USCIS is processing naturalization cases faster than they have in years, and the agency is managing to cut down on its naturalization backlog. Given the current average timing, eligible green card holders who applied early in...more
USCIS has released the new Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. The new form must be used to file starting June 3, 2024. Among the form’s various changes, two are particularly notable: 1. Social Security Update:...more
Facing a stubborn backlog and an influx of immigrants seeking refuge, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposed a rule featuring a new fee schedule in January 2023. The proposed fee schedule includes...more
Green card holders who seek naturalization are required to pass a civics test and demonstrate English proficiency. The test used for this was developed in 2008, and the Biden Administration has announced it is updating the...more
On Wednesday, July 12, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is expanding myProgress (formerly known as personalized processing times) to Form I-765, Application for Employment...more
Beginning December 12, 2022, lawful permanent residents who have filed a Form N-400 Naturalization Application with USCIS on or after that date will receive a 24-month automatic Green Card extension. This rule change will...more
In continuing its efforts to deal with processing backlogs, USCIS is allowing longer automatic extensions of green cards for lawful permanent residents who have applied for naturalization....more
Effective Dec. 12, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated the USCIS Policy Manual to allow USCIS to automatically extend the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (a/ka/a Green Cards) for lawful...more
Some Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders will once again be able to overcome inadmissibility for adjustment of status purposes by traveling internationally because USCIS is updating its interpretation of MTINA, the...more
Individuals hoping to complete their naturalization processes are being kept in limbo while their files sit in limestone caves. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been the depository for “old”...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that beginning on March 1, 2021, it is reverting to the 2008 version of the naturalization civics test. On Dec. 1, 2020, during the final days of the Trump...more
On March 1, 2021, USCIS will be returning to the 2008 version of the naturalization civics test. This change is a response to President Joe Biden’s Executive Order, “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration System,” that...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is introducing a revised version of the naturalization civics test. The oral civics test is administered to all applicants for U.S. citizenship. The 2020 test increases the...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced revisions to the naturalization civics test. The changes will affect those applicants who apply after December 1, 2020. These applicants will need to take...more
A federal court has temporarily barred the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from implementing a rule that would have significantly increased many immigration application filing fees. The rule was set to take effect...more
On August 3, 2020, USCIS published a final rule that will significantly change forms and increase fees for certain immigration and naturalization benefit requests effective October 2, 2020. Any application, petition, or...more
On August 3, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued a Final Rule that alters the USCIS filing Fee Schedule. On average, the filing fees were increased overall by approximately 20%....more
Advocacy groups have filed suits challenging the USCIS fee increases scheduled to take effect on October 2, 2020. The fee increases are not equal across the board. Certain types of business immigration petitions have been...more
On August 3, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a final rule making significant changes to immigration and naturalization related filing fees.The rule goes into effect on October 2, 2020, and the weighted...more
Effective October 2, 2020, filing fees for certain non-immigrant, immigrant, and naturalization benefit requests will be adjusted to help meet U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) operational needs. As a...more
Since May, USCIS has been threatening furloughs of three-quarters of its workforce in August if it does not receive a $1.2 billion loan and an average 21% increase in fees to take care of its budget shortfall. Reportedly,...more
USCIS announced that it will resume public non-emergency services at some local offices within the United States commencing Thursday, June 4, 2020. The number of appointments and interviews at reopened offices will be...more
A U.S. immigrant may feel that receiving a green card (permanent residence) is the end goal of their immigration journey. However, if a permanent resident plans to become a U.S. citizen, he or she should be aware that certain...more
USCIS is on its way to revising and updating the Naturalization Test. It will start with a pilot test involving about 1,400 volunteers this fall, then a second field testing pilot in spring 2020....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be redistributing certain naturalization and green card cases to field offices with lighter caseloads for processing. In its announcement, the agency said that since the...more