Immigration policies and procedures continue to evolve, and recent announcements from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may significantly affect how certain individuals pursue lawful permanent residence in the United States. For many immigrants and families in Los Angeles, California, one of the most important developments involves USCIS's renewed emphasis on requiring certain applicants to […]

Since the enactment of Section 204(l) in 2009, USCIS has issued official guidance to implement the provisions of the “Surviving Relatives Law.” USCIS has amended the USCIS' Adjudicators' Field Manual (AFM) to provide consistency in adjudications under the Surviving Relatives Law at USCIS offices throughout the Country.  USCIS has been taking immediate action on many […]

This week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be sponsoring nearly 40 naturalization ceremonies nationwide, and people with a history of serving in the military (as well as their spouses) will be honored during these Veterans’ Day naturalization ceremonies. According to the USCIS press release regarding these ongoing naturalization ceremonies, more than 3,000 people […]

As of June 1, 2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will no longer be granting extensions for Reports of Medical Examination and Vaccination Records (Form I-693). This change is negating a policy that, since 2002, allowed for extensions to be granted on a case-by-case basis. In effect, the potential for extension could allow medical exams […]

The perpetrators of one of the largest immigration fraud schemes being run out of the Los Angeles area in recent years have been sentenced to prison, reports the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). According to the USCIS press release, the San Gabriel consulting firm operating this massive, ongoing immigration fraud operation was known as […]

Four Kenyan nationals who were convicted of committing immigration fraud, marriage fraud and visa fraud in November 2013 have recently been sentenced to prison for their role in trying to fraudulently obtain rights to legally be in the U.S. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) takes immigration and visa fraud extremely seriously, and its […]

An ongoing series of columns on KCET.org is intended to shed light on various laws and regulations that have had a strong impact on the development of Los Angeles. “Laws That Shaped L.A.” has looked at everything from a local law that requires helipads on tall buildings to the federal Clean Air Act. It is […]

Further developing case law to interpret the meaning of statutory changes brought about by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ("IIRIRA") the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") decided a case last week that purports to delineate the meaning of "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" for cancellation of removal. The BIA's decision […]

Recently, the US DOL announced its intent to automatically audit every PERM Labor Certification case a large "national" immigration law firm has filed and will file, due to inappropriate participation in the recruitment process on the part of the firm's attorneys. Since March 2005, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has been processing Permanent Labor […]

Although attorneys take an oath upon admission to the bar to zealously advocate on behalf of their clients, I have heard an overwhelming number of stories in which potential clients depict their attorneys' actions and statements in meetings as completely adverse to their cause. Instead of listening with empathy and compassion to a prospective client's […]