000 or capital from established U.S. investors such as venture capital firms, angel investors and the like who have a history of substantial investment in successful start-up entities; second, the business received government funding of grants totaling $100,000 or more; and, third, any reliable and compelling evidence that will prove significant public benefit to the United States.

The USCIS will now start accepting applications on new USCIS Form 941. The filing fee for this application is $1,200. Once the application is approved, the entrepreneur, his/her spouse and minor children will be paroled into the United States and will receive employment authorization documents. Parole will be granted for up to 2 years and may be renewed for up to 3 years.

Parole Authority

The current immigration law allows the DHS to exercise its parole authority under section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act if the presence of the paroled non-U.S. citizen would provide a significant public benefit to the United States.

Under the entrepreneur parole program, eligible applicants may be granted a stay of up to 30 months, with the possibility to extend it for a period of up to 30 additional months. Those targeted to receive parole are entrepreneurs who shall work with the start-up businesses.

Approximately, 3,000 entrepreneurs are expected to apply for parole under this program. Most of those who are planning to apply come from the tech industry as well as those who are planning to develop new business ventures that will spur economic growth and job creation.

While the rule is now in effect, according to DHS, the administration is still determined to terminate this program at some point, and the agency is now planning to afford enough public notice and comment before its termination. In the meantime, those who are eligible may consider immediately filing their applications.

(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco is a San Francisco based immigration lawyer and immigrant’s right advocate. She may be reached at law@tancinco.com, facebook.com/tancincolaw, or 1 888 930 0808)

Also appears in: Inquirer.net 

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What DACA Recipients Should Know Now And The Rights They Have

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On September 5, 2017, the current Trump administration rescinded the program created in 2012 by former President Obama. According to the Migration Policy Institute, there are 22,000 young Filipino unauthorized children who are eligible for DACA but only 27 percent, or nearly 6,000, applied for it with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Not too many Filipinos filed for DACA compared with other minority immigrant population due to several factors, including fear of deportation and hesitation to submit critical information to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Most also are apprehensive about possible repercussions on their undocumented parents.

The term “deferred action” in immigration law context refers to the discretionary act, through the recommendation of the Department of Homeland Security, not to prosecute or deport a noncitizen. It is an administrative choice to give some cases lower priority and is not an entitlement. So if deferred action no longer exists for the DACA recipients, they will lose their protection from removal/deportation.

The way DACA was rescinded came with three fundamental elements: first, there is a 6-month period before actual termination to allow certain DACA recipients to renew the their employment authorization for another 2 years or until 2019; secondly, the renewal period is only one month, with October 5, 2017 as the deadline to file for DACA renewal; lastly, although DACA recipients are low in priority for deportation it is not a guarantee that they will not be put in removal proceedings.

For these reasons, the following tips are for all DACA recipients:

5 Things to Know About DACA Now

1. If You Do Not Have DACA or a DACA Application Pending.

DACA program has been terminated beginning September 5, 2017 and new applications are no longer being accepted by USCIS.

2. If You Have DACA That Expires on or Before March 5, 2018.

If you have DACA and a work permit that expires on or before March 5, 2018, you can apply for a 2-year renewal, but your application must be received on or before October 5, 2017.

3. If You Have DACA That Expires After March 5, 2018.

There is only a 6-month window provided from September 5, 2017 to March 5, 2018. If your DACA and work permit expire after March 5, 2018, you are no longer eligible for an extension. This means that your DACA, work authorization, and protection from deportation will expire on the date shown on your DACA approval notice and work permit.

4. If You Have a DACA Application Pending.

Before the announcement on September 5, 2017, there are certain DACA applications that were filed for extensions. If you have a DACA application that was received at USCIS on or before September 5, 2017, your application will continue to be processed.

5. If You Have DACA and a Valid Advance Parole Travel Document.

Although there are advance paroles that are still valid for travel, given the recent rescission, DACA recipients should desist from traveling unless it is for urgent reason. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents may still refuse entry to you at their discretion.

