Shusterman’s Immigration Update November 2019
Volume Twenty Four, Number Eleven
SHUSTERMAN’S 
IMMIGRATION UPDATE is the Web’s most popular e-mail newsletter regarding US immigration laws and procedures with over 40,000 subscribers located in more than 150 countries. It is written by a former INS Trial Attorney (1976-82) with over 40 years of experience practicing immigration law.
Published by the Law Offices of Carl Shusterman, 600 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1550, Los Angeles, California, 90017. Phone: (213) 623-4592 x0
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Shusterman’s Immigration Update November 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. New Health Insurance Requirement – Who Does It Apply To?
2. November 2019 State Department Visa Bulletin
3. Visa Bulletin Predictions for Fiscal Year 2020
4. Immigration Government Processing Times
5. Success Story: Increase Your Chances of Winning Your Asylum Case
6. Trivia Quiz: The Integration of Immigrants into American Culture
7. Ask Mr. Shusterman: Relief Act – The Right Way to Fix Immigration Backlogs
8. Shusterman’s Upcoming Immigration Seminars
9. Jobs & Green Cards for RNs & MedTechs: Free Legal Help!
10. Winner of Our October 2019 Immigration Trivia Quiz
Shusterman’s Immigration Update November 2019 NEWS FLASHES
- Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on DACA Termination on November 12 – The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether President Trump’s attempt to terminate the DACA was lawful on November 12. The Justices will decide whether the government’s decision to end DACA is something that courts can review and, if so, whether the decision to end DACA was legal.
- USCIS Clarifies Qualifications Regarding Special Immigrant Juvenile Classification — On October 15, USCIS’s Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) issued 3 decisions in order to clarify requirements regarding the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification. Under these decisions, the agency stated that in order to grant SIJ status, it needs evidence of a court’s intervention to provide relief to foreign-born children who are victims of abuse, neglect, abandonment, or similar maltreatment.
- Lawmakers Urge Attorney General William Barr to Withdraw Decertification Petition — On September 16, 80 members of Congress wrote a letter to Attorney General William Barr urging him to rescind the petition made by the U.S. Department of Justice to decertify the National Association of Immigration Judges. Dozens of lawmakers have argued that the decertification process would strip federal immigration judges of their independence and their collective bargaining rights.
- Judge Grants Class Action Status in Case Challenging USCIS, DHS, and ICE’s Failure to Respond to FOIA Requests — On October 15, a district court certified two nationwide class action lawsuits that had been filed challenging USCIS’s, DHS’s, and ICE’s inability to respond to FOIA requests for immigration case files in a timely manner. By law, all federal agencies are required to issue FOIA determinations within a maximum of 30 days. However, the federal agencies neglected to allocate the necessary resources to address the backlog and failed to comply within the statutory time.
- DOJ Proposes Rule to Collect DNA from Migrants Detained by Immigration Officials — On October 21, the Department of Justice proposed a new rule which would authorize federal agencies to collect DNA samples from detained migrants. Although DNA profiling would be used to help convict people who have committed serious crimes, it has raised privacy concerns for asylum-seekers and minor offenders whose genetic information would be stored into an FBI database.
- Update on the Public Charge Rule — A number of federal courts have enjoined the government from changing the rules on the use of public benefits for applicants seeking permanent residency or a temporary visa. Here are a few things that you need to know about the proposed rule.
- USCIS Revises Criteria to be Eligible for a Fee Waiver — On October 25, the USCIS announced policy guidance to address changes to fee waiver eligibility criteria. The revised form I-912 will no longer require an individual to use proof of receipt of means-tested public benefits to determine whether or not they are exempt from paying for filing fees or biometric services.
- Secret Pilot Program at El Paso Aims to Hasten Deportation of Asylum Seekers — The Trump Administration is experimenting with a new program called the Prompt Asylum Claim Review, which aims to deter illegal immigration and prevent asylum seekers from entering the United States. According to the Washington Post, the purpose of this program is to accelerate the asylum process so that asylum seekers receive decisions on their cases in less than 10 days.
