Welcome to the Garfinkel Immigration news roundup, where every month we will summarize and provide links to the latest stories impacting U.S. immigration.
Below is the September 2022 edition of the Garfinkel Immigration news roundup:
Litigating immigration cases: An effective strategy in certain circumstances
The thought of filing a lawsuit against the United States is overwhelming and often paralyzing to most people, and reasonably so.
However, challenging the government’s visa petition denials and adjudication delays by filing a lawsuit in federal district court can be a viable and effective option in some cases.
Immigration-related litigation has proven to be an advantageous and cost-effective strategy for our clients in certain circumstances, as it typically requires no expensive and time-consuming depositions or discovery, and cases are often resolved prior to a final judicial adjudication.
The need to litigate usually arises after an application for an immigration benefit is either unreasonably delayed or arbitrarily denied by the U.S. immigration agency.
What is the F-1 student visa?
The most frequently used method for foreign nationals to attend a U.S. college, university or other academic institution is the F-1 student visa.
Foreign nationals are eligible for an F-1 visa if they are attempting to enter the country with the purposes of studying at a “Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified school,” which includes most United States colleges and universities.
To receive an F-1 visa, the foreign national must enroll in a full-time program that culminates in a degree or diploma from the U.S. college or university they are attending.
Learn more about the F-1 student visa here.
DHS issues final rule to rescind Trump’s “public charge” policy
The Department of State officially rescinded earlier this month a stringent interpretation of the “public charge rule” implemented during the Trump administration.
The move “restores the historical understanding of a public charge that had been in place for decades,” DHS said in a statement, and excludes “supplemental public health benefits” like Medicaid and nutritional assistance, from any public charge determination.
“This action ensures fair and humane treatment of legal immigrants and their U.S. citizen family members,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “Consistent with America’s bedrock values, we will not penalize individuals for choosing to access the health benefits and other supplemental government services available to them.”
White House plans to allow up to 125,000 refugees into US for 2023 fiscal year
The Biden administration is planning to admit as many as 125,000 refugees in fiscal year (FY) 2023, White House officials announced earlier this month.
The U.S. also set a cap of 125,000 last fiscal year but has so far admitted only 19,919 refugees in FY2022, as of Aug. 31, according to CNN.
“The U.S. had for years outpaced other countries in refugee admissions, allowing millions into the country since the Refugee Act of 1980,” the story from CNN read. “But the program took a hit under former President Donald Trump, who slashed the number of refugees allowed to come to the U.S. and put a series of limits in place curtailing who was eligible.”
The CNN story continued: “While admissions remain low and will not reach the cap of 125,000, the administration has admitted thousands of Afghans and Ukrainians through other legal avenues, outside of the refugee admissions process. Their admission doesn’t count toward the final refugee count.”
Klobuchar, Murkowski raise concerns over work permit delays
Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have inquired about work permit approval delays at United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The Senators said in a letter to USCIS obtained by the Roll Call that the delays “have kept Ukrainian refugees and other constituents out of work for months and aggravated workforce shortages.”
“The senators added that, while they appreciate the Biden administration has set goals to take in more refugees, USCIS must also have the necessary resources to reduce backlogs and process work authorization requests for those refugees and others on humanitarian protections,” the Roll Call reported earlier this month.
The Roll call story added: “The duo also alluded to ongoing workforce shortages. According to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were roughly 11.2 million open jobs in the U.S. at the end of July, while only 6.4 million people were hired into new jobs that month.”