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SCOTUS DISGARDS CHEVRON DOCTRINE

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In the decision issued on Friday, June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court significantly weakened the power of federal agencies to implement and enforce regulations. The court’s decision written by Chief Justice Roberts, overturns the Court’s 1984 finding in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council and will have a major impact on the Federal Government’s ability to regulate everything from climate change to artificial intelligence to labor and immigration. It marks a huge win for corporations, as it will be significantly harder for the government to restrict their ability to dump toxic waste into rivers, treat their workers horribly, make children’s toys with known carcinogens, and fix prices on products people need. This also gives the Courts a lot more power and control over how regulations are interpreted and enforced. In Chevron, the Supreme Court granted the federal government broad deference to enact regulations without judicial interference under the idea that the specialists who write environmental regulations for the EPA or immigration policy or DHS, should be assumed to know what they are talking about. Ultimately it allowed for agencies to enact regulations without having to wait for the courts to weigh in, unless the regulation was an unreasonable interpretation of the underlying law enacted by Congress that delegated regulatory authority to that agency. “ rule of judicial humility gives way to a rule of judicial hubris. In one fell swoop, the majority today gives itself exclusive power over every open issue — no matter how expertise-driven or policy-laden — involving the meaning of regulatory law. As if it did not have enough on its plate, the majority turns itself into the country’s administrative czar… The majority disdains restraint, and grasps for power.” Justice Kagan in LOPER BRIGHT ENTERPRISES ET AL. v. RAIMONDO, SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

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

 540-Day Automatic Extension Rule Ends Today

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 540-Day Automatic Extension Rule Ends October 26, 2023 On May 3, 2022, USCIS announced a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) increasing the automatic extension period for certain Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewal applications to up to 540 days. The TFR ends today, October 26, 2023. Eligible applicants who filed before October 26, 2023 will receive the 540-day extension.  Eligible applicants who file their EAD renewal applications after today will still receive an automatic 180-day extension on their work authorization.    For more information about employment authorization you can check the wiki.

Extension and Redesignation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the extension of Venezuela’s 2021 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for 18 months and a separate redesignation of Venezuela for TPS for 18 months. DHS has posted a Federal Register notice for public inspection. The Federal Register notice will be published on Oct. 3, 2023. If You Currently Have TPS or Have a Pending Application (Venezuela 2021) If You Do Not Currently Have TPS and Would Like to File an Initial Application (Venezuela 2023) More InformationFor the most current information related to Temporary Protected Status, visit our TPS webpage.

What Are Immigration Assistance Services

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New York State does allow for these immigration assistance services to operate providing limited services, but it is regulated by NY law and THEY ARE NOT PERMITTED TO PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE.  There are registration requirements and requirements for how they advertise, post notices, inform clients of their rights, and there is a list of services they cannot offer.  These service providers must hold a surety bond in the amount of $50,000 to protect clients who may be harmed by their services, and they are subject to fines and other legal action for violating those guidelines.  Exec. Law 135-b(2), (3)Requires a Notary who advertises Notary services in a foreign language to include a prescribed notice, as specified; prohibits a Notary from using terms in a foreign-language advertisement that mean or imply the Notary is an attorney licensed to practice law in NY What Are Immigration Assistance Service Providers? Many states allow the sketchy practice of non-lawyers charging money to assist immigrants in preparing their filings for USCIS or Immigration Court. I strongly advise against using these operations, especially since New York is a market that is flooded with Immigration Lawyers and therefore has an abundance of very low-cost immigration attorneys, on top of the many pro bono legal service providers.  Should I Use One to Save Money? I get how these services may be appealing to people who are filing an I-90 to get a replacement green card. The problem is when people think they are doing something routine like filing for citizenship after being a resident for 30 years, and they don’t realize that by doing so, they may be opening up a can of worms that results in them in Court fighting not to lose their legal permanent resident status.  There are plenty of immigration lawyers that offer free consultations, so go meet with one and make sure you know what you don’t know before you do something that may end up harming your case.  Are They Legal In New York State? New York State does allow for these immigration assistance services to operate providing limited services, but it is regulated by NY law and THEY ARE NOT PERMITTED TO PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE. Specifically, the New York General Business Law, Article 28-C, Section 460 (link). Gen. Bus. Law Article 28-c Section 460-a Defines immigrant assistance services, specifies rules for contracts and notices, provides prohibited acts and penalties, and requires a surety bond, contract of indemnity or irrevocable letter of credit of at least $50,000 if total fees and compensation for providing services exceeds $250,000 a year. One thing I really like about the law is the requirement that these service providers have a surety bond that is for the benefit of any client they harm with their service. 28-C, Section 460 F provides: Every provider shall maintain in full force and effect for the entire period during which the provider provides immigrant assistance services and for one year after the provider ceased to do business as an immigrant assistance service provider, a bond, contract of indemnity, or irrevocable letter of credit, payable to the people of the state of New York, in the principal amount of fifty thousand dollars; provided, however, that every provider that receives in excess of two hundred fifty thousand dollars in total fees and other compensation for providing immigrant assistance service during any twelve-month period shall maintain in full force and effect a bond, contract of indemnity, or irrevocable letter of credit, payable to the people of the state of New York, in the principal amount of twenty percent of such total fees and compensation. Such surety shall be for the benefit of any customer who does not receive a refund of fees from the provider to which he or she is entitled, or is otherwise injured by the provider. The attorney general on behalf of the customer or the customer in his or her own name, may maintain an action against the provider and the surety. Full Text of the Law    or as a PDF ARE THERE STATES WHERE THEY ARE ILLEGAL? Yes. Several states have laws barring them or limiting things like advertising with the term “notario” or similar laws. CALIFORNIA Business and & Professional Code 6126.7 and 22442.3; Goverment Code 8219.5Prohibits translation of notario public into Spanish; establishes rules for advertising as a Notary in a foreign language; provides remedies COLORADO CRS 12-55-110.3(1), (2), (3)Prohibits a Notary who is not a CO attorney from representing or advertising himself or herself as an immigration consultant or an expert on immigration matters; requires posting of a prescribed notice, as specified if a Notary advertises in a language other than English; prohibits a nonattorney Notary from using the phrase notario publico to advertise the services of the Notary. CONNECTICUT CGS 3-95aProhibits a Notary from offering legal advice in immigration matters unless the Notary is an attorney or is authorized under 8 CFR 292.2; prohibits a Notary from using or assuming or advertising with the title notario publico unless the Notary is an attorney or provides written notice or states in the advertisement that the Notary is not an attorney. Massachusetts GL 221-46ADefines the practice of law Gov. Exec. Order 455 (04-04) (6)(i), (j)Prohibits a Notary public from claiming to have powers, qualifications, rights, or privileges that the office of Notary Public does not provide, including the power to counsel on immigration matters; prohibits a Notary from using the term notario or notario publico or any equivalent non-English term in any business card, advertisement, notice, or sign; prohibits a nonattorney Notary from assisting another person in drafting, completing, selecting, or understanding a document or transaction requiring a notarial act, or otherwise engaging in the practice of law. OTHER STATES There are about a dozen other States that have similar laws restricting legal service providers. A good place to look up your state if you don’t see it above is https://www.nationalnotary.org/immigration/knowledge-center/state-immigration-consulting-rules