NY VISA LAWYER

Prepare For Your Naturalization Interview The civics portion of the naturalization test is an oral test. The USCIS officer will ask you up to 10 questions from the list of 100 civics test questions. You must answer 6 questions correctly to pass the civics test. Naturalization Civics Test The Government's weird study guide for the test that they call " A More Perfect Union ."  All 100 Civics Questions in English  All 100 questions in Spanish  100 Preguntas y Respuestas de Educación Cívica All 100 questions in Chinese 100題公民問題和答案 *You will have to take the test in English unless you qualify for an exemption . (or the 65/20 special considerations which use these questions ).  *You can apply for a medical disability exemption by filing this Form N-648 WITH your N-400 application.  Other Sites I'd note that these practice tests are easy to access and seem to be accurate from wheat I've seen, but, they are not from the official USCIS.gov website or any other U....

Senators voted 50-47 to overturn the rule , with two Democrats joining all of the chamber's Republicans. The Senate passed a measure Wednesday to cancel a Biden administration immigration rule that scaled back the number of benefits that would be counted against immigrants when applying for permanent residency in the United States.  According to the current rule, immigration officers would look at “the receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization at government expense” in an effort to evaluate if a person would become a “public charge” who is ineligible to become a permanent resident.

Matter of CANCINOS-MANCIO, 28 I&N Dec. 708 (BIA 2023)  Matter of CANCINOS-MANCIO, 28 I&N Dec. 708 (BIA 2023) - Under the modified categorical approach, an Immigration Judge may consider the transcript of a plea colloquy in determining the factual basis of a plea. "The transcript of the respondent’s change of plea hearing demonstrates that the factual basis for the respondent’s amended plea was for an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon under section 13-1204(A)(2) of the Arizona Revised Statutes, in which the underlying assault was committed by intentionally placing another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury under section 13-1203(A)(2). The respondent contends that this offense does not require the level of force necessary to constitute a crime of violence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 16(a). The Ninth Circuit, however, has held that a conviction for aggravated assault under sections 13-1203(A)(2) and 13-1204(A)(2) of the Arizona Revised Statutes ...

  Matter of GARCIA , 28 I&N Dec. 693 (BIA 2023) For choice of law purposes, the controlling circuit law in Immigration Court proceedings is the law governing the geographic location of the Immigration Court where venue lies, namely where jurisdiction vests and proceedings commence upon the filing of a charging document, and will only change if an Immigration Judge subsequently grants a change of venue to another Immigration Court. Matter of R-C-R-, 28 I&N Dec. 74 (BIA 2020), clarified. Link to Decisions. 

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Naturalization Test Redesign Friday, April 28, 2023 | 2-3 p.m. Eastern U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is holding a "national engagement" on Friday , April 28 , 2023 , from 2 - 3 p.m. Eastern , to allow people to, "learn more about the nationwide trial tests for the naturalization test redesign initiative." This is according to an email sent out by USCIS on April 11, 2023. 

  New Process Allows Special Immigrant Juveniles to File Form I-360 in Person Before Their 21st Birthday

 As of March 30, 2023, there are new lockbox addresses for the following forms: I-130, Petition for Alien Relative ;  I-131, Application for Travel Document ; I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant ; I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status ; and I-765, Application for Employment Authorization . The Phoenix Lockbox address has been updated too for FedEx, UPS, and DHL only (U.S. Postal Service remains the same).    See USCIS'  Lockbox Filing Locations Updates page for more information. This may affect you if you are filing any of the following: Family-based visa petition Marriage visa Advance Parole Employment Authorization (EAD) SIJS VAWA Petition Adjustment of Status (AOS) / Green Card Application

 USCIS issued a new form ( Form N-426 ) to be used for confirmation of military service for people currently serving in the U.S. armed forces and seek an immigration benefit in connection to their service. TWO CHANGES ANNOUNCED 1. New USCIS Form for applicants who have served in the U.S. armed forces. 2. Changes to questions on the Form N-400 , Application for Naturalization relating to service in the U.S. armed forces, effective March 23, 2023.  USCIS sent out an email and posted this update on the uscis.gov website stating: Effective immediately, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)  issued the new Form N-426 , Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service, and policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual stating that only applicants for naturalization under Section 328 or Section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) who are currently serving in the U.S. armed forces are required to file Form N-426 with their Form N-400 , Application f...

 An estimated 20,000 Ukrainians that were given special permission to enter the U.S. with humanitarian parole last year are days away from the expiration date of their status.   There is no mechanism in place at the moment for Ukrainians to renew their parole or seek an extension. The future is uncertain for Ukrainians in this situation. DHS has not provided any information on this. President Biden said he intends on extending the program which originally got them parole but so far this has not been done and there is no word as to when it is expected to be announced.  See Associated Press article detailing this situation. 

Brazil reintroduces visa requirements for tourists from US, Australia, Canada, Japan beginning on Oct. 1 Brazil is reintroducing the requirement to obtain tourist visas for citizens of the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Japan starting Oct. 1, the foreign ministry said. Former president Jair Bolsonaro had scrapped the visa requirements in 2019 to bolster the country’s tourism industry, but the four countries continued to demand visas from Brazilians. The decision to grant the visa exemptions had represented "a break with the pattern of Brazilian migration policy, historically based on the principles of reciprocity and equal treatment," the foreign ministry said in a statement released quietly late Monday. "Brazil does not grant unilateral exemption from visiting visas, without reciprocity, to other countries," the ministry said, while noting that the government is ready to negotiate visa waiver agreements on a reciprocal basis. Before the pandemic hit, Br...

  G-1055, Fee Schedule New USCIS Fee Schedule (Filing Fees) March 15, 2023      Find the official USCIS Fee Schedule on their website at: tinyurl.com/2023USCISFees

 Waiving visa interviews in the U.S. and at consulates, more H2B visas, and more visas being processed at the consulates by fewer consular officers.  USCIS & DOS claim to be taking major steps to reduce visa wait times in 2023.  They recently announced the following new steps in an "update bulletin" on the @USCISImmigrationUpdates (not official) Youtube channel : USCIS is going to waive visa interviews whenever possible.  Processing more H2B an Student Visas, to help stabilize migration patterns. Processing more visas with fewer consular officers, waiving interviews for those who aren't first time visa applicants when possible. These update videos are NOT posted by USCIS or affiliated with any Government agency. I'm do not know how accurate this is, so do your own research regarding this channel yourself.  https://www.youtube.com/@USIMMIGRATIONUPDATES/about Disclaimer: This channel is not owned by an any US Government Agency or an Immigration attorney. Th...

  Biden's Proposed Asylum Ban Will Deny Individuals the Meaningful Ability to Seek Protection The rule may even violate international law as the U.S. will be refusing to provide adequate protections to individuals that may be in serious danger of a persecution in their home country and are entitled to protections under  The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ("CAT"). The proposed rule that bans individuals from applying for asylum in the U.S. if they passed through Mexico on their way to the U.S. could have a significant impact on asylum seekers' ability to seek protection in the U.S. There are several ways in which this rule could deprive individuals of the meaningful ability to seek protection: It would limit access to the asylum process: By barring individuals who passed through Mexico from applying for asylum in the U.S., the rule would effectively close the door to the asylum process for many p...

 Pereira v. Sessions, 138 S. Ct. 2105 (2018), and Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 141 S. Ct. 1474 (2021), are inapplicable to proceedings initiated by a Notice to Applicant for Admission Detained for Hearing Before Immigration Judge (“Form I-122”) and other charging documents issued prior to the effective date of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Division C of Pub. L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009- 546. Matter of Arambula-Bravo, 28 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2021), followed. LINK TO THE DECISION

USCIS Policy Manual updated to calculate CSPA age based on date of filing. Update Posted on the USCIS Website, February 14, 2023. USCIS issued updated guidance regarding when an immigrant visa number “becomes available” for the purpose of calculating a noncitizen’s age under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).  Prior to this, USCIS considered a child’s age “frozen” if a visa number was available under the Final Action Date Chart of the Visa Bulletin at the time the I-485 application was filed. If a visa number was not available under the Final Action Date Chart of the Visa Bulletin, they may still be eligible to file their application for adjustment of status (to obtain a green card)based on the Dates for Filing Chart of the Visa Bulletin. In that scenario, a noncitizen may file their application when the Dates for Filing Chart indicated but ultimately not be eligible because the Final Action Date Chart did not advance sufficiently Under the USCIS Policy Manual as updat...

  New York State does allow for these immigration assistance services to operate providing limited services, but it is regulated by NY law and THEY ARE NOT PERMITTED TO PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE.  There are registration requirements and requirements for how they advertise, post notices, inform clients of their rights, and there is a list of services they cannot offer.   These service providers must hold a surety bond in the amount of $50,000 to protect clients who may be harmed by their services, and they are subject to fines and other legal action for violating those guidelines. 

DHS Fact Sheet Implementation of the Credible Fear and Asylum Processing Interim Final Rule From DHS Website LINK , LINK On May 31, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) began implementing a rule to ensure that those subject to expedited removal who are eligible for asylum are granted relief quickly, and those who are not are promptly removed. Due to existing court backlogs, the process for hearing and deciding these asylum cases currently takes several years on average. By establishing a process for the efficient and thorough review of asylum claims, implementation of the rule will help reduce existing immigration court backlogs and will shorten the process to several months. Interim Final Rule The March 2022 interim final rule (IFR) titled “Procedures for Credible Fear Screening and Consideration of Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and CAT Protection Claims by Asylum Officers” (sometimes referred to as the Asylum Officer Rule) authorize...

  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) sent out an email blast today letting everyone know that starting today they will be issuing newly designed Green Cards and Employment Authorization Cards with "state-of-the-art technology to safeguard national security and improve service for...customers." USCIS issued a press release January 30, 2023, regarding the newly designed cards. The new designs for these cards are meant to increase security and reduce fraud, presumably making them more difficult to counterfeit. Images of the new designs were posted by USCIS on their Instagram and Twitter pages. The new design for these cards include several new security features. These features are described to be state-of-the-art technologies to prevent fraud and counterfeiting. The new design features include: Improved detailed artwork; New tactile printing that is better integrated with the artwork; Enhanced optically variable ink; Highly secure holographic images on the fr...

  Matter of CHEN , 28 I&N Dec. 676 (BIA 2023) ID 4057  (PDF) (1) The “stop-time” rule under section 240A(d)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1229b(d)(1), is not triggered by the entry of a final removal order, but rather only by service of a statutorily compliant notice to appear or the commission of specified criminal offenses, in accordance with the plain language statutory analysis provided in  Niz-Chavez v. Garland , 141 S. Ct. 1474 (2021) ( pdf ). (2) Breaks in physical presence under section 240A(d)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1229b(d)(2), continue to be interpreted as distinct from termination of physical presence under the stop-time rule.   Matter of Mendoza-Sandino , 22 I&N Dec. 1236 (BIA 2000)( pdf ),  followed . (3) A respondent claiming a fundamental change in law as the basis for seeking sua sponte reopening must also establish prima facie eligibility for the relief sought.   Mat...