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USCIS Form I-130 Filing Guide Details Requirements for Family-Based Immigration Petitions

USCIS Form I-130 Filing Guide Details Requirements for Family-Based Immigration Petitions

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, is a crucial document for individuals seeking to sponsor family members for immigration to the United States. The form requires the petitioner to provide detailed information about their qualifying family relationship, themselves, and the beneficiary. It is divided into nine parts, covering aspects such as the relationship, petitioner's and beneficiary's biographic information, marital history, and immigration history. Petitioners must use the current USCIS edition of the form and ensure all information is accurate and consistent with supporting documents. Specific instructions are provided for completing each section, including how to address questions that may not apply and how to provide additional information if needed. For spouse beneficiaries, Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary, is generally also required.
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Refugees Face Deportation Risk Despite Status Following Criminal Convictions

Refugees Face Deportation Risk Despite Status Following Criminal Convictions

Refugees admitted to the United States can be deported, or 'removed' as per the official legal term, if they are convicted of a qualifying crime, even though their refugee status itself is not revoked by the conviction. U.S. immigration law, specifically INA § 237, applies deportability grounds to any noncitizen who has been admitted, including refugees. While refugee status is granted to individuals fleeing persecution and is generally protected unless obtained through fraud, a criminal conviction can trigger removal proceedings. The process for removal and the maintenance of refugee status operate on two separate tracks. Many refugees are unaware that they are required to apply for a green card one year after admission, and failure to do so can make them more vulnerable to removal if they commit a crime, as they may be placed directly into removal proceedings without their refugee status being terminated first.
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U.S. ICE Facility Detainees Launch Hunger Strike Over Prolonged Detention and Conditions

U.S. ICE Facility Detainees Launch Hunger Strike Over Prolonged Detention and Conditions

At least 73 immigrants detained at the privately run Folkston D Ray James ICE Processing Center in Georgia have initiated a hunger strike. The detainees, many of whom are asylum seekers, are protesting prolonged detention and alleged poor conditions within the facility. They are demanding their release while their immigration and asylum cases proceed through the U.S. court system. An open letter signed by 45 detained men, some held since October 2023, calls on Congress, judges, and the public to intervene. The letter highlights that many have been detained for 16 months to nearly three years without being accused of a crime, questioning the fairness of prolonged detention without individual assessments of flight risk or danger. Allegations include inadequate medical and dental care, unhealthy food, cramped living quarters, limited access to sunlight and fresh air, and difficulty communicating with ICE officials. Some GEO Group employees are also accused of hostile and xenophobic behavior, with threats of s...
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Federal Judge Orders Release of Louisville Woman Detained by ICE

Federal Judge Orders Release of Louisville Woman Detained by ICE

A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of Armelle Bondonga, a Louisville woman who had been held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Southern Indiana for eight weeks. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt granted a writ of habeas corpus on Tuesday, mandating her release. Bondonga was arrested by ICE agents on August 12 during a routine interview for her marriage-based green card. An immigration judge had previously denied her bond in September, citing an 'administratively final' removal order that placed her case under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security. However, Judge Pratt's order noted that the 90-day removal period Bondonga faced had expired. Bondonga's legal team argued that ICE 'disobeyed the law' by detaining her, and she has initiated proceedings to reopen her removal case. Bondonga immigrated to the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo with her family in 2013.
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U.S. Rep. Mike Turner's Office Unable to Assist Ukrainian Family with Immigration Application Amid Red Tape

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner's Office Unable to Assist Ukrainian Family with Immigration Application Amid Red Tape

A Ukrainian family, led by Tetiana, who immigrated to the Dayton area two years ago from war-torn Kehrson, Ukraine, is facing significant challenges with their U.S. immigration application. Despite U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Dayton) having supported the extension of immigration programs like Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Tetiana's family reached out to his office in June for assistance in expediting their application process, but were informed that nothing could be done. Turner's office did not respond to requests for comment regarding the situation. The family came to the U.S. legally through a two-year renewable parole program, granted for urgent humanitarian reasons, and are among an estimated 240,000 Ukrainians who received parole before the 'Uniting for Ukraine' program was paused in 2025. They are now in legal limbo, struggling with the renewal process, which can be lengthy and expensive, costing about $1,000 per person for parole and $280 for a work permit. Tetiana's family filed on time in Januar...
ReutersReuters
Trump administration plans to charge international students $70,000 for work authorization

