Palmer Polaski Blog

The December 2022 and recently released January 2023 Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletins have shown retrogression in employment-based second preference (EB-2) categories for all nationalities. This means that all individuals seeking EB-2 preference petitions can no longer concurrently file for adjustment of status. Previously, only Indian and Chinese nationals were subject to this backlog […]

The 117th Congress adjourned and came to a close after the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that avoids a government shutdown, provides miliary, humanitarian and economic assistance for Ukraine, natural disasters assistance, and increased funding for the military as well as on federal health education, labor and economic programs, […]

Leading up to Election Day, immigration was a hot talking point on campaign ads. In particular, immigration became a top issue for many Republicans’ campaign strategies, particularly those focusing on enforcement and border security, with some using fear-based language tying immigrants to drug, crime, and national security. In contrast, most Democratic election campaigns focused on […]

DHS Announces Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans: On July 11, 2022, USCIS indicated that it would extend TPS benefits for Venezuelans for an additional 18 months. The 18-month extension will be effective from September 10, 2022, through March 10, 2024. Only beneficiaries under the existing designation will be eligible to re-register for benefits. […]

As of September 15, USCIS began accepting premium processing requests for the following employment-based immigrant visas: Multinational executive and manager petitioners (EB-13, a/k/a EB-1C) received on or before January 1, 2022: and EB-2 National Interest Waiver petitions received on or before February 1, 2022. The filing fee for premium processing in these cases is $2500. […]

If there is one action that you should take as a foreign national in the United States, it is to become a U.S. citizen when eligible. The upcoming midterm elections in November are a keen reminder of the privileges held only be U.S. citizens. All naturalization applicants must generally meet the following requirement to become […]

From July 2022 through August 2022, USCIS announced edition updates to many immigration forms. These include updates to Form I-485, Form I-485, Supplement A, Adjustment of Status under section 245(i), Form I-601, Form I-693, Form I-602, among many more. USCIS’s website should be reviewed regularly to identity the acceptable form edition for a particular application/petition. […]

On July 1, 2022, USCIS rescinded a previous policy from the Trump Administration they had adopted from Matter of Z-R-Z-C and revised their policy on authorized travel under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The most significant changes from USCIS are the following: TPS holders who travel abroad with authorization and are subsequently inspected and admitted by […]

On July 28, 2022, USCIS acknowledged that it was not issuing receipt notices in a timely manner for asylum applications. Considering that asylum applications must be filed within one year of the applicant’s arrival, the delay in issuing a receipt notice could cause a monumental obstacle if the application is rejected. The failure in issuing […]

It is well known that it is possible to check USICS case processing times online for each type of application; less known, however, is that it is also possible to check USCIS’s historic processing times. USCIS provides historical processing times for select forms from Fiscal Year 2012 to Fiscal Year 2022 on the Historic Processing […]