Hon. Jeffrey S. Chase, May 16, 2024 "In 2003, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees published Guidelines for applying the bars to asylum known internationally as the “exclusion...
Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box, May 14, 2024 "In “What if the Job Has Changed Since the Labor Certification Was Approved Many Years Ag o” we discussed strategies for noncitizen workers...
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EOIR, May 10, 2024 "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced the appointment of 20 immigration judges—18 immigration judges who joined courts in California, Georgia...
DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO TERMINATE THE FLORES SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AS TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES News coverage here and here .
USCIS, Aug. 2, 2022
"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is publishing an update to its Policy Manual to clarify that a current or former service member who received an uncharacterized discharge may be eligible for naturalization under sections 328 and 329 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA).
Previously, USCIS had interpreted the requirement for a separation “under honorable conditions” in INA 328 and INA 329 to require a separation characterized as either Honorable or General-Under Honorable Conditions. This policy guidance (PDF, 340.22 KB) [Uncharacterized Military Discharges Eligible for Naturalization] changes the USCIS interpretation of “under honorable conditions” to encompass Uncharacterized discharges as well as Honorable and General-Under Honorable Conditions discharges.
This interpretation aligns with a Department of Defense instruction on the interpretation of discharges and with a recent district court decision. This guidance will be effective upon publication of the Policy Manual update and will apply to all pending and future applications. Applicants whom USCIS previously denied can submit a new application without fee."
[See also: DoD Instruction, Change 7, eff. June 23, 2022: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/133214p.pdf. Hats off to AILA MAP lawyers, especially Neil T. O'Donnell. They have been litigating this issue for years!]