News

Firm Announcements and Law Updates

 
Middle Tennessee Tornado Resources

Tennessee remains in a State of Emergency following a series of deadly tornadoes that struck overnight. As our Music City community works to recover from this heartbreaking disaster, there are numerous community organizations offering aid for those impacted. Disaster relief, shelters, and emergency medical assistance will not be counted in the new public charge test. If you have been impacted by the tornado and need assistance or resource referrals, please contact one of the following agencies.

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Public Charge Update

On January 27, 2020 the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a nationwide injunction blocking the Department of Homeland Security’s new Public Charge Final Rule. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that this new rule will be implemented on February 24, 2020. This rule change presents a significant new burden for the vast majority of green card applicants, shifting attention away from petitioner/sponsor income and redirecting it to the applicant.

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Proposed USCIS Fee Changes

USCIS announced its new proposed fee schedule on November 8, 2019, with an official publication date of November 14, 2019. The proposed changes include new and/or increased fees for adjustment of status, asylum, DACA renewals and naturalization. The proposed rule also seeks to eliminate critical fee waivers that allow vulnerable immigrants to maintain their status and progress in their immigration journey.

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Lookout for Visa Lottery Scams

Our office has noticed a significant rise in fraudulent emails from businesses claiming to be affiliated with the US Department of State and/or the Diversity Visa Lottery Program. Please be weary of any unsolicited contact you receive, and remember that that any official government correspondence will be from an email ending in “.gov”.

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Claire Costanzo
Public Charge Changes

On September 30, 2019, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) released a practice alert announcing that USCIS will not accept current versions of several forms if postmarked on or after October 15, 2019, due to the implementation of the Final Rule published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on August 14, 2019.

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Claire Costanzo
Diversity Visa 2021 Program - Applications Open

As a nonimmigrant visa holder, one of the biggest inconveniences for you is reapplying for a new visa every couple of years. If you are planning to remain in the United States for some time, an easy way to bypass the reapplication process is to apply for the US Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. The Program, better known as the Green Card Lottery, makes visas available to person meeting simple but strict eligibility requirements. A computer-generated random lottery drawing chooses selectees for diversity visas.

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Michael Smallbone