Trump administration plans to charge international students $70,000 for work authorization

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The US Department of Homeland Security has proposed that international students pay at least $70,000 in training fees if they want to work in the country, according to a government notice posted online on Wednesday, part of the Trump administration's
ReutersReuters
US freezes Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys green-card applications over alleged fraud

US freezes Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys green-card applications over alleged fraud

By Steve Holland and Akash Sriram WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The Trump administration froze on Thursday some green-card filings by Microsoft, Adobe and major IT outsourcers and opened probes into nine elite universities, widening a visa crackdown it says targets fraud and American job losses.
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College Basketball Player Aminata Seck Released from ICE Custody, Another Detained

College Basketball Player Aminata Seck Released from ICE Custody, Another Detained

Aminata Seck, a women's basketball player from Kentucky State University, has been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after spending two months detained. A judge granted her a $2,500 bond, which was posted, and ICE did not appeal the decision. The judge ruled that Seck was neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk, and she is permitted to continue her studies. Seck, a 26-year-old from Dakar, Senegal, was detained on August 7 at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport. Separately, Qingfang Pang, a men's basketball player from Mississippi Valley State University and a Chinese national, has been placed in ICE custody. Pang was detained on September 29 and is being held at the Richwood Correctional Facility in Richwood, Louisiana, for overstaying his visa.
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ICE Detention Periods Vary Based on Stage of Removal Proceedings, Supreme Court Limits Post-Order Detention

ICE Detention Periods Vary Based on Stage of Removal Proceedings, Supreme Court Limits Post-Order Detention

The duration an individual can be held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) before deportation varies significantly depending on the stage of their removal proceedings. An immigration detainer, which is a request from the Department of Homeland Security for a jail or prison to hold someone briefly, allows for a maximum of 48 hours beyond the time they would otherwise be released, excluding weekends and holidays. This 48-hour limit applies to the jail, not ICE. Once ICE assumes custody, this detainer clock ends. For individuals in ICE custody without a final removal order, there is no fixed end date for detention, as authorized by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), though release on bond or conditional parole is possible in some cases. However, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) mandates detention for individuals with specific criminal grounds. After a final removal order is issued, a 90-day removal period begins, as per 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1). Detention can extend beyond this 90-day period under § 1231(a)(6) for certain categorie...
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Kilmar Ábrego Garcia Fights Second Deportation Attempt to Liberia After Mistaken Removal to El Salvador

Kilmar Ábrego Garcia Fights Second Deportation Attempt to Liberia After Mistaken Removal to El Salvador

Kilmar Ábrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national with an American wife and child, is back in federal court to contest a second deportation attempt, this time to Liberia. This legal battle follows his mistaken deportation to El Salvador last year, an incident ICE officials admitted was an 'administrative error.' Despite a U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issuing a preliminary injunction preventing his detention and deportation to Liberia, the government is now seeking to vacate this injunction. Ábrego Garcia's legal team is pushing for the injunction to be made permanent. He argues that if deported, it should be to Costa Rica, which had previously agreed to accept him. However, Todd Lyons, former acting director of ICE, stated that deporting him to Costa Rica would be 'prejudicial to the United States,' citing resources expended in negotiating with Liberia to accept third-country nationals, even after an agreement was signed with Costa Rica for deportees.
AP NewsAP News
Trump administration to assign government lawyers to migrant kids’ cases, worrying advocates

Trump administration to assign government lawyers to migrant kids’ cases, worrying advocates

The Trump administration is creating a team of attorneys to represent children who traveled alone to the United States in immigration proceedings, which critics say would deprive them of having lawyers who aren’t employed by the government and could put them at greater risk of deportation
Asheville Citizen-TimesAsheville Citizen-Times
DOJ moves to strip citizenship from 40 people. What to know in NC

DOJ moves to strip citizenship from 40 people. What to know in NC

Department of Justice moves to denaturalization 40 naturalized citizens. Take a look at North Carolina statistics.