Poll Results Reveal Majority of Americans Support Path to Citizenship for Immigrants
The Pew Research Center recently conducted a poll of 2,002 Americans and their opinions on immigration reform. The poll results show that 72% of Americans, regardless of political leanings, believe that undocumented immigrants in the United States should be offered a path to pursue citizenship or permanent residency.
The poll revealed clear divisions between parties on certain issues; for instance, 63% of Republicans said immigrants are a burden on the U.S. economy while 62% percent of Democrats said that immigrants strengthen the U.S. through hard work and talent. Overall, however, a clear majority of Americans support a legal path to citizenship or permanent residency for undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States.
Immigration reform is one of the more divisive issues between political parties and one of the biggest points of discussion in the 2016 presidential race. Though a majority of Republicans polled support legalization, Republicans in Congress and most current presidential contenders continue to lean right on the issue and reject legalization. Democrat presidential contenders like Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley support a path to legalization, a left leaning position which – according to the Pew’s poll results – actually represents the majority American opinion.
Full poll results are available online: http://www.people-press.org/2015/06/04/broad-public-support-for-legal-status-for-undocumented-immigrants/.
USCIS to Revisit Special Immigrant Juvenile Cases: Letters Going Out this Month
In April 2015, the settlement agreement in Perez-Olano determined that USCIS would revisit certain Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) cases that were denied, revoked, or terminated on or after December 15, 2010. SIJ petitioners whose cases were denied, revoked, or terminated during that time should review the criteria in the settlement agreement and, if their case qualifies, send a request to USCIS to reopen their case. USCIS must mail letters to all qualifying applicants by the end of July 2015. Petitioners must send their request to reopen their SIJ case by June 15, 2018.
H2-B Cap Reached for Second Half of Fiscal Year 2015
On June 11, 2015, USCIS reached the congressionally mandated cap of 66,000 H-2B petitions for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2015. All H-2B cap petitions requesting an employment start date before October 1, 2015 received after June 11, 2015 will be denied. USCIS will consider H-2B petitions received on or after October 1, 2015, and/or requesting employment start dates on or after October 1, 2015, towards the FY 2016 H-2B cap.
USCIS will continue to process cap-exempt H-2B petitions. Those exempt from the cap include:
- H-2B workers in the United States or abroad who have been previously counted towards the cap in the same fiscal year;
- Current H-2B workers seeking an extension of stay;
- Current H-2B workers seeking a change of employer or terms of employment;
- Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians and/or supervisors of fish roe processing;
- H-2B Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guan until December 31, 2019; and
- H-4 nonimmigrant spouses and children of H-2B workers.
More information is available on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov/h-2b.
USCIS Offers Online Access to International Operations Processing Times
In order to help customers better manage expectations for case processing times, USCIS will now be publishing processing times for certain benefits processed at international offices and International Operations Division headquarters online. The information will be updated every quarter on the USCIS website: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/ptIntlIntro.do.
USCIS Discontinues Electronic Forms I-539, Form I-526, and Regional Center Document Library
As of June 15, 2015, USCICS will no longer accept electronic Forms I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and Forms I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur. USCIS recently updated these forms and in order to ensure that paper and electronic versions of the forms are consistent, electronic versions are temporarily disabled until USCIS can develop updated forms in their online filing system. Additionally, USCIS has discontinued the Regional Center Document Library.
Those who need to file Form I-539 or Form I-526 must now file a paper version of the form. Those who began an electronic Form I-539 or Form I-526 before June 15th have until 30 days from the day they began the application to submit it online. Those who are unable to complete the form during that time period will need to file a new paper application.
Those who filed electronic Forms I-539 or I-526 before June 15th will still be able to access their accounts online to check case status, change addresses, and respond to requests for evidence. Those who filed electronic Forms I-526 will still be able to review and attest existing deal packages created by the Document Library Manager, but no new document libraries or deal packages will be created.
Complete instructions for filing Form I-539 are available here: http://www.uscis.gov/i-539
Complete instructions for filing Form I-526 are available here: http://www.uscis.gov/i-526
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.