USCIS Issues Policy Guidance on Interview Waiver Criteria for Family-Based Conditional Permanent Residents
USCIS issued policy guidance stating that USCIS officers may consider waiving an interview in conditional permanent resident cases if an applicant meets certain requirements and updating interview waiver criteria to eliminate automatic referrals in certain cases. A noncitizen who obtains permanent resident status based on a marriage that began less than two years before obtaining that status receives permanent resident status on a conditional basis for two years. To remove the conditions on permanent resident status, family-based conditional permanent residents generally must file a Form I-751 within the 90-day period before the two-year anniversary of when they obtained conditional permanent resident status.
DHS Announces Registration Process for Temporary Protected Status for Ukraine and Sudan
To be eligible under the Ukraine designation, individuals must demonstrate their continuous residence in the United States since April 11, 2022, and continuous physical presence in the United States since the designation date in the Federal Register notice. USCIS estimates 59,600 currently in the United States individuals may be eligible for TPS under the designation of Ukraine. Ukrainian nationals currently outside the United States are not eligible for TPS under this designation, and they will not become eligible by relocating to the United States in the coming weeks. Ukrainians are encouraged instead to apply for a visa or other legal pathway at a U.S. consulate abroad. To be eligible under the Sudan designation, individuals must demonstrate their continuous residence in the United States since March 1, 2022, and continuous physical presence in the United States since the designation date in the Federal Register notice.
USCIS issuing Employment Authorization Cards without Advance Parole Travel Authorization
In 2011, USCIS announced that they would begin issuing employment and travel authorization on a single “combo” card for those green card applicants already living lawfully in the United States and filing an adjustment of status (AOS) application. By combining the documents, USCIS enabled applicants to carry a single document that was more durable and secure than the previous advance parole (AP) document. USCIS has stopped issuing combo cards to reduce growing employment authorization document (EAD) backlogs that have created employment interruptions for applicants. Because the two documents will now be sent to you separately, you may receive your EAD card before your AP document.
United States Will Welcome Up to 100,000 Ukrainian Refugees
On March 25, 2022, President Biden announced that the United States would accept up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine and donate $1 billion to help European countries facing a humanitarian crisis not seen on the continent since the end of World War II. White House officials said that the refugees would be received through “the full range of legal pathways,” including the U.S. refugee admissions program, which leads to permanent residence, or a green card. Others may be granted visas or “humanitarian parole,” a temporary form of entry offered to displaced people in wartime and other emergencies.
Can a Writ of Mandamus Expedite your Immigration Case?
Is your immigration case being unreasonably delayed? Do you believe that USCIS has failed to make a timely decision on your case? If you have a current immigration case with USCIS that has been pending for an unreasonable amount of time, please schedule a call with our office to discuss your eligibility to file a Writ of Mandamus to force immigration to make a decision on your case.