Archive for January 2020
Advocacy Update: New Survivor-Focused Amicus Brief Submitted in Fee Waiver Litigation
This week, ASISTA, along with our partners, submitted an amicus brief in the case Northwest Immigrant Rights Project v. U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This brief challenges USCIS’s sweeping changes to fee waiver policies which limit access to critical immigration relief for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human…
Read MoreASISTA Opposes Harmful Asylum Bars
On January 21, 2020, ASISTA submitted comments in response to a proposed rule issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security establishing several new bars to asylum, including creating barriers for immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. Read ASISTA’s comment here.
Read MorePractice Update: USCIS Form Alert: Blank Spaces on Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status
On December 30, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) placed an alert on their website for Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status, stating: Alert: We may reject your Form I-918 or your Form I-918 Supplement A if you leave a field blank, unless the field is optional. Optional fields include the safe mailing address as well…
Read MoreAmicus Brief VAWA Joint Residence (December 27, 2019)
This amicus brief, submitted to the Southern District of Florida, addresses USCIS’s requirement that self-petitioners show shared residence with their abuser during the marriage. With deep gratitude to Prof. Rebecca Sharpless and law students Meredith Hoffman and Olivia Parise from the University of Miami School of Law’s Immigration Clinic for their hard work on this…
Read MoreASISTA Comment on USCIS’ Harmful Proposed Rule on Fees
On December 30, 2019, ASISTA submitted its organizational comment in response to USCIS’ new proposed rule which increases immigration fees, further limits the criteria and availability of fee waivers, and includes a transfer of millions of dollars from USCIS to ICE. You can read ASISTA’s comprehensive comment here.
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