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5 Tips on What Not To Do

1.Do not lose hope.

While you are not American at birth, you are very much an American in heart and mind by assimilation. You have a lot to give to this country, so hang in there as compassionate members of your community support and work hard to advocate for your protection before the U.S Congress.

2. Do not get yourself in trouble with the law.

Remember, do not commit any unlawful act that will give ICE the opportunity to use it against you. Stay out of trouble, as you always do.

3. Do not give up on other options.

Explore other legal options that may be applicable to you. Who knows, there might be an available family or employment petition that you may be eligible for. Talk to a professional legal counsel.

4. Do not be too trusting.

Do not divulge personal information about your DACA case to people you don’t know.

Talk only to people you trust. Since you are vulnerable at this point, there may be people who are tempted to take advantage of you. Be careful on who you trust.

5. Do not give up your rights.

Understand your rights, and know how to assert them when ICE comes knocking at your door. Even if you are without legal authorization, you still have rights under the law.

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5 Tips In Case of ICE Arrest

DACA applications submitted to U.S. Department of Homeland Security contain personal information that may be used against the applicants if this information is submitted to ICE for enforcement. Although, the Trump administration stated that DACA recipients are low in priority for enforcement, an understanding of one’s rights during an encounter with an ICE agent is important. The following are tips about the of DACA recipients and how they can protect themselves.

1. Right to Privacy: Do Not Open Your Doors

ICE cannot enter your home without a warrant signed by a judge. Ask the ICE agent to slide the signed warrant under the door. Without a properly signed warrant, you should not allow them inside your home.

2. Right to Remain Silent

Tell the ICE agent that you are exercising this right: “I am exercising my fifth amendment right and choose to remain silent until I speak to my attorney.”

3. Right to Counsel

Do not sign any document without first speaking to an attorney.

4. Right to Contact Your Consulate

While DACA recipients have no contact with their homeland, consulates of countries of their birth, like Philippine Consulates, may be able provide assistance in limited ways.

5. Right to a Hearing

In case ICE apprehends and detains you, you have a due process right to a hearing and you should not to be immediately returned to your country of birth. Call your legal counsel.

(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco is a San Francisco based immigration lawyer and immigrant’s right advocate. She is the principal at the Tancinco Law Offices and may be reached at law@tancinco.com, facebook.com/tancincolaw, or 1 888 930 0808)

*This article originally appeared in Positively Filipino Magazine. 

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End of DACA puts at risk up to 6,000 young Filipino recipients

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There are approximately 22,000 young Filipino immigrants who are eligible to apply for benefits under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Only 27 percent of those eligible applied, or approximately 6,000. The rest of these young Filipino immigrants continue to wait for permanent solution to their status. With the announcement that President Donald Trump is ending the DACA program will those who took advantage of the DACA program be arrested and eventually be deported?

Unfortunately, those who are just in the process of filing their DACA applications for the first time, will no longer be able to do so. This will affect those who just became eligible to apply for DACA and those who took time or postponed the filing of their DACA applications despite the fact that they were eligible. After September 5, 2017, USCIS will no longer accept new DACA applications.

Future of DACA recipients

There is a short window afforded to existing DACA recipients to renew their expiring DACA employment authorization documents (EAD) if these EADs are expiring between September 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018. The request for renewal and application for employment authorization document must be received by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services no later than October 5, 2017. This is an important deadline because USCIS will reject all requests to renew ACA and associated applications for EADs filed after October 5, 2017.

Once the application for renewal is adjudicated, USCIS is expected to renew it for another two year period or until 2019. Unfortunately, for those whose DACA benefits are expiring after March 5, 2018, once their employment authorization document expires, USCIS will no longer be able to accept and adjudicate their applications for renewal. This means that beginning March 6, 2018, there will be DACA recipients who will be deprived of their protected status and will be reverted to their unlawful status.

Will DACA recipients be deported?

