As the year ends, we look at the top immigration stories of 2021. During his first year in the White House, President Biden has added some humanity to America’s immigration system, but many issues still need to be addressed. US-Mexico border and asylum seekers President Biden ordered a halt to wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico […]
Read more...28 December 2021
Immigrants in the U.S., Number and Percent, 1900-2021 Plus Census Bureau Projections to 2060 An analysis of the Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) from November 2021 shows the total immigrant population (legal and illegal) in the U.S. hit 46.2 million, the highest number ever recorded in American history. Among the findings: There were a […]
Read more...23 December 2021
WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the forthcoming publication of a joint temporary final rule to make available an additional 20,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2022. These visas will be set aside for U.S. employers seeking to employ additional workers on or before […]
Read more...21 December 2021
Democrats hoped to include provisions shielding undocumented immigrants from deportation for a period of five years and allowing those who arrived in the US prior to 2011 — numbering an estimated 7 million — to apply for five-year renewable employment authorization in their $2.2 trillion climate and spending bill, known as the Build Back Better […]
Read more...16 December 2021
SUMMARY: This temporary final rule (TFR) provides flexibility for consular officers to waive the personal appearance of certain repeat immigrant visa applicants who were approved for an immigrant visa in the same classification and on the same basis as the current application on or after August 4, 2019. It also gives consular officers discretion to […]
Read more...14 December 2021
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is temporarily waiving the requirement that the civil surgeon sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days before an applicant files an application for the underlying immigration benefit (including Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status), until Sept. 30, 2022. This temporary waiver will […]
Read more...9 December 2021
As a result of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, on November 26, 2021, President Biden signed a proclamation suspending the entry of certain non-citizens traveling as immigrants or nonimmigrants who were present in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe during the 14-day period prior to their entry or attempted entry into the […]
Read more...8 December 2021
The Biden administration will restart a contentious Trump-era border program that forces asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for U.S. immigration hearings. Background The policy was first implemented in 2019 by former President Donald Trump amid an increase in Central American families crossing the southwest border. President Joe Biden suspended the policy on his first […]
Read more...3 December 2021
California and Colorado this year banned state agencies from using the word “alien” to refer to immigrants who entered the U.S. without permission. Immigrants and immigrant-rights groups say the term “alien”, especially when combined with “illegal,” is dehumanizing and can have a harmful effect on immigration policy. The word became a focal point of debate […]
Read more...30 November 2021
A group of 90 Democrats in the House of Representatives sent a letter to the Senate requesting a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants be written into President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill. In the letter, numerous influential House Democrats urged the Senate to include legislation in the bill that would allow certain undocumented immigrants […]
Read more...23 November 2021
