On December 28, 2017, the U.S. Mission to Turkey announced the full resumption of visa services in Turkey. Visa services in Turkey were suspended on October 8, 2017, and only partially resumed on November 7. This post includes our three updates on the subject.
Over the past week, people in Iran have taken to the streets to protest the dire economic situation in the country and government malfeasance. According to a report by Kim Hjelmgaard of USA Today, Iranian media has stated that “[a]t least 20 people have died and 450 have been arrested in the nationwide protests that began [on December 28, 2017] in Mashaad and spread to other cities…” To be sure, no one would be surprised if the “Iranian media” cited to in the report is under-selling the situation. In this post, I'll offer my thoughts on the situation and the current U.S. response.
On December 21, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded 25 guidance documents that had been issued over the years by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). We discussed in a previous article that Attorney General Sessions had issued a memorandum on ending the DOJ’s practice of regulation by guidance. This guidance document was issued to follow the policy set forth in President Donald Trump’s February 24, 2017 Executive Order 13777, titled “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda” and published in the Federal Register (FR) at 82 FR 12285.
Submitted by Eliza Grinberg on December 31, 2017 - 7:58pm
On December 22, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it charged a lawful permanent resident (LPR) from Uzbekistan with immigration offenses.
On December 11, 2017, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) published the Immigrant Visa Bulletin for January 2018. The visa bulletin contains filing dates and final action dates for the family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant visa preference categories. On December 15, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determined that beneficiaries of approved family-sponsored preference petitions must use the filing dates for applying for adjustment of status in January 2018. Conversely, USCIS determined that beneficiaries of approved employment-based petitions must use the final action dates for applying for adjustment of status in January 2018. In this article, we will examine the relevant charts provided by the DOS and the USCIS for immigrant visa applicants and adjustment of status applicants in January 2018.
On December 23, 2017, Judge James L. Robart of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington granted a motion for a preliminary injunction against the implementation by federal agencies of certain portions of the inter-agency memorandum implementing President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13815 on refugees. The preliminary injunction was granted pertaining to two cases: Doe v. Trump and Jewish Family Services v. Trump. In this article, we will review the temporary injunction and examine what it means.
On December 20, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a per curiam order lifting an order by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California that would have required the Trump Administration to turn over a substantial number of documents relating to its decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The issue arises from five lawsuits filed in California against the government over the DACA termination. In this article, we examine the news and what it means going forward.
On December 18, 2017, the Trump Administration released its National Security Strategy document. In a separate post, I examined its points discussing border security and immigration in detail. Here, I will step away from immigration policy for a moment to examine an interesting paragraph from the National Security Strategy that concerned U.S. policy toward Israel.
On December 18, 2017, the Executive Branch released the National Security Strategy of the United States of America. In this document, the Trump Administration articulated its national security policy and objectives going forward. In this article, we will examine the new National Security Strategy document’s inclusion of immigration and border security. Although the discussion of these issues in the document are in line with the previously articulated positions of the Trump Administration, their inclusion in the National Security Strategy gives an indication of how the Trump Administration sees immigration issues in the context of national security. Additionally, we will compare the language in the 2017 National Security Strategy on these points with the language used in the 2015 National Security Strategy issued by the Obama Administration.
On December 5, 2017, the United States Senate confirmed Kirstjen Nielsen as the sixth Secretary of Homeland Security by a vote of 62-37. When she is sworn in, Nielsen will replace John Kelly, who left his post as Secretary of Homeland Security on July 31, 2017, to become the White House Chief of Staff. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine C. Duke had been serving in an acting capacity since Kelly’s move to the White House.