It was clearly mentioned during the announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that the DACA recipients are not considered priority for enforcement. While this may sound favorable, there is no guarantee that ICE will not issue Notices to Appear for removal hearings. The USCIS confirmed that it will not share information obtained through DACA applications with the ICE agents. However, it is important to note that unless ICE is requesting that information based on certain factors like national security, public safety and fraud, the information may still be shared for enforcement. It will still be best for this DACA recipients to be vigilant about their situation and to be familiar with their rights especially their rights to a hearing and their right to counsel.

Congressional action

Terminating the DACA program within 6 months will afford the U.S. Congress time to enact a law benefitting the DACA recipients. At present there are two bills pending, the Dream Act (S.1615) before the Senate and the American Hope Act (H.R.3591) before the House of Representatives.

If these bills are passed into law, it will provide permanent solutions to protect DACA recipients and give them a pathway to lawful status. These young immigrants will have to take steps to ensure that they are safe from removal.

We also encourage compassionate members of our community, who believe that DACA recipients deserve a chance to build their lives in the country they call home, to work together towards the passage of the Dream Act by contacting their representatives in Congress.

(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco is a San Francisco based immigration lawyer and immigrant’s right advocate. She may be reached at law@tancinco.com, facebook.com/tancincolaw, or 1 888 930 0808)

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Recent changes to the H1B visa program are still favorable

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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on November 18, 2016 published changes to the H1B program affecting highly skilled workers, and these changes took effect on January 17, 2017. Most of these changes affect those who already have H1B visas and have pending immigrant visa petitions with no available visas.

“Isabela” entered the United States on an H1B visa. She is an engineer who works on different development projects for her U.S. employer. Prior to sixth year H1B expiration, her U.S. employer was able to file a labor certification application and an immigrant visa petition. She has a priority date of 2015 on her immigrant visa petition and a visa is not yet available for Filipino nationals.

The visa bulletin for the month of February 2017 indicates that the visa priority date under the Philippines is 2011 and filing date priority date is 2013. Every year, Isabela’s employer files for a one-year extension of her H1B visa.

She heard about the changes in H1B program that took effect on January 17, 2017. Can she benefit from these changes? If she decides to leave her present employer, will she be able to use the prior approved immigrant visa if this already withdrawn by the employer? What options does she have?

No automatic revocation
In several cases where the employee decides to change employers, the first petitioning employer would take the adverse step of withdrawing the approved petition filed on behalf of an H1B visa holder. And in unfortunate cases, because of the lengthy wait for a priority date to become current, there are times where the petitioner’s business closes for valid reasons resulting in revocation of the immigrant visa petition.

With the recent amendment to the regulations, the USCIS will no longer treat an immigrant visa petition as automatically revoked based on withdrawal by the petitioner or termination of the petitioner’s business. This change applies to those whose petitions have been approved for 180 days or more. Hence, for some employers who may have malevolent plans of getting back at their employees for moving to another employer, there will no longer be an automatic revocation.

The USCIS set conditions for the non-automatic revocation to apply. The rule clearly states that as long as the approval has not been revoked for fraud, material misrepresentation, invalidation or revocation of a labor certification, or material USCIS error, the petition will continue to be valid for various purposes including (1) retention of priority dates; (2) job portability under INA §204(j) and (3) extensions of status under AC21 §§ 104(c) and 106(a) and (b).

Three-year extension after sixth year
Considering that immigrant visas are not readily available because of numerical limitations imposed by law, the H1B employee may request for a three-year extension instead of a the one-year increment. The extension request must show proof that the immigrant visa classification is over- subscribed, which is always the case for employment-based petitions (EB3) for nationals of Philippines. However, if the priority date is at least one-year current, the extension will only be for one year.

Besides the above changes in the highly skilled H1B visa program and the employment- based petitions, there are more changes that would benefit H1B visa holders. For Isabela and those similarly situated, the changes above are significantly critical especially to Filipinos who have to bear a lengthy wait before immigrant visas are made available.

