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 August 2024 edition of the Garfinkel Immigration news roundup:
What comes next? How the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn ‘Chevron deference’ impacts immigration
Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm published its newest white paper earlier this month.
In the paper, Associate Attorney Brian Daza analyzes the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn “Chevron deference” and its impacts on immigration.
“There are certain employment-based visa categories and/or their associated work authorization that could become more vulnerable after the reversal of Chevron,” Daza writes. “Conversely, applicants whose H or L visa petitions are denied by USCIS may have a clearer pathway to challenge those decisions without ‘Chevron deference’ in place by filing a lawsuit in federal court.”
Read the full white paper here.
Official details released about ‘Parole in Place’ program for undocumented spouses, stepchildren of U.S. citizens: What to know about eligibility criteria, application process and more
The official details about President Biden’s policy initiative which will allow certain undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to apply for legal permanent residency via “Parole in Place” were released earlier this month.
A notice, which was published in the Federal Register in mid-August, finalized the program’s eligibility criteria, application process, and more. Foreign nationals could begin submitting applications as of Monday, Aug. 19.
Meanwhile, 16 Republican-led states filed a lawsuit in late August in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas seeking a “temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to immediately suspend the program.”
“In court filings, the states assert that the program is illegal because it exceeds the discretion that the executive branch has to set policy,” according to the New York Times. “It also said that the program ran afoul of the law because it misused so-called parole, an authority exercised by the Homeland Security Department to allow people outside the United States to enter the country for urgent humanitarian reasons, on a case-by-case basis.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to defend the program in federal court while also continuing to process new Parole in Place applications, a spokesperson told the New York Times.
Learn more about the official details related to the “Parole in Place” program for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens. Find out more about the lawsuit filed in federal court via the New York Times.
Court ruling good news for H-1B spouses, employers and students
An appellate court in Washington, D.C., upheld that the “U.S. government can allow the spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in America while they wait for employment-based green cards,” as detailed in an article published by Forbes in early August.
“The court’s decision follows other favorable rulings for the spouses against an organization’s lawsuit that sought to end their ability to be employed in the U.S. labor market,” the Forbes story read. “The judges ruled the end of Chevron deference for federal agencies did not invalidate a previous court ruling for H-1B spouses.”
Find out more via Forbes here.
Immigrants are becoming U.S. citizens at fastest clip in years
This story from the New York Times documents the decreasing processing times for U.S. citizenship applications.
“At under five months, application processing speed is now on a par with 2013 and 2014,” the story from the Times read. “About 3.3 million immigrants have become citizens during President Biden’s time in office, with less than two months to go before the close of the 2024 fiscal year.”
The story adds that the processing times for a naturalization application in FY2021 was about 11.5 months.
“The Biden administration began deploying new technology and additional staff in 2022 to reduce the pending caseload of citizenship applications, which had ballooned because of heightened scrutiny by the Trump administration and protracted pandemic-related delays in conducting the swearing-in ceremonies,” the Times story read. “The Biden administration also shortened the naturalization application to 14 pages from 20. It raised the application fee in April to $710 from $640 but made it easier for low-income people to qualify for a discount.”
Read the full story from the New York Times here.
How growing up in the U.S. immigration system shapes how these young Americans vote
NPR spoke with “five young people under the age of 30 who have all existed within the immigration system” to discuss “how their upbringings affect their politics today,” in a Weekend Edition Sunday episode released in mid-August.
The five interviewees discussed the upcoming 2024 election, what they are looking for from their politicians, what voting means to them, and more.
“They always use (immigration) as a pawn,” one of the interviewees said. “We are not pawns. We are people.”
Read the full interview via NPR here.
Philippines to host a U.S. visa processing center for up to 300 Afghans resettling in America
The United States will open a visa processing center for “Afghan nationals aspiring to resettle in America,” the Associated Press detailed in a story published in late August.
Between 150-300 Afghan nationals will benefit from the processing center, according to the AP.
Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Teresita Daza told the AP that “the U.S. government will shoulder the costs for the stay of the Afghan nationals, including food, housing, security and medical and transportation expenses. She added that the U.S. government and the International Organization for Migration as manager of the unspecified facility where the Afghan visa applicants would be billeted, would ensure they have adequate social, educational, religious and other support.”
Read the full Associated Press story here.
Trump H-1B visa wage rule gives clue to second-term immigration policy
Forbes Senior Contributor Stuart Anderson detailed some potential immigration policies former President Donald Trump might enact if he is victorious in the 2024 election.
Anderson’s analysis is based off a 2020 rule from the Trump administration which would have raised “the required minimum salary for foreign-born professionals far beyond the pay of similar U.S. employees.” The rule did not take effect as it was vacated by the federal courts.
“Although critics of H-1B visas sometimes say they prefer foreign nationals to receive green cards rather than temporary visas, the DOL wage rule would also have priced many employment-based immigrants out of the labor market,” Anderson wrote. “The DOL prevailing wage rule applied to PERM applications used in the employment-based immigration process.”