Hi, I am Jae Francis Lee.
I am an immigration attorney in Chicago, Schaumburg,
Madison, Wisconsin, and our office provides
family-based immigration law services nationwide.
I am also a college professor and first-generation
immigrant.
Today, I am going to talk about three positive
USCIS updates that you must be aware of.
They will impact how long it will take for
USCIS to process your case and whether it
will be more difficult for you to obtain a
green card.
A few months ago, USCIS announced that it
was looking to reduce 60-70% of its staff
due to a budgetary crisis.
Anticipated furloughs would have severely
delayed all USCIS cases.
On August 25, USCIS announced to postpone
them until Sept 30.
It remains to be seen whether the cancelation
is temporary or permanent.
In addition, USCIS announced to carry out
aggressive cost reductions, which may cause
case processing delays even without furloughs.
On October 2, USCIS is scheduled to require
higher filing fees for most USCIS applications
and petitions.
In our other YouTube videos, we explained
in details the USCIS fee increases and how
they would impact different types of cases.
Recently there have been multiple lawsuits
filed against the fee increases, citing reasons
such as the increases being arbitrary or harmful
to certain applicants.
The lawsuits asked federal courts to prevent
USCIS from enforcing the new rates while the
cases are still ongoing.
However, considering recent federal court’s
decisions, injunctions if granted may not
be nationwide as the lawsuits were filed in
California and Massachusetts.
We will keep you posted on this issue.
The last topic we will talk about today is
the Public Charge Rule, one of the USCIS regulations
that have changed many times because of ongoing
legal proceedings.
Check out our other YouTube videos, which
explain in details the I-944 Public Charge
Rule and previous court rulings on this Rule.
On August 12, the Second Court of Appeals’
ruling prevented USCIS from enforcing the
new Public Charge Rule only in New York, Connecticut,
and Vermont.
This ruling modified its lower court’s July
29 nationwide injunction during the COVID19
Pandemic and allowed USCIS to require the
Public Charge Rule elsewhere.
Is the Public Charge Rule Still Suspended?
What is interesting, and yes confusing, is
that as of the date of this recording, USCIS
has not issued guidance on whether the Public
Charge form and documents are required.
In the past, USCIS has posted new guidance
via its websites but the I-485 website does
not require the Public Charge form and documents.
Its I-944 website is unavailable.
Although there is no clear, national policy
on the Public Charge Rule now, you may submit
your green card application without the I-944
form and public charge supporting documents.
Unfortunately, you need to check USCIS’
I-485 website daily to know the current status
of the Public Charge Rule.
Stay tuned for additional USCIS updates
Francis Law Center
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Thank you