(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco is a San Francisco based immigration lawyer and may be reached at law@tancinco.com, tancinco.weareph.com/old, facebook/tancincolaw, or at 1 888 930 0808 or 415 397 0808)

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Will an undocumented person be ‘hassled’ on exit if he wants to leave US?

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There is never a day, since post-election 2016, that “immigration” is not mentioned in the daily news. Whether fear is created by uncertainty in the upcoming Trump administration or outright desperation resulting from the absence of an immigration reform law, a significant number whose status had expired have voluntarily departed for their homelands.

An immigrant from the San Francisco Bay Area sent me a letter regarding his friend who has been undocumented and who wants to leave the US:

Dear Atty. Lou:

A person was unfortunate in failing to obtain legal status through an employment petition is now tired of his staying here in the U.S. as an undocumented alien; so he has strongly decided to go home for good. He entered the U.S. as a visitor sometime in year 2000 and is now holding a valid passport in his name.

My questions are:
(1) What are the things he needs to do before or during his exit?
(2) Aside from his valid/unexpired Philippine passport in his name and a one-way plane ticket, are there any other documents he needs to prepare and have at hand to avoid hassle upon exit?
(3) Will he encounter problems/interrogations on his exit if he uses his current valid passport with no visa page?

Those who want to travel back to the Philippines after having made a firm decision to return home after several years of fruitless waiting for an opportunity to legalize, may do so with a valid unexpired Philippine passport. In some circumstances, an undocumented person may be issued a Philippine travel document by a Philippine Consulate General’s Office nearest his place of residence. This happens in cases of emergencies or when the individual is being removed from the country by the Department of Homeland Security. If there is still time to get a Philippine passport, it will still be appropriate to request for one and use it for traveling.

Generally, there is no need to inform the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services about the intended trip back to the homeland. The only time the USCIS should be notified is if the individual is availing of a voluntary departure relief in immigration court and has plans of returning to the US at a future time. Otherwise, there is no need to go through USCIS. Just go straight to the airport with the passport and one-way airline ticket.

The more serious concern is whether there will be trouble that may be encountered at the airport with the federal agents. My most common response to this is that there should be no problem because USCIS wants you to leave anyway as you have been in unlawful status and the federal agents will not stop you from doing so. However, there are times that a departing individual will be stopped from traveling at the airport. This happens when the individual is the subject of a pending investigation for a probable criminal offense, is a fugitive from justice or has a validly issued warrant of arrest.

For those who decide to depart but still have future plans of one day returning to the US, it is best to explore their options and not close all the doors to their possible return. Who knows, it may be different after four years.

(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco is a San Francisco CA based immigration attorney and may be reached at law@tancinco.com, tancinco.weareph.com/old , facebook/tancincolaw, or at 1 888 930 0808 or at 1 415 397 0808)

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DACA Dreamers win support from US solons, mayors

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SAN FRANCISCO — More than 750,000 DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) applicants have acquired approved employment authorization documents and are temporarily protected from removal.

But as of June 30, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reports that 7,941 approved DACA applications are from Filipino nationals who are now at risk of being deported if the Trump administration takes immediate action to revoke the DACA program.

“Jose” entered the United States when he was five years old. He does not remember the details of his family’s entry to the United States. He was not even aware that he was unlawfully in the U.S. until he applied for his driver’s license when he was 16 years old. He is now 25 years old and availed of the DACA program. When he applied for a job as a computer engineer in Silicon Valley, he was hired right away and has now been working for three years.

Realizing that President-elect Trump may take action on DACA after inauguration, he asked me about the risk of losing his employment authorization document and his state identification card. He was very emotional as he expressed his fear: “I do not want to be back to a situation where I have no legal document at all. Please tell me that they are not taking away my employment permit and IDs.”

At the present time, there is no definite response to Jose’s question. Although President-elect Trump seems to have softened his stance on young undocumented immigrants in one of his public interviews, there are no indications that he will continue the DACA program of his predecessor.

