Immigration News and Updates: November 9, 2020
Good News!
Two of my clients received legal permanent residency (green card) on Tuesday within 10 months of filing.
District Court Vacates DHS Public Charge Rule
A federal judge in Chicago struck down a key immigration rule Monday that would deny green cards to immigrants who use food stamps or other public benefits, a blow to the Trump administration on the eve of the election. This decision applies nationwide. Among other things, Feinerman said the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act, which makes federal agencies accountable to the public by outlining a detailed process for enacting regulations. The order allows USCIS to reinstate the policy until at least November 17, which is when the next brief is due before the appeals court.
USCIS Advises of Workload Transfers
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has advised that on October 28, 2020, it transferred some cases between service centers in order to balance workloads.
TPS for South Sudan Extended for 18 Months
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf decided to extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for South Sudan for 18 months, through May 2, 2022. Current beneficiaries who want to maintain their status must re-register November 2, 2020, through January 4, 2021.
Naturalization Delays Prevent 300,000 Legal Immigrants from Voting in Election
A stricter vetting process and the coronavirus pandemic resulted in longer wait times. A USCIS spokesperson said that the agency “proudly naturalize[s] thousands of potential new voters on a daily basis.” Nevertheless, as of November, USCIS reported the naturalization backlog as more than 620,000. Of the 300,000 legal immigrants who could not vote, about 36,000 of them – 12% were from Florida.
