Joseph Caraccio

EOIR “Experiencing Intermittent Systemwide Outages”

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Email from EOIR on March 21, 2024, regarding system outages

Today, March 21, 2024, the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) sent out an email at 5:40 p.m. EST stating: EOIR has been experiencing intermittent systemwide outages and is working to ensure the issues are fully resolved. We will provide updates as appropriate, but please contact your local court with questions. We will issue new Notices of Hearing to those whose hearings were affected today. https://www.justice.gov/eoir/find-immigration-court-and-access-internet-based-hearings Since they provided the link to the internet-based hearings links, it seems they are referring to the Webex Virtual Hearings System. It also seemed that the Automated Case Status System Website was down earlier this afternoon. So if you had trouble accessing your Immigration Court Virtual Hearing today it wasn’t only you and there is no need to worry. The email from EOIR states that they will be sending out new hearing notices for those whose hearings were affected by the technical difficulties today.

2023 US IMMIGRATION DATA

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See admissions chart with complete data. NATURALIZATIONS YEAR NUMBER % Change 2023 217,000 -3 % 2022 224,000 Admissions Into The U.S. 2023 Class of admission Total Total all admissions (from PAS)1 60,900,000 Total I-94 admissions 30,750,195 Temporary workers and families 2,284,026 Temporary workers and trainees 1,697,411 CNMI-only transitional workers (CW1) 891 Spouses and children of CW1 (CW2) 206 Temporary workers in specialty occupations (H1B) 352,610 Chile and Singapore Free Trade Agreement aliens (H1B1) 1,125 Registered nurses participating in the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas (H1C) 0 Agricultural workers (H2A) 437,161 Nonagricultural workers (H2B) 73,295 Returning H2B workers (H2R)2 19 Trainees (H3) 570 Spouses and children of H1, H2, or H3 (H4) 113,960 Workers with extraordinary ability or achievement (O1) 51,507 Workers accompanying and assisting in performance of O1 workers (O2) 23,377 Spouses and children of O1 and O2 (O3) 7,794 Internationally recognized athletes or entertainers (P1) 55,932 Artists or entertainers in reciprocal exchange programs (P2) 5,552 Artists or entertainers in culturally unique programs (P3) 5,769 Spouses and children of P1, P2, or P3 (P4) 2,553 Workers in international cultural exchange programs (Q1) 1,340 Workers in religious occupations (R1) 5,824 Spouses and children of R1 (R2) 2,181 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) professional workers (TN) 495,396 Spouses and children of TN (TD) 60,349 Intracompany transferees 334,131 Intracompany transferees (L1) 228,395 Spouses and Children of L1 (L2)3 247 Spouses of L1 (L2S)3 65,707 Children of L1 (L2Y)3 39,782 Treaty traders and investors 238,265 Treaty traders (E1) 32,402 Spouses of treaty traders (E1S)4 445 Children of treaty traders (E1Y)4 284 Treaty investors (E2) 179,330 Spouses of treaty investors (E2S)4 3,491 Children of treaty investors (E2Y)4 1,645 Treaty investors and their spouses and children (CNMI only) (E2C) 35 Australian Free Trade Agreement principals (E3) 19,827 Spouses of Australian Free Trade Agreement principals (E3S)4 730 Children of Australian Free Trade Agreement principals (E3Y)4 76 Representatives of foreign information media 14,219 Representatives of foreign information media and spouses and children (I1) 14,219 Students 737,264 Academic students (F1) 705,253 Spouses and children of F1 (F2) 26,215 Vocational students (M1) 5,357 Spouses and children of M1 (M2) 439 Exchange visitors 193,302 Exchange visitors (J1) 167,945 Spouses and children of J1 (J2) 25,357 Diplomats and other representatives 197,901 Ambassadors, public ministers, career diplomatic or consular officers and their families (A1) 18,117 Other foreign government officials or employees and their families (A2) 77,876 Attendants, servants, or personal employees of A1 and A2 and their families (A3) 308 Principals of recognized foreign governments (G1) 6,880 Other representatives of recognized foreign governments (G2) 8,655 Representatives of nonrecognized or nonmember foreign governments (G3) 541 International organization officers or employees (G4) 56,927 Attendants, servants, or personal employees of representatives (G5) 157 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials, spouses, and children (N1 to N7) 28,440 Temporary visitors for pleasure 23,637,152 Temporary visitors for pleasure (B2) 16,797,614 Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure (WT) 6,582,615 Guam Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure to Guam (GT) 0 Guam – Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure to Guam or Northern Mariana Islands (GMT) 256,923 Temporary visitors for business 3,326,377 Temporary visitors for business (B1) 2,327,204 Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business (WB) 998,779 Guam Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business to Guam (GB) 0 Guam – Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business to Guam or Northern Mariana Islands (GMB) 394 Transit aliens 347,152 Aliens in continuous and immediate transit through the United States (C1) 342,745 Aliens in transit to the United Nations (C2) 300 Foreign government officials, their spouses, children, and attendants in transit (C3) 4,107 Transit without visa (C4) 0 Commuter students 461 Canadian or Mexican national academic commuter students (F3) 461 Canadian or Mexican national vocational commuter students (M3) 0 Alien Fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens and children 8,841 Fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens (K1) 7,525 Children of K1 (K2) 1,316 Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act 6 Spouses of U.S. citizens, visa pending (K3) 6 Children of U.S. citizens, visa pending (K4) 0 Spouses of permanent residents, visa pending (V1) 0 Children of permanent residents, visa pending (V2) 0 Dependents of V1 or V2, visa pending (V3) 0 Other 25 Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program aliens 0 Spouses and children of Q2 0 Parents of international organization special immigrants 25 Children of N8 or international organization special immigrants 0 Victims of a severe form of trafficking and spouses, children, parents, and siblings 0 Aliens suffering physical or mental abuse as victims of criminal activity and spouses, children, and parents 0 Unknown 17,688 Charts and graphs on this page are based on data from USCIS at https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/special-reports/legal-immigration

Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Texas Immigration Law

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supreme court of the usa

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the measure, Senate Bill 4, into law in December 2023, granting local law enforcement the power to arrest migrants and judges the ability to issue orders to remove them to Mexico. This was just after US Customs and Border Protection announced it would be temporarily suspending operations at the international railway crossing bridges in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, due to a surge in border crossings by migrants. Texas law, S.B. 4, is an unprecedented measure for a State to enforce immigration law and even have the ability to remove noncitizens from the country. Immediately the legal community questioned whether Texas had the authority to enforce federal immigration law or to remove noncitizens from the country. The Supreme Court of the United States will be answering that question shortly as they have. While we wait to hear what the Supreme Court has to say Texas will be blocked from implementing the new law according to the decision Justice Samuel Alito made on Monday, March 4, 2024. The law was delayed from taking effect for seven days by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in order to give the Biden administration time to appeal the matter to the Supreme Court, which they did. Now Justice Alito has delayed the implementation of the law until March 13, 2024, though the Supreme Court can extend that if they need additional time. In 2012 the Supreme Court struck down a measure that was passed by Arizona that did not go nearly as far as Texas’ S.B. 4. In Arizona v. U.S., the court’s 5-3 ruling upheld the authority of the federal government to set immigration policy and laws. The Supreme Court has a very different makeup now than it did in 2012, so it is entirely possible they will come to a different conclusion in this case. If they did allow the Texas law to stand it would change the the landscape of border security and enforcement of immigration law in the southern border states. There are very serious concerns about how Texas’ law could lead to racial profiling or instigate racial tensions in the State. Some advocates have said that the law would put Hispanics in danger and make them a target for unlawful stops and harassment by law enforcement as well as by anti-immigrant civilians. Earlier this year in Department of Homeland Security v. Texas the Court took up the issue of whether the Supreme Court should block an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that generally bars federal Border Patrol agents from cutting or moving razor wire installed by Texas along a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border. In that case the Supreme Court granted a request from the Biden administration to allow federal Border Patrol agents to cut or move razor wire installed by Texas along a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border. We should be hearing from SCOTUS on this matter prior to the expiration of SCOTUS’ current injunction on March 13, 2024.