On the other hand, the DACA population’s supporters are increasing nationwide. Before the end of the Congressional sessions this month, a bipartisan bill called “Bar Removal of Immigrants who Dream and Grow the Economy” or BRIDGE Act was introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois).

This bill would allow eligible individuals the chance to apply for “provisional protected present,” which is a temporary protection from deportation similar to that provided by DACA. As part of the temporary protection, employment authorization will be issued to the applicants. The policy behind BRIDGE Act is to protect the investment that American communities have made in educating these young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States at a young age and who are currently eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Aside from proposed bipartisan BRIDGE Act, 14 mayors joined Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel last week in a letter to President-elect Trump seeking support for the DACA program. Included as signatories to the letter are mayors of cities who believe that DACA helps foster economic growth and enhances public safety and national security.

According to the Emanuel letter, “ Eighty seven percent of DACA recipients are employed with American businesses. Six percent of DACA recipients started their own businesses, higher than the American public (3.1 percent). All of these things translate into higher wages and better economic outcomes.”

Jose is one of the 87 percent of DACA recipients working for a U.S. enterprise and contributing to the US economy. Unfortunately, his fear of reverting back to his former status as an individual in unlawful presence without a valid identification is real; and, until there is certainty on the future of the DACA program, this population remains in limbo.

With a lot of support for the DACA population, the hope is that the incoming Trump administration would reconsider its anti-immigrant rhetoric during his run to the election and that the US Congress would immediately pass the BRIDGE Act.

(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco is a partner at Tancinco Law Offices, a San Francisco based law firm and may be reached at law@tancinco.com, facebook.com/tancincolaw, tancinco.weareph.com/old or 1 888 930 0808.)

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USCIS Announces Final Rule Adjusting Immigration Benefit Application and Petition Fees

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a final rule published in the Federal Register today adjusting the fees required for most immigration applications and petitions. The new fees will be effective Dec. 23.

USCIS is almost entirely funded by the fees paid by applicants and petitioners for immigration benefits. The law requires USCIS to conduct fee reviews every two years to determine the funding levels necessary to administer the nation’s immigration laws, process benefit requests and provide the infrastructure needed to support those activities.

Fees will increase for the first time in six years, by a weighted average of 21 percent for most applications and petitions. This increase is necessary to recover the full cost of services provided by USCIS. These include the costs associated with fraud detection and national security, customer service and case processing, and providing services without charge to refugee and asylum applicants and to other customers eligible for fee waivers or exemptions.

The final rule contains a table summarizing current and new fees. The new fees will also be listed on the Our Fees page on our website. Form G-1055 will not reflect the new fees until the effective date. Applications and petitions postmarked or filed on or after Dec. 23 must include the new fees or USCIS will not be able to accept them.

“This is our first fee increase since November 2010, and we sincerely appreciate the valuable public input we received as we prepared this final rule,” said USCIS Director León Rodríguez. “We are mindful of the effect fee increases have on many of the customers we serve. That’s why we decided against raising fees as recommended after the fiscal year 2012 and 2014 fee reviews. However, as an agency dependent upon users’ fees to operate, these changes are now necessary to ensure we can continue to serve our customers effectively. We will also offer a reduced filing fee for certain naturalization applicants with limited means.”

Read more about the new fee schedule on the Our Fees page. Highlights follow:

  • A modest fee increase of $45, or 8 percent, from $595 to $640 for Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.
    • USCIS will offer a reduced filing fee of $320 for naturalization applicants with family incomes greater than 150 percent and not more than 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. For 2016, this means, for example, that a household of four with an income between $36,000 and $48,600 per year could pay the reduced fee. Those eligible may apply for this option using the new Form I-942, Request for Reduced Fee.
  • The fee for Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship, and N-600K, Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322, will increase from $550 or 600 to $1,170.
  • A new fee of $3,035 is required for Form I-924A, Annual Certification of Regional Center.
    In preparing the final rule, USCIS considered all 436 comments received during the 60-day public comment period for the proposed rule published May 4.