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According to multiple media sources and independently confirmed, last week U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter seeking co-sponsors to a process called the Congressional Review Act…
Continue Reading U.S. Senator Paul Seeks to Overturn Recent Obama-Era EB-5 Regulations

On April 9, 2019, Rep. González-Colón (R-PR-At Large) introduced H.R.2173 – a bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reserve EB-5 visas each fiscal year for investors in…
Continue Reading New Bill Introduced to Use Economic Abilities of EB-5 to Assist Disaster Recovery in Declared National Disaster Areas

After 35 days of closure, with multiple House bills debated and passed, and Senate bills debated, President Trump called a press conference the afternoon of Jan. 25 relating to ending…
Continue Reading UPDATE: Government Lapse of Appropriations and Shutdown Status

On Sept. 5, 2017, Attorney General (AG) Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump Administration will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).  DACA is a mode of temporary relief given to children (now college-aged or older) who entered the United States without inspection with their parents and allowed them to apply for temporary work authorization if they met certain criteria. This policy was established through an Executive Order issued June 2012 by the Obama Administration. Since then, DACA has undergone scrutiny and much debate, and with the change of administrations, it has been clear that this policy would change, if not end.

AG Jeff Sessions announced that DACA will end, with a wind-down process overseen by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  Effective immediately, the following will happen as per the recently released DHS memo:

  • DHS will adjudicate, on a case by case basis, initial requests that have been accepted as of today (Sept. 5).
  • After today (Sept. 5), DHS will reject all DACA first-time applications.
  • DHS will adjudicate all properly-filed renewal applications as of today, and will continue to adjudicate applications for those whose benefits will expire by March 5, 2018. Those applications will only be accepted until Oct. 5, 2017. All other renewal requests will be rejected.
  • Current approvals and valid employment authorization document (EAD) cards will not be revoked and will remain valid until the expiration dates.
  • No new advance parole (AP) applications (an AP is permission to travel) will be accepted or approved and current/pending AP applications will be closed (fees refunded). Currently, valid Advance Parole will still be valid and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will retain the discretion to admit a person based on the AP.
  • Discretion will be retained by DHS to terminate or deny deferred action at any time deemed appropriate.
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will not provide this information proactively to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP for enforcement proceedings, but this policy may be modified.

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Continue Reading Attorney General Jeff Sessions Announces the Rescission of DACA

Today, September 28, both the House and Senate have approved short-term federal spending legislation that contains an extension for the EB-5 Regional Center Program.  The legislation extends the EB-5 Regional…
Continue Reading Congressional Spending Legislation Containing an Extension for the EB-5 Regional Center Program Passed in the House and Senate

Immigration Policy is broken.  We all agree.  How should we fix it and why haven’t we been able to fix it over the last two decades?   There is a multifaceted

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Continue Reading The Logic of Immigration Policy Reform – It’s about People and That’s why the Policy is so Difficult