Administrative Closure vs Termination vs Dismissal

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Immigration removal proceedings may conclude with relief granted by the Immigration Judge or removal ordered. Cases may not reach conclusion for reasons such as eligibility for other immigration benefits or changes in circumstances, leading to prosecutorial discretion or legal motion to end proceedings. Termination, dismissal, and administrative closure are distinct ways to conclude proceedings, each with unique legal implications and consequences for the respondent’s immigration status and potential future proceedings. Administrative closure, unlike termination and dismissal, allows for the possibility of re-opening the case and maintaining employment authorization.

New Filing Fees Starting April 1, 2024

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USCIS Updated Filing Fees 2024

The new fees will go into effect on April 1, 2024. Click here for the New Filing Fee Schedule or download the pdf. Final Rule U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees for the first time since 2016. The final rule will allow USCIS to recover a greater share of its operating costs and support more timely processing of new applications. The press release from USCIS states quotes USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou, “For the first time in over seven years, USCIS is updating our fees to better meet the needs of our agency, enabling us to provide more timely decisions to those we serve. Despite years of inadequate funding, the USCIS workforce has made great strides in customer service, backlog reduction, implementing new processes and programs, and upholding fairness, integrity, and respect for all we serve.” The fees were initially posted for review and public comment in January 2023. USCIS received over 5,400 unique public comments in response, which they claim to have taken into consideration when deciding on the final amounts. Every fee in the final rule is the same or lower than in the proposed rule. For most individual filers, the final rule limits how much newly established fees may increase. Under the final rule, the new fees will not increase by more than 26%, which is equivalent to the increase in the Consumer Price Index since the last fee rule was issued in 2016. NOTEWORTHY CHANGES There will be no grace period for the following new forms. Filers should click the links below to access a preview version of each new form edition before the April 1, 2024, effective date: See full list of USCIS Forms updated filing fees.

USCIS Reduced Its Backlog for the First Time in Over a Decade

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USCIS completed over 10 million cases in 2023. This information is according to a press release from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). The press release states: In FY 2023, USCIS received 10.9 million filings and completed more than 10 million pending cases– both record-breaking numbers in the agency’s history. In doing so, USCIS reduced overall backlogs by 15%. Among USCIS’ record number of case completions in FY 2023, the agency administered the Oath of Allegiance to more than 878,500 new U.S. citizens, including 12,000 members of the military, effectively eliminating the backlog of naturalization applications . The median processing time for naturalization applicants decreased from 10.5 months to 6.1 months by the end of the fiscal year, achieving the agency’s longstanding goal and significantly reducing waiting times for most individuals seeking U.S. citizenship. USCIS Press Release (available at: https://www.uscis.gov/EOY2023) The press release explains that USCIS received 10.9 million filings and completed “more than 10 million” cases. It is is difficult to understand how USCIS could have reduced its backlog if it completed less cases than were added to the backlog in 2023. However the math works USCIS claims it has reduced its overall backlog by 15%. The graph to the left is from the press release. Cycle Times USCIS states that in March 2022 new internal cycle time goals were established for 25 forms to guide the agency’s backlog reduction efforts. A cycle time measures how many months’ worth of pending cases for a particular form are awaiting a decision and are used to gauge progress on reducing backlogs. As cycle times improve, processing times will follow, and applicants and petitioners will receive decisions on their cases more quickly. USCIS states that it achieved the cycle time goal for nine of the forms, including naturalization. Further, USCIS claims it reduced cycle times for all but one of the 25 forms that were identified.  USCIS notes that it achieved these time reductions at the same time it was receiving a record number of new cases and responding to growing humanitarian needs around the world. USCIS predicts that it will continue reduce processing times and will work to achieve the stated cycle time goals. Displayed below is the data from a select number of those 25 forms. The full data set for all 25 forms is available from USCIS.