Immigration
43 articles, newest first.
Parole in 2026: What the Statute Allows, What Was Terminated, What the Courts Restored, and What a Parolee Can Still Do
Parole is permission to be physically present without being admitted, granted case by case and revocable on notice. In 2025 the government ended every categorical parole program and terminated the parole of hundreds of thousands of people by email. Two of those terminations have since been blocked by federal courts and one was upheld. What the status still confers, what it now costs, and where each program stands in September 2026.
Consular Processing and 221(g) Refusals in 2026: The NVC Queue, the Interview at Home, the One-Year Clock, and the Waiver That Takes Two Years
An approved petition goes to the National Visa Center, then to a consulate that must now interview the applicant where they live. A refusal under 221(g) is temporary but counts, and the file dies if a year passes without an answer. The unlawful presence waiver filed before departure takes two years at the median; the 75-country immigrant visa pause was vacated on August 21, 2026 and the travel ban was not.
Getting Out: Bond, Parole and Habeas Corpus in 2026
There are three doors out of ICE detention. Which ones are open depends on how the person entered the country, which federal circuit the facility sits in, and how long they have been held. A guide to the bond hearing, the parole request and the habeas petition, with the September 2026 map of where each works.
Appeals and Motions in 2026: The 30 Days That Survived, the $1,030 Fee, the Vacated Summary Dismissal Rule, and Where a Stay Actually Comes From
An appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals now costs $1,030 and is decided by a 15-member Board on a 20-day simultaneous briefing schedule with no reply brief. The February 2026 rule that would have made summary dismissal the default and cut the deadline to 10 days was vacated in March. What is in force, what a motion to reopen costs and when it is allowed, and the three places a stay of removal can be obtained.
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status in 2026: The State Court Order, the 21st Birthday, the Visa Queue, and the End of Deferred Action
A child abused, neglected or abandoned by a parent can obtain a green card through a state court order and a petition filed before the 21st birthday. The petition is decided in 180 days; the visa behind it takes years. Since May 10, 2026 the wait comes with no deferred action and no work permit, and a denied request for either can now end in immigration court.
VAWA Self-Petitions and the I-360: Who Qualifies, What "Any Credible Evidence" Means, and a Backlog of 259,529
An abused spouse, child or parent of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident can petition for a green card without the abuser's knowledge, at no fee, and adjust despite entering without inspection. The petition is Form I-360, the standard is "battery or extreme cruelty," and the rule of evidence is unusually generous. What is not generous is the queue: 259,529 self-petitions were pending at the end of March 2026, and the first half of the fiscal year produced 911 approvals.
U Visas and T Visas in 2026: The Certification, the Bona Fide Determination, the 10,000 Cap and the 5,000 Cap
A crime victim who helps the police can petition for a U visa, and a trafficking victim for a T visa, at no fee at any stage. The U visa cap of 10,000 has been met every year since 2010, so the real product for most petitioners is the bona fide determination, a four-year work permit and deferred action that USCIS reached in a median 18.5 months this year. Since May, deferred action is officially "extraordinary.
Cancellation of Removal Explained: Ten Years, Seven Years, the Stop-Time Rule, the 4,000 Cap and a $1,640 Fee
Cancellation of removal is the relief most people in immigration court actually qualify to request. The permanent resident version needs five years with a green card and seven of residence; the other needs ten years of presence and hardship to a citizen or resident relative that the Board now polices closely. The clock stops with a valid Notice to Appear, Congress allows 4,000 grants a year, and since February the application costs $1,640.
Naturalization in 2026: The N-400 Arithmetic, the $760 Fee That May Become $1,330, and What a Denial Now Triggers
The N-400 still costs $760 on paper and $710 online, with a $380 reduced fee and a full waiver for those who qualify. A rule proposed in June would take it to $1,330 and abolish both. The residence and presence arithmetic has not moved, but the median wait has risen to 7.1 months, neighborhood investigations are now in the Policy Manual, and a denial can end in immigration court.
Public Charge in 2026: The Rescission That Takes Effect September 18, Which Benefits Count From That Day, and Who Is Exempt
On September 18, 2026 DHS's rescission of the 2022 public charge rule takes effect, USCIS's new Policy Manual guidance replaces it, and a new I-485 edition becomes mandatory with no grace period. Applications filed before that date are decided under the old test, which counted only cash assistance and long-term care. What is in force, what is only guidance, what the consulates are doing, and who the statute exempts.
