Department of State Update

The Trump administration has just announced a “pause” on immigrant visa appointments and visa issuance at U.S. consulates worldwide. The stated reason is that the Department of State (DOS) has launched a global training initiative across all U.S. consular posts to provide consular officers with additional training on vetting visa applicants, requiring immigrant visa appointments to be adjusted to avoid conflicts with the training schedule. Immigrant visa applicants who have already scheduled their interviews are starting to receive e-mail notifications that their appointments have been cancelled, without a specific rescheduled date being provided. Importantly, while this development follows the recent judicial invalidation of the administration’s policy suspending the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants of 75 countries, it still solely affects immigrant visa applications. Individuals applying for nonimmigrant visas (i.e., student and work visas) are not affected.

Department of Homeland Security Update

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a rule allowing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to require electronic filing for any immigration benefit form for which the agency has made an electronic filing option available for at least 180 days. While technological advancements and efforts to improve the efficiency of immigration proceedings are generally welcome, there are concerns regarding the burden that limitations on the availability of paper filings may create for some benefit seekers, especially individual filers with family-based immigration matters. Stay tuned for future updates on developments in these e-filing practices.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Update

ICE has been using new tactics in its efforts to identify and arrest alleged immigration violators, with its latest strategy focusing on U.S. airports and domestic travelers. With the Trump administration’s goal of 2,000 immigration arrests per day, non-criminal, long-time U.S. residents have become a target. In July, ICE arrested close to 51,000 individuals on immigration violation charges, up from 43,000 arrests in June. According to ICE’s reporting, the agency arrested an average of 20 to 40 people per day at U.S. airports, with most of the arrests involving airline passengers with expired U.S. visas.

There is an expectation of a higher number of arrests this fall when the new rule setting forth tighter time limits on visas for students, exchange visitors, and foreign media takes effect. This creates a significant concern for individuals who remain within their lawfully authorized period of stay in the U.S. but whose visas have expired since their last U.S. entry. With this in mind, foreign nationals should exercise caution and extra care when traveling, even within the U.S., and especially if they do not have valid visas in their possession. Seek immigration counsel’s recommendations regarding your and your sponsored employees’ travel within and outside the U.S.

Attention - SCAM Warning

There has been an increase in immigration scams targeting the most vulnerable immigration population, such as beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), family-based immigrants, and unauthorized immigrant workers. Scammers are now using AI to entice immigrants rattled by the current immigration policies to hire fake immigration counsel and attend fake immigration hearings over Zoom. The American Bar Association (ABA) has been issuing alerts to identify lawyers whose identities have been stolen by scammers, but even organizations such as ABA are dealing with scams involving fraudulent websites and social media posts in their name that mislead the public and cause significant monetary losses to the very population that cannot sustain them.

Did You Know?

Munsch Hardt's Immigration team has extensive expertise with regard to the immigration compliance audits and best practices development and implementation for our Firm’s clients. We assist employers that wish to proactively assess their employment eligibility verification practices, documentary compliance, and preparedness for possible ICE audits and raids. We also defend companies in audit proceedings and assist in all related government communications.