Some DACA Recipients Must Return Work Permits

Who Is Affected and Why

You must return your 3-year Employment Authorization Document (EAD) if:

• You are a DACA recipient who received a 3-year EAD after Feb. 16, 2015; and
• USCIS has sent you one or more letters and/or notices to inform you of the action you must take. In addition, USCIS may have contacted you already or may contact you by telephone, text message, email, and/or in-person at your home. 

If you received a 3-year DACA work permit after Feb. 16, 2015, you can use our online tool to verify whether you must return your EAD.

For more information, please visit USCIS

U.S. Judge Orders Release of Detained Immigrant Children

A federal judge in California has ruled that the Obama administration’s detention of children and their mothers who were caught crossing the border illegally is a serious violation of a longstanding court settlement, and that the families should be released as quickly as possible.

In a decision late Friday roundly rejecting the administration’s arguments for holding the families, Judge Dolly M. Gee of Federal District Court for the Central District of California found that two detention centers in Texas that the administration opened last summer fail to meet minimum legal requirements of the 1997 settlement for facilities housing children.

To read more, go to LATimes.com

Photo by Chris Potter

EB-5 and other USCIS Timelines for July 2015

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Processing Times have had changed slightly for July 2015. The initial Immigrant Investor Form I-526 Petition and Package processing times was decreased by half a month, but the Form I-829 and Form I-924 processing times have increases.

For more information about the EB-5 program, please contact the JQK Law Firm at (310) 582-5904.

Form I-526 (Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur)

• 13.4 months (no change)

Form I-829 (Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions) 

• 13.6 months (Increase of .5 months)

Form I-924 (Application for Regional Center)

• 11.5 (Decrease of .7 month)

For more USCIS Processing times, please visit these links:

AAO Processing Time Reports

CSC Processing Time Reports

NBC Processing Time Reports

NSC Processing Time Reports

TSC Processing Time Reports

VSC Processing Time Reports

EB-5 Processing Time Reports

International Operations Offices Processing Time Reports

PERM Processing Time Reports

Changes to Mexico E Visa processing

Increases in Applications for Visas at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico have caused that Embassy to stop processing E-1 and E-1 Treaty Trader and Investor Visas. 

From now on, the E-1 Visas will be handled by the Consulate in Monterrey and Tijuana, and E-2 Visas will be processed in in the Consulate in Ciudad Juarez. For more information about applying for this type of Visa in Mexico, go to this site.

August 2015 Visa Bulletin Release - China Times Hit Hard

This months Visa Bulletin saw a steady move forward in the Family-Based Preference Categories, except the various categories for Mexico.

U.S. State Department Family Based Visa Bulletin, August 2015

However, the Employment Based Categories had some interesting movements. Many categories saw multi-month moves forward, with the EB-3 preference category for "All Chargeability Areas" being almost Current. However, the Chinese EB-3 Category retrogressed by more than 7 years and the 5th Preference (EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa) stayed the same and did not have any movement. 

Finally, the EB-3 Category for the Philippines went from being "U" (Unavailable) to showing a date of June 1, 2004.

U.S. State Department Employment Based Visa Bulletin, August 2015

US & Cuba to Open Embassies in Havana and Washington D.C.

President Obama formally announced on Wednesday that the United States and Cuba have both agreed to open embassies in each other’s capitals following more than a half-century of hostilities between the two nations.  

"This is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with the Cuban government and people and begin a new chapter with our neighbors in the Americas,” Obama said.

The U.S. Embassy in Havana is scheduled to open on July 20, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said.

The U.S. and Cuba have been negotiating the re-establishment of embassies following a surprise announcement in December that secret talks between the global foes had led to a landmark agreement.

Read more at FoxNews.com