1. The New Health Insurance Requirement – Who Does It Apply To?
The new health insurance requirement for persons applying for green cards abroad is scheduled to go into effect on November 3, 2019. It may prevent many hundreds of thousands of persons from getting green cards. However, there are numerous exceptions to this rule.
2. November 2019 Visa Bulletin
The Visa Bulletin is issued by the U.S. State Department on a monthly basis. The Bulletin shows the backlogs for persons who have been sponsored for green cards through their employers, their relatives, through investments and through the diversity lottery. The length of the backlog varies depending on the person’s preference category and their country of chargeability which is usually their country of birth.
3. Visa Bulletin Predictions for FY2020
Charlie Oppenheim at the US Department of State issues visa bulletin predictions as to how rapidly or slowly he expects the priority dates in the employment-based and family-based categories to move forward, or to retrogress.
You can stay up-to-date with the waiting times in the Visa Bulletin by subscribing to our Free E-Mail Newsletter.
4. Immigration Government Processing Times
We link to the most recent immigration waiting times for each of the four USCIS Service Centers, the National Benefits Center and the Administrative Appeals Office. We also link to the processing times of all of the 83 USCIS District Offices and Sub-offices. We link to the Labor Department’s page entitled “Processing dates for labor certification applications”. Finally, we link to the State Department’s “Visa Wait Times” page.
5. Success Story: Increase Your Chances of Winning Your Asylum Case
It would seem logical that an immigrant fleeing persecution in his country of origin would have as good a chance to have his asylum case granted in one part of the U.S. as in another. The law and regulations governing asylum do not vary from state to state. However, this is far from the truth.
6. Trivia Quiz: The Integration of Immigrants into American Culture
This month’s Immigration Trivia Quiz is entitled:
The Integration of Immigrants into American Culture
The first person to correctly answer our quiz (and supply their biographical information) wins a free legal consultation with one of our attorneys before the end of November.
7. Ask Mr. Shusterman: Relief Act – The Right Way to Fix Immigration Backlogs
One of the most serious problems in our broken immigration system is that there are not nearly enough immigrant visas – also known as green cards – available each year. As a result, immigrants are stuck in crippling backlogs for many years. The Relief Act introduced by Senators Durbin and Leahy on October 16 would eliminate current per-country caps and increase the number of immigrant visas, both in the employment-based and family-based categories.
8. Shusterman’s Upcoming Immigration Seminars
Topic: Social Media and Technology Update
Webinar: AILA Latin America and Caribbean Chapter
November 6, 2019 at 10:00am
32nd Annual AILA California Chapters Conference
Topic: Federal Litigation for Family-Based Immigration
Monterey Conference Center
Monterey, California
November 7-9, 2019
9. Jobs & Green Cards for RNs & MedTechs – Free Legal Help!
Are you a Registered Nurse or a Medical Technologist or a Speech Language Pathologist who is looking for a job in the US?
What if you could find a job, a work visa, and green cards for you and your family to live in the US? And what if the cost to you for all of this was zero dollars?
Hard to believe? Let me explain.
10. Winner of Our October 2019 Immigration Trivia Quiz
October’s Immigration Quiz was entitled: Hollywood’s Horror Movie Industry is Fueled by Immigrants
Here are the answers to the Immigration Quiz from our winner, Salar:
“A) Names:
1. Alfred Hitchcock
2. James Whale
3. Takashi Shimizu
B) Country of birth:
1. United Kingdom
2. United Kingdom
3. Japan
C) A popular horror film they directed:
1. Psycho
2. Frankenstein
3. Ju-On: The Grudge“
Congratulations, Salar! And thank you for keeping up with our newsletter!
Carl Shusterman
Certified Specialist in Immigration Law, State Bar of California
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Attorney (1976-82)
Member of AILA Board of Governors (1988-97)
Law Offices of Carl Shusterman, 600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1550
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: (213) 623-4592 x0, Fax: (213) 623-3720
“America should be rolling out the red carpet for high-skilled immigrants – they fill jobs we have open now, and ultimately they create even more jobs,”
– John Feinblatt, President of New American Economy
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