Immigration - General

October 1, 2020, is the REAL ID deadline, and most people will not be able to board even a domestic air flight in the U.S. without either a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or a passport.

The Trump Administration has indicated it wants to establish a merit-based immigration system focusing on bringing more high-skilled workers to the United States. According to one Administration official, the aim is to attract “individuals who provide a cure for cancer or build that first subdivisio

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is directly involved in Hurricane Dorian rescue efforts. So far the agency’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) has airlifted over 80 people, including citizens of the Bahamas and citizens of the U.S., from the ravaged Abaco Island and Grand Bahama to Nassau for medi

On your next international trip, you may see facial recognition technology in use. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) started piloting this technology in late 2018. Now, in conjunction with various airlines, the use of facial recognition technology is growing and at some airports it is

ICE raids generally are the results of months (or even years) of investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Before a “raid” is conducted, a search warrant must be issued. To obtain a search warrant, HSI must show that facts establish probable cause to believe that there are violations

On August 7, 2019, more than 600 agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided several companies across Mississippi. With the help of the local district attorney’s office, these raids resulted in the arrests of approximately 680 undocumented workers.1 Federal prosecutors involved

The House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship asked the Department of Homeland Security to account for the delays in immigration processing at a hearing on July 16, 2019.

Six hundred and eighty workers from seven poultry processing plants across Mississippi were arrested by ICE in what was the largest workplace raid in a decade. Raids of this size require complex logistics and months of preparation. This raid has been in the planning stages for a year. “Sources close

The Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has sent an unprecedented number of I-9 audits, called Notices of Inspection (NOIs), in the previous three weeks reportedly to more than 3,000 companies. At least another 3,000 are likely on the way since ICE has requested

The House of Representatives has taken a step in the direction of eliminating green card backlogs by passing the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 (H.R. 1044) introduced by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Ken Buck. (R-CO). The support was bi-partisan and passed in a 365 to 65 v

President Donald Trump announced that the Administration will not be proceeding with any further census litigation. The 2020 Decennial Census, which is already being printed, will be sent out without a citizenship question. Nevertheless, President Trump does want to obtain statistics on the number o

The Trump Administration has been stepping up the collection of data in general and more specifically from visa applicants and travelers.

Two years ago, then-Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, proposed collecting 15 years of travel, address and employment history and 5 years of social medical platforms, identifiers, phone numbers and emails from visa applicants selected for “extreme vetting.” It was predicted that this would affect on

We wrote yesterday on the U.S. Supreme Court declining to expedite review of DACA, as well as the recent and current legislative activity regarding the program. Later in the day on June 4th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Dream and Promise Act which would grant permanent residence stat

The “Dreamers” have received another reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court.

In an announcement on Thursday, May 16, 2019, President Trump unveiled an outline of his new legislative plan to modernize the nation’s immigration framework, promising to “establish[] a new legal immigration system that protects American wages, promotes American values, and attracts the best and br

President Donald Trump has introduced the broad outlines of his proposal for immigration reform. The “merit and heart system” focuses on security and establishing a more fully merit-based system for permanent residence (“green card”) status.

Long USCIS processing delays are now the norm for all types of immigration cases. Indeed, the delays have reached crisis levels. Processing times increased by 46% over the past two fiscal years and 91% since FY 2014.

The days of spontaneously traveling to Europe on a whim are coming to an end for U.S. citizens. For many years, U.S. citizens have been able to travel to most European countries with only a valid U.S. passport as a travel document. In 2021, the European Schengen Zone will be requiring a registration

An employer receives a notification from the Social Security Administration that an employee’s name does not match his or her Social Security number in the employer’s records. What to do? In this podcast, Jorge Lopez, chair of Littler's Global Mobility and Immigration Practice Group, and Hector Gale