Refugee and Asylum Protections

Refugee status or asylum may be conferred upon individuals who have experienced persecution or have a well-founded fear of persecution based on factors such as race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

Refugees: Refugee status serves as a protective measure extended to individuals meeting the refugee definition, deemed to be of significant humanitarian concern to the United States.

USCIS Extends Fee Exemptions and Accelerated Processing for Afghan Nationