DACA news

A rule took effect on October 31, 2022 regarding DACA applications and cases – but it is still limited by current court orders (specifically the injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas).

USCIS will continue to accept and process renewal DACA requests along with applications for advance parole for current DACA recipients.

Regarding new or initial DACA applications, USCIS will continue to accept these applications but cannot process them due to the court injunction.

If you have any further questions about DACA, please contact our office for a free consultation.

Work Permit + 540

For the past years, applications for work permit renewals under certain categories are issued automatic extensions of their current work permits for a period of 180 days.

A temporary final rule that became effective last May 4, 2022 increased that period to 540 days or an additional 360 days after the initial 180 days.

This temporary rule is only effective until October 26, 2023. After that date, the normal 180-day automatic extension period will apply.

If you are unsure if your work permit has an automatic extension, please call our office and we would gladly check for you and answer pertinent questions you may have.

Durante los últimos años, las aplicaciones de renovación de permisos de trabajo bajo ciertas categorías reciben extensiones automáticas de sus permisos de trabajo actuales por un período de 180 días.
Una regla final temporal que entró en vigencia el pasado 4 de mayo de 2022 aumentó ese período a 540 días o 360 días adicionales después de los 180 días iniciales.
Esta regla temporal solo es efectiva hasta el 26 de octubre de 2023. Después de esa fecha, se aplicará el período normal de extensión automática de 180 días.
Si no está seguro de si su permiso de trabajo tiene una extensión automática, llame a nuestra oficina y con gusto lo verificaremos y responderemos las preguntas pertinentes que pueda tener.

Citizenship Made Harder || Ciudadanía Hecha Más Difícil

On or after December 1, 2020, U.S. legal permanent residents (green card holders) who apply for citizenship through naturalization will be required to pass a more challenging test.

There are two main changes in the new rules:

1. The number of questions that one needs to study have been increased from 100 to 128

2. Applicants are now required to answer 20 questions and get 12 of them correct (previously 6 out of 10).

Furthermore, the previous rule allowed the examiner/officer to stop the questions once the applicant reaches 6 correct answers. Under the new rule, the officer must continue to ask all 20 questions even if the applicant t had already gotten 12 of them correct.

The rule for immigrants who are 65 years old or older and have been green card holders for at least 20 years remain the same – i.e. they will still be given the simplified test and would be required to correctly answer 6 out of 10 questions.

A partir del 1 de diciembre de 2020, los residentes legales permanentes de los EE. UU. (Titulares de la tarjeta verde) que soliciten la ciudadanía a través de la naturalización deberán aprobar una prueba más desafiante.

Hay dos cambios principales en las nuevas reglas:

  1. El número de preguntas que uno necesita estudiar se ha incrementado de 100 a 128.

2. Ahora se requiere que los solicitantes contesten 20 preguntas y acierten 12 de ellas (anteriormente, 6 de 10).


Además, la regla anterior permitía al examinador / oficial detener las preguntas una vez que el solicitante alcanzaba las 6 respuestas correctas. Bajo la nueva regla, el oficial debe continuar haciendo las 20 preguntas, incluso si el solicitante ya había contestado correctamente 12 de ellas.

La regla para los inmigrantes que tienen 65 años o más y han sido titulares de la tarjeta verde durante al menos 20 años sigue siendo la misma, es decir, se les seguirá aplicando la prueba simplificada y se les exigirá que respondan correctamente 6 de cada 10 preguntas.

To Vote or Not to Vote

If you are a US citizen and at least 18 years old, then you are eligible to vote. We hope you were able to exercise your right to vote or are planning to do so on Tuesday. Don’t forget to check your county so you have a smooth and relatively stress-free Election Day.

If you are not a US citizen (yet), please remember that you cannot vote and should not register to vote in the US. I have encountered several green card holders who mistakenly and/or unknowingly registered to vote. Most of these cases occur when you apply for a driver’s license or a state ID. The error is discovered only when they apply for naturalization or citizenship.

It is very easy to check if you are registered to vote. Go online and look for the voter registration page in the state where you reside so you can easily see if you have been registered (by mistake or otherwise). If you are still a green card holder, you can then write to the Secretary of State and request to be de-registered so this does not become an issue if you do decide to apply for naturalization or citizenship.

Please feel free to contact our office if you have any other questions about this.

Work Permits and August 25, 2020

Starting on this date, any person applying for an initial or renewal employment authorization or work permit with USCIS based on a pending asylum application or under the c8 category needs to (1) pay a biometrics fee, (2) use the new form or edition, and (3) wait for 365 days before they file an application for a work permit (for initial applications).

This is in accordance with the final rule issued by DHS modifying the rules on asylum, interviews and work authorizations based on a pending asylum application.

Rules and guidelines keep on changing under the Trump administration. Failure to follow these rules could spell unnecessary delays on any case. It is best to consult an immigration lawyer or expert so your application or case is handled properly.

Call our office if you have any questions and we would gladly extend any help we can give.

A partir de esta fecha, cualquier persona que solicite una autorización de empleo inicial o de renovación o un permiso de trabajo con USCIS basado en una solicitud de asilo pendiente o bajo la categoría c8 debe (1) pagar una tarifa biométrica, (2) usar el nuevo formulario o edición y (3) esperar 365 días antes de presentar una solicitud de permiso de trabajo (para solicitudes iniciales).

Esto está de acuerdo con la regla final emitida por DHS que modifica las reglas sobre asilo, entrevistas y autorizaciones de trabajo basadas en una solicitud de asilo pendiente.

Las reglas y pautas siguen cambiando bajo la administración Trump. El incumplimiento de estas reglas podría significar retrasos innecesarios en cualquier caso. Es mejor consultar a un abogado o experto en inmigración para que su solicitud o caso se maneje adecuadamente.

Llame a nuestra oficina si tiene alguna pregunta y con gusto le brindaremos cualquier ayuda que podamos brindarle.

USCIS Fee Increase

On July 31, 2020, USCIS posted for public inspection an advanced copy of a final rule that significantly alters the USCIS fee schedule by adjusting fees by a weighted average increase of 20 percent, adding new fees, establishing multiple fees for nonimmigrant worker petitions, and limiting the number of beneficiaries for certain forms.

The rule also removes certain fee exemptions, changes fee waiver requirements, alters premium processing time limits, and modifies certain intercountry adoption processing. The rule will be published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2020, and will be effective 60 days from the date of publication (October 2, 2020).

Significant changes include a $50 filing fee for asylum applications. There was no previous fee.

I601A Waiver Applications would now cost $960 (previous fee: $630) excluding biometrics fees.

N400 or citizenship applications would cost $1,170 (previous fee: $640) excluding biometrics fees. This is an increase of 83%.

This is the second time that USCIS has increased or changed their fees under the Trump administration.

Immigration Court Status

As of today, only the Honolulu Immigration Court has resumed conducting hearings in non-detained cases.

The Boston, Buffalo, Dallas, Hartford, Las Vegas, Memphis, and New Orleans Immigration Courts will resume hearings in non-detained cases on Monday, June 29, 2020.

All other courts are expected to open on July 6, 2020.

If you have a court hearing, please call the hotline to check on your case if it has been postponed or reset. The number to call is 1(800)898-7180.

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A partir de hoy, solo el Tribunal de Inmigración de Honolulu ha reanudado la realización de audiencias en casos no detenidos. Los Tribunales de Inmigración de Boston, Buffalo, Dallas, Hartford, Las Vegas, Memphis y Nueva Orleans reanudarán las audiencias en casos de no detenidos el lunes 29 de junio de 2020. Se espera que todos los demás tribunales se abran el 6 de julio de 2020. Si usted Si tiene una audiencia en la corte, llame a la línea directa para verificar su caso si ha sido pospuesto o reiniciado. El número para llamar es 1 (800) 898-7180.

El sueño sigue vivo.

In a decision written by Chief Justice Roberts, the Supreme Court ruled today that the Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) when they ended the DACA program.

We are waiting for guidelines from USCIS because of this decision. For now, current DACA holders continue to be able to renew their work permits. It is our hope that new applicants who were not able to apply for DACA when the Trump administration stopped the program in 2017 will finally be able to file for their applications.

We will keep you updated of any developments.

Here is a link to the decision of the Supreme Court.

Did you find love abroad?


As a US citizen, you can bring your fiancé to the United States with the intention of living and marrying here under a K1 visa. With this visa, your fiancé can come to the United States and marry your within a 90-day period.

If you have already married someone abroad, you can either bring your spouse to the US through an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative or with a K3 visa.

Each of these options have their own advantages and benefits. If you want to learn more, please contact our office and we can schedule a free consultation for you at the soonest possible time.

USCIS Fingerprinting/Biometrics Appointments

USCIS has temporarily suspended biometrics appointments and other routine in-person services while continuing to perform services that do not require any contact with the public.

This means that applications can still be filed with USCIS by mail. If your application requires biometrics, USCIS will send you a notice once they resume full operations.
In some cases, USCIS can re-use previously taken biometrics and your application can still proceed within normal processing times.

For any questions about your case, please call our office at (646) 253-0515 or (856) 282-6955.

USCIS ha suspendido temporalmente las citas biométricas y otros servicios de rutina en persona mientras continúa prestando servicios que no requieren ningún contacto con el público.

Esto significa que las solicitudes aún se pueden presentar ante el USCIS por correo. Si su solicitud requiere datos biométricos, USCIS le enviará un aviso una vez que reanuden las operaciones completas.

En algunos casos, USCIS puede reutilizar los datos biométricos previamente tomados y su solicitud aún puede continuar dentro de los tiempos de procesamiento normales.

Para cualquier pregunta sobre su caso, llame a nuestra oficina al (646) 253-0515 o (856) 282-6955.