Articles Posted in Politics

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President Trump will soon return to the White House, bringing with him many changes in the world of immigration.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares the ways in which the Trump administration will impact the processing at visas U.S. Consulates and Embassies worldwide, including immigrant and non-immigrant visas.

This video also covers the latest updates regarding the operational capacity of U.S. Consular posts and Embassies as of November 2024.

If you are currently waiting in line for a visa interview at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad, you won’t want to miss this video.

Overview

President Trump will settle into the White House on January 20, 2024, bringing with him new appointments to cabinet level positions. His pick for Secretary of State is likely to be the Republican Marco Rubio, a known conservative who supports legal immigration and a crackdown on illegal immigration.

Nonimmigrant visa applicants may face new restrictions when applying at U.S. Consulates and Embassies. During the previous Trump administration, work visa applicants were under much heavier scrutiny than ever before. H-1B, O-1, L-1, and J visa applicants found it much more difficult to obtain approvals both at the USCIS and Consular level.

These challenges existed even for applicants seeking extensions of their work visa.

To avoid being subject to greater scrutiny, applicants should file their cases as soon as possible. If premium processing service is available for your petition, take advantage of it.

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The American people have spoken. Donald Trump will return to the White House on January 20, 2025, becoming the next President of the United States.

This past month, the Trump administration has been busy laying the groundwork to implement stricter border policy measures, strike-down Biden-era immigration policies, and put in motion the large-scale deportation of undocumented immigrants.

But how could a Trump presidency impact legal immigration?

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what we can expect to see from the incoming Trump administration, with a specific focus on the changes that could impact business immigration law. You will learn about the five major changes that employers and foreign workers should consider in the months ahead.

If you’re an employer looking to hire foreign talent, or are actively employing foreign workers, then you won’t want to miss this video. If you’re a foreign worker going through the visa process, or thinking of applying for a visa, we will share with you the insider information you need to know to ensure your process is successful.

Want to know more? Just keep on watching

Overview

The Trump administration’s immigration policies are expected to impact workers in all industries. Individuals close to the President elect have revealed that they are preparing executive actions on immigration to be rolled out soon after Trump takes office in January.

Here are the top five ways that Trump’s immigration policies will impact business immigration.

#1 The Use of Executive Orders

During his first term in office, Donald Trump relied heavily on executive orders to bring about far-reaching changes in immigration policy, including his notorious “Muslim travel ban.”

As you may recall, in 2017 President Trump signed an executive order banning people from six Muslim-majority countries, from entering the United States for a period of 90 days. These countries were Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.

The executive order prevented nationals from entering, even if they held visas to travel to the United States, causing wide-spread family separation for those seeking to be reunited with their spouses, parents, and children in the United States.

Upon taking office, we expect President Trump to issue a series of executive orders that will restrict the admission of certain foreign nationals to the United States and codify his hardline immigration policies.

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The aftermath of the presidential election has sent shockwaves throughout the immigrant community.

In just 70 days, Donald Trump is set to become the next President of the United States. That means that major changes are coming to immigration law and policy.

In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what Trump’s victory means for immigration, including his promise to execute mass deportations throughout the United States, as well as other controversial immigration policies that he is expected to implement when he takes office on January 20, 2025.

Want to know more? Just keep on watching

Overview

Mass Deportations

Throughout his campaign, Trump has called for mass deportations nationwide which he has said will be the “largest deportation effort in American history. “

It is said that his advisors are discussing whether they can declare a “national emergency,” to allow the government to call upon military officials to detain and remove undocumented migrant gang members from the United States. His campaign has also suggested ending sanctuary cities to remove suspected criminals, including drug dealers and cartel members from the population.

His promises also include hiring thousands of border patrol agents to secure the southern border to deter illegal immigration.

Trump’s Top Five Policies Targeting Immigration Law

The following are the top 5 areas where Trump’s policies will have the greatest impact in the lives of immigrants in the United States.

Immigrants should understand the potential challenges they could face under the Trump administration and consult with an experienced immigration attorney to create a plan of action in the months ahead. It is important to do so as soon as possible, because sensitive cases may call for immediate action before Trump is inaugurated.

#1 Asylum Restrictions

During Trump’s presidency in 2017, his administration was responsible for implementing widespread asylum restrictions. It is likely that his administration will re-implement many of his previous immigration policies, which limit asylum applications.

His policies are also likely to restrict asylum applications at the border, as they did during his first term in office.

Examples of Asylum Restrictions:

In 2020, the Trump administration published 7 final rules in the Federal Register to:

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Former President Donald J. Trump has launched his campaign for a second presidential term in 2024. His announcement creates important implications for immigration considering that he is likely to win the Republican nomination in the presidential race.

In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick tells you all you need to know about his contentious new immigration plan, ahead of the election.

Overview

It is no secret that during his presidential term Donald Trump took a hardline stance on immigration which led to restrictive immigration policies that impacted thousands of immigrants and nonimmigrants worldwide.

As part of his presidential campaign, Trump recently unveiled his immigration proposals, including new measures that would create further challenges for immigrants to obtain visas to the United States. If he were to be re-elected to the office of the President, such measures would be concerning for people everywhere.

What are some of Trump’s immigration proposals if he were re-elected in 2025?

Among Donald Trump’s immigration proposals, he seeks to prioritize securing the U.S. border to prevent illegal immigration to the United States from Mexico, as well as passing a host of controversial policies limiting legal immigration.

