President Biden's Immigration Law

On July 9th, 2021, there was a meeting between AILA and the Department of State (DOS) Liaison Committee about visa backlogs and delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the takeaways from the AILA meeting about the DOS backlog and delays. The Immigration and Nationality Lawyers at the NPZ Law Group Continue to monitor the backlogs and delays and work closely with their colleagues at AILA to seek resolutions for their clients concerning same.

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The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) delivered interim guidance (Johnson Memorandum) on February 18, 2021 that became effective immediately regarding priorities for custody decisions, financial expenditures, enforcement planning, strategic planning, and implementation of final orders of removal. Thereafter, on May 27, 2021, Acting General Counsel Joseph B. Maher issued a memorandum (Maher Memorandum) that further expanded on these issues. Both memorandum provide the groundwork for implementing prosecutorial discretion within ICE and the Immigration Courts across the United States.
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued three new policy updates in the USCIS Policy Manual. These updates:

• Clarify the criteria and circumstances for expedited processing;
• Address the circumstances in which officers should issue Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs); and
• Extend the validity period for initial and renewal employment authorization documents (EADs) for certain noncitizens with pending adjustment of status applications.

These updates support Executive Order (E.O.) 14012, “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans” directing federal agencies to identify strategies that promote inclusion and identify barriers that impede access to immigration benefits, issued by President Biden on Feb. 2, 2021.
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On May 14th, 2021, President Biden signed a proclamation revoking Proclamation 9945. The suspension of entry imposed in Proclamation 9945 of October 4, 2019 (Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden the United States Healthcare System,
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Starting Tuesday, May 4th, The Biden administration will ban most travel from India amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the country.

"On the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administration will restrict travel from India starting immediately," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.
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The president said he supports reconciliation if immigration-related bills can't reach the 60-vote threshold. Currently, there are "narrow bills providing citizenship pathways for Dreamers and legal status for farmworkers are currently stalled in the Senate after passing the House earlier this year," reports Politico.
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Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Krysten Sinema (D-AZ) introduced an immigration bill to address rising levels of migrants at the southern border.
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The Washington Post reported that the Supreme Court "seemed unlikely Monday to find that thousands of immigrants who entered the country illegally and were granted a temporary stay for humanitarian reasons may seek permanent residency."
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That deadline for the 100-day review is approaching. However, ICE has yet to announce a formal process to review the cases of everyone in its custody for release, including those who are not enforcement priorities.
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On December 31, 2020, former President Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation on Suspension of Entry of Immigrants and Nonimmigrants Who Continue to Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market. Although this proclamation extended Presidential Proclamations (P.P.) 10014 and 10052 through March 31, 2021, President Biden rescinded P.P. 10014 on February 24, 2021.
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Certain business travelers, investors, treaty traders, academics, students, and journalists may qualify for national interest exceptions under the Presidential Proclamation (PP) covering travelers from the Schengen Area, United Kingdom, and Ireland. Qualified travelers who are applying for or have valid visas or ESTA authorization may travel to the United States even as the PP remains in effect following the procedures below.
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