Marriage-Based Green Cards in 2026: Concurrent Filing, the Bona Fides File, the Separate Interview, and the Two-Year Card
A spouse of a citizen files the petition and the green card application together and pays $2,115 before a work permit. A spouse of a resident can file now under September's chart. What USCIS demands as proof of a real marriage since October 2025, what the separate interview is, what a fraud finding costs, and what a marriage under two years old at approval means for the next two years.
USCIS Processing Times Explained: The 80 Percent Figure, the Case Inquiry Date, and the Four Ways to Move a Case That Has Stopped
The number on the USCIS processing-times page is the time it took to finish 80 percent of cases in the last six months, and the date on which you may ask about your case is computed from a different figure, the 93rd percentile. What each number means, what an e-Request, an expedite, a congressional inquiry and the Ombudsman can and cannot do, and when a $405 federal complaint becomes the only lever left.
The Visa Bulletin Explained: Two Charts, One Country of Birth, and What Happens to a Green Card Application When the Date Moves Backwards
The September 2026 bulletin put the spouse-of-resident category at August 2026 for final action and made it current for filing everywhere, while EB-2 India sits at "unavailable" and the State Department warns of retrogression before October 1. How the two charts work, which one USCIS accepts each month, why a spouse's birthplace can move a case years, and what a pending application does while the number is gone.
Where TPS Stands in August 2026: Four Countries Left, One Million Protections Ended, and the Alternatives That Remain
Seventeen countries held Temporary Protected Status designations when the administration took office. As of this month, four do, and one of those ends on September 9. A country-by-country close of the ledger, the Supreme Court decision that settled the litigation, and what a person losing TPS can still file.
Asylum Referral Without an Interview: The July 28 Rule, Who It Reaches, and Why the Written Application Is Now the Whole Case
Since July 28, 2026, an asylum officer may send an affirmative application straight to immigration court on the paper record alone. DHS estimates 130,000 referrals a year, most of them on the one-year deadline. What the rule strikes from the regulations, who is exposed, and how to file as if no one will ever ask you a question.
The D.C. Circuit Sides With Fast-Track Deportation: What the June 23 Ruling Changes, and What It Has Not Changed Yet
A divided appeals court has vacated the order that blocked nationwide expedited removal for ten months. The policy is not yet back in force, because the court's mandate has not issued. When it does, anyone inside the country who cannot prove two years of presence is exposed. The evidence to prepare, and the words to say.
The Ruling That Ended the Hold: What the June 5 Decision Requires of USCIS, and What Two Million Applicants Should Expect
A federal judge in Rhode Island vacated the three memos that froze asylum decisions nationwide and every benefit for nationals of 39 countries. USCIS says it disagrees and is complying while it appeals. What the order does, what it does not, and why the backlog it leaves behind is the next problem.
Detention Without Bond: The Yajure Hurtado Rule, the Circuit Split, and What a Family Can Do
Since September 2025 the government's position has been that anyone who entered without inspection is ineligible for a bond hearing, however long they have lived here. Federal appeals courts are split down the middle on whether that is the law. Whether a detained person can ask a judge for release now depends on the state they are held in.
Notices to Appear from USCIS: What a Denial Now Triggers
A February 2025 policy memorandum removed the case-by-case exemption that kept most denied applicants out of immigration court. Since then the ordinary consequence of a denial that leaves a person without lawful status is a charging document, and the address on it decides whether they ever learn of the hearing.
Immigration Court in 2026: Checking Your Hearing, Missing One, and What Changed in the Courthouse
The immigration courts are carrying more than three million cases with a quarter fewer judges than a year ago, and since May 2025 the courthouse itself has become a place of arrest. How to check a hearing, what an in absentia order does, and how to undo one.
The One-Year Asylum Deadline in 2026: The Exceptions Still Recognized, and the Fees That Complicate Them
An asylum application must be filed within a year of your last arrival. The exceptions have not changed since this site first explained them in 2021. What has changed is everything around them: a filing fee, an annual fee, and an agency far readier to refer a late case to court.
Expedited Removal: The Fight Over Fast-Track Deportation, and How to Prove Two Years
In January 2025 DHS extended expedited removal to anyone inside the country who cannot prove two years of continuous presence. A federal court stayed the policy in August; the D.C. Circuit refused to lift the stay in November and heard the appeal in December. What the policy would do, what protects you, and what to carry.
The Expanded Travel Ban: 39 Countries, Two Tiers, and the Exceptions That Disappeared
Proclamation 10998 took effect at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2026, doubling the June 2025 travel ban to 39 countries and removing the exceptions for spouses, children, parents and adoptees. Who it reaches, who is exempt, and why the USCIS hold that came with it matters as much as the ban itself.
The Asylum Hold: What USCIS Stopped After November 26, and What Pending Applicants Should Expect
On December 2, 2025, USCIS froze decisions on every pending asylum application in the country and on every benefit request from nationals of 19 countries, and ordered a re-review of green cards already granted. What the memo says, who it reaches, and what it does not do.
TPS Terminations: Where Each Country Stands, and What Happens to Your Work Permit
Between February and November 2025 DHS moved to end Temporary Protected Status for nearly every designated country. A country-by-country account of the notices, the court fights, and the rule that matters most: the termination date, not the date on your card.
The New USCIS Fees Under H.R. 1: What Asylum Applicants and Parolees Now Pay
Since July 22, 2025, asylum, work permits, TPS and Special Immigrant Juvenile filings carry a second, non-waivable fee on top of the usual USCIS charge. Here is the full schedule, who pays, and what happens if you don't.
US Launches “Uniting for Ukraine” Portal to Allow Refugees to Enter The US Legally
President Joe Biden has launched an online portal, known as Uniting for Ukraine , on April 25 as part of the executive office’s stated goal to bring 100,000 people fleeing Russia’s deadly invasion to the U.S. So Far the…
Will Independent Immigration Court Help To Deal With Immigration Case Backlog?
Throughout the last couple of decades, the number of new asylum applications in the U.S. had been steadily growing, showing significant spikes during Barack Obama’s and Donald Trump’s presidencies.
Unknown Fate Of Thousands Of Unaccompanied Minors Who Illegally Crossed The U.S. Southern Border
Since the beginning of Joe Biden’s presidency in January 2021, the number of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexican border has been steeply rising.
In-person Interviews Are Temporarily Waived For Immigrant Visa Applicants
After March 13, 2020, when then-President Donald Trump declared a national health emergency to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the U.S., immigrant visa applicants from certain countries were not allowed to enter anymore.
Deadline to Apply for Asylum
A one-year filing deadline rule is applied to every asylum seeker who enters the USA. It means immigrants have 360 days since their last arrival in the United States to apply for political asylum.
Reasons to Apply for Asylum
Political asylum is a status granted to a person from a country where his/her human rights were violated or this individual was persecuted, discriminated against, physically and psychologically abused, humiliated, harassed, tortured, etc. Political asylum is not only about politics in your country.
Deportation of a Green Card Holder
Green card holders are permanent residents who are not citizens yet. Those individuals are at risk of losing their status and green card if they commit a crime. There are a lot of types of crime and every case is different.
Delayed Decisions After Asylum Interview
The USCIS has more than 20K asylum cases without decisions. This means that applicants have had interviews but did not get their decisions yet.
The Root Cause of Immigration to the USA
Following the Biden Administration’s announcement of comprehensive immigration reform, which includes a clause allowing about 11 million illegal immigrants, who entered the country as children, to receive legal status, the…
Do I need an Apostille?
Do I need an Apostille or Notary Public? Is it the same or what is the difference?
House of Representatives Passes The American Dream and Promise Act
With President Biden’s term entering its third month, on Thursday March 18th, the Democrats in the House of Representatives pushed through the H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021, which was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard of California.
Biden’s Immigration Reforms delayed
At the outset of his first term in office, President Biden was able to pass a number of executive actions to repeal many of President Trump’s actions from his previous presidency.
DAPA Ruling Explained
DAPA, or Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents allows certain eligible categories of illegal aliens, namely parents of Americans, to apply for a temporary deportation deferral and for a three-year employment authorization.
DACA Ruling Explained
BACKGROUND On June 15, 2012, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation initiating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA, allowing undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, to legally stay and work in the country.
Extraordinary Abilities for Non-Immigrant Visa
If an individual possesses extraordinary abilities, then they may qualify for the 0-1 non-immigrant visa. Extraordinary abilities are defined as having above average skills in the arts, athletics, business, education, or sciences.
Immigration Policy Changes Joe Biden Made On The First Day Of His Presidency
On January 20, 2021, the day Joe Biden became the 46 th president of the United States, he introduced The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, a set of measures designed to reform the immigration policies carried out under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Public Charge Rule
The simple explanation of the Public Charge Rule is that immigrants who have a chance of becoming a public charge, or in other words, having the state take care of them because they are unable to take care of themselves, are excluded or denied from entry into the United States.