Getting Tough on the U.S. Mexico Border

  • Trump proposes a naval blockade by the Coast Guard and U.S. Navy to stop drug smuggling boats in U.S.-Latin America waters.
  • Drug cartels would be designated as “unlawful enemy combatants,” which would allow U.S. military intervention in Mexico.
  • Completion of the Southern border wall which was part of his immigration agenda as President

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares recent legislation that would provide a pathway to permanent residency for certain undocumented immigrants that have resided in the United States for at least 7 years. We explain everything you need to know about this new proposal and how it might impact you.

Did you know? On July 20, 2022, several members of Congress introduced a proposed law, known as “Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929,” that if passed would allow people who have been living in the US for at least seven years to be able to obtain their green card through “registry.”

Want to know more? Just keep on watching.

Overview

What is this bill about?

The proposed bill known as “Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929,” introduced by Democrats Zoe Lofgren, Lou Correa, and Norma Torres, would change just one line of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) known as the “registry,” which was previously frozen since 1986.

“Registry,” is a section of immigration law that enables certain individuals who have been present in the United States for a specified period of time, the ability to apply for a Green Card (permanent residence), even if they are currently in the United States unlawfully.

To be eligible for a green card under the registry provisions, applicants must have entered the United States by a certain period of time, have continuously resided in the United States since entering, be a person of good moral character, and otherwise not be deportable or inadmissible to the United States.

The registry date under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) essentially functions as a sort of statute of limitations for illegal entry, allowing Congress to set arbitrary dates that determine which undocumented immigrants would be allowed to adjust their status to permanent residency inside the United States.

Congress first statutorily legalized the status of undocumented immigrants who arrived by 1921, then 1924, then 1928, then 1940 and finally 1972. No change in the law has been made since then. But now, Congressional democrats are seeking to adjust the registry date to open a pathway to permanent residency for millions of undocumented immigrants.

While this is only a proposal, that has not yet become law, the bill has the opportunity to create dialogue among both political parties in Congress. The first attempt at renewing the registry provisions came under the Biden administration’s Build Back Better Act, which unfortunately failed to gain enough support to become law.

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Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog! It’s the start of a brand-new year and as always, we at the Law Offices of Jacob J. Sapochnick, are committed to bringing you the latest in immigration news. We are happy for you to join us.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares his top predictions for U.S. immigration in the new year. In this blog post we cover the following topics: What will happen to visa processing during the COVID-19 pandemic? Will there be immigration reform in the new year? Will any new changes be made to the H-1B visa program? What about fee increases? Stay tuned to find out more.

Overview

What are some of our key immigration law predictions for the upcoming year?

Increase in Filing Fees for USCIS petitions and DOS Non-Immigrant Visa Fees

Our first prediction for the new year is an increase in filing fees at both the USCIS and Department of State levels, to help increase government resources during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As you might recall, back in October of 2020, USCIS attempted to increase its filing fees to meet its operational costs. Among the petitions that were to be the most impacted were N-400 applications for naturalization, L visa petitions, O visa petitions, and petitions for qualifying family members of U-1 nonimmigrants.

Fortunately, in September of 2020, a federal court struck down the planned USCIS increase in fees arguing that the new fee increases would adversely impact vulnerable and low-income applicants, especially those seeking humanitarian protections.

We believe that early in the new year USCIS will again publish a rule in the Federal Register seeking to increase its fees to help keep the agency afloat. USCIS previously insisted that the additional fees were necessary to increase the number of personnel at its facilities to meet the increasing demand for adjudication of certain types of petitions. It is no secret that USCIS has experienced severe revenue shortfalls since the start of the pandemic as more and more families found it difficult to afford filing fees. Once those details have been made public we will provide more information right here on our blog and on our YouTube channel.

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Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses a major new development in immigration law: H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on November 19, 2021 and will now move to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

In this blog post, we break down all the major immigration provisions of the Build Back Better Act, including the introduction of new fees that will apply to certain categories of immigrants to request a waiver of the numerical limitations under the law.

Want to know more? Just keep on watching.

Overview

What are the major immigration provisions of the Build Back Better Act?

If passed section 60001 of the House bill would amend certain provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act and open a path to permanent residency for four classes of immigrants allowing them to adjust their status to permanent residence (a green card). To be eligible, applicants would be required to pay a supplemental fee of $1,500, have no criminal background, and have no inadmissibility issues.

Under the bill, the following individuals would be eligible to apply for permanent residency:

  1. Dreamers: young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children before 2007, who have continuously resided in the United States, gone to school, and who otherwise have no criminal record
  2. Essential Workers: The Act would also extend an opportunity to individuals in our workforce who have played an essential role in our society, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, such as health care workers, energy and transportation workers, public works employees, and manufacturing workers, among others.
  3. Temporary Protected Status recipients: recipients of Temporary Protected Status would also be eligible to apply for permanent residency. Temporary Protected Status is a temporary designation given to eligible nationals of designated countries affected by armed conflict or natural disaster. The TPS designation allows recipients to live and work in the United States on a lawful temporary basis
  4. Deferred Enforcement Departure applicants: those who have received a grant of Deferred Enforced Departure would also be eligible to apply for permanent residency. Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) (formerly Extended Voluntary Departure) is a form of relief from removal that allows certain individuals from designated countries and regions facing political or civic conflict or natural disaster to live and work in the United States on a lawful basis.

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