US Immigration

The United States on Monday announced premium processing of work authorisation applications for certain categories of international students, which is likely to benefit a large number of Indian students who come to study in the US in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the premium processing of applications for OPT (optional practical training) from international students in the STEM field or its extension. The premium processing begins March 6, a media release said, adding that for some other categories, it would begin from April 3. "The availability of premium processing for certain F-1 students, in addition to the ease of online filing, will streamline the immigration experience for a great many international students," said USCIS Director Ur M Jaddou. "The ongoing expansion of online filing is a priority for USCIS as we continue to create operational efficiencies and increase access to the .

H-1B visa petitioners would also need to pay $215 in pre-registration fees, up from the current $10 fee

The Department of Homeland Security said more migrants may be released into the United States to pursue immigration cases when Trump-era asylum restrictions end next week in one of its most detailed assessments ahead of the major policy shift. The department reported faster processing for migrants in custody on the border, more temporary detention tents, staffing surges and increased criminal prosecutions of smugglers, noting progress on a plan announced in April. But the seven-page document dated Tuesday included no major structural changes amid unusually large numbers of migrants entering the country. More are expected with the end of Title 42 authority, under which migrants have been denied rights to seek asylum more than 2.5 million times on grounds of preventing spread of COVID-19. A federal judge in Washington ordered Title 42 to end December 21 but Republican-led states asked an appeals court to keep it in place. The Biden administration has also challenged some aspects of

An Indian national Thursday pleaded guilty before a court that he illegally entered the United States after he was deported from the country two years ago. Ashok Kumar Prahladbhai Patel, 40, could face imprisonment of up to two years. Sentencing is scheduled for April 5, 2023. According to the court documents, Patel, an Indian national, appeared before US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers on November 24, 2021 at the Henry E Rohlsen Airport in St Croix for pre-boarding inspection for his flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. During his inspection, Patel presented a fraudulent Florida driver's license, the Department of Justice said. The officers then conducted a database inquiry which revealed that on August 17, 2019, Patel was apprehended and detained by the CBP in Tecate, California, and was processed for expedited removal, it said. Patel was subsequently removed from the United States to India on November 21, 2019. After his removal, Patel did not obtain express consent

Nearly one million immigrants obtained US citizenship during 2022, the highest number of naturalized citizens in almost 15 years, according to a US Citizenship and Immigration Services report

The US government said Wednesday it is appealing a court ruling that would otherwise lift asylum restrictions that have become the cornerstone of border enforcement in recent years. The enforcement rule first took effect in March 2020, denying migrants' rights to seek asylum under US and international law on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The Homeland Security Department said it would file an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, challenging a November ruling by US District Judge Emmet Sullivan that ordered President Joe Biden's administration to lift the asylum restrictions. The restrictions were put in place under former President Donald Trump at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The practice was authorized under Title 42 of a broader 1944 law covering public health, and has been used to expel migrants more than 2.4 million times.

The Biden administration said Monday that it would expand temporary legal status for Haitians already living in the United States, determining conditions in the Caribbean nation were too dangerous for their forced return. The Homeland Security Department said Haitians who were in the United States November 6 could apply for Temporary Protected Status and those who were granted it last year could stay an additional 18 months until August 3, 2024. The administration has extended temporary status for several countries and expanded or introduced it for Haiti, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Cameroon and Venezuela, reversing a Trump-era trend to cut back on protections for those already in the United States. TPS, which typically comes with authorisation to work, may be extended in increments up to 18 months for countries struck by natural disasters or civil strife. Haiti has seen increasingly brazen attacks by gangs that have grown more powerful since the July 2021 assassination of ...

A surge in migration from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua in September brought the number of illegal crossings to the highest level ever recorded in a fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The year-end numbers reflect deteriorating economic and political conditions in some countries, the relative strength of the U.S. economy and uneven enforcement of Trump-era asylum restrictions. Migrants were stopped 2,27,547 times in September at the U.S. border with Mexico, the third-highest month of Joe Biden's presidency. It was up 11.5 per cent from 2,04,087 times in August and 18.5 per cent from 1,92,001 times in September 2021. In the fiscal year that ended September 30, migrants were stopped 2.38 million times, up 37 per cent from 1.73 million times the year before, according to figures released late Friday night. The annual total surpassed 2 million for the first time in August and is more than twice the highest level during Donald Trump's presidency in 2019. Nearly

Covid-19 "continues to spread rapidly throughout" detention centres run by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to an attorney with the non-profit ACLU

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

Most Washington lawmakers are largely holding their tongues, unwilling to criticise their leader on a polarising topic

Kamala Harris and Homeland Security Secretary have conveyed to the most important US partner that the Biden administration is taking a more nuanced approach to immigration than its predecessor

A bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the US House of Representatives to eliminate the per country cap on employment-based Green Card

Businesses in ongoing litigation also are fighting rules Trump imposed requiring higher wages for H-1B holders and prioritizing workers with higher pay for the visas.

A handful of parents from Mexico and Central America who were deported under the Trump administration's family separation policy will be reunited this week with their children

President Joe Biden is keen that the US Congress should quickly fix America's "broken immigration system, for which he has already sent in a legislation, the White House has said. In February, the Biden administration introduced an ambitious immigration bill in Congress which among other things proposes to eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based green cards. The US Citizenship Act of 2021 proposes a pathway to citizenship to 11 million undocumented workers, elimination of per country quota for employment-based green cards and work authorisation for dependents of H-1B foreign workers. The president...believes that there should be faster processing, that our immigration system is broken at many levels and of the system and that he is eager for Congress to move forward with action there, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday at her daily news conference. She was responding to a question on the recent protest by Indian-American doctors who are ...

US President Joe Biden is eager for Congress to move forward to fix the broken immigration system, for which he has already sent in a legislation, the White House said on Wednesday

Biden has entrusted his VP Harris with the task of leading the diplomatic effort and working with neighbouring Mexico and Northern Triangle nations to stem flow of immigrants to the southern border

President Joe Biden has tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the White House effort to tackle the migration challenge at the US southern border. Biden made the announcement as he and Harris met at the White House on Wednesday with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandra Mayorkas and other immigration advisers to discuss the increase in young migrants arriving at the border in recent weeks. In delegating the matter to Harris, Biden is seeking to replicate a dynamic that played out when he served as President Barack Obama's vice president. Obama turned to Biden early in his first term to lead the White House effort to draw down U.S. troops in the intractable war in Iraq. With the move, Biden hopes to show Americans he's taking the border situation seriously after facing stiff criticism from Republicans as the flow of migrants has increased since he took office in January. But the high-profile assignment for Harris, who ran for

Homeland Security Secretary said the administration's message to would-be border-crossers was simple: "Now is not the time to come. Do not come. The journey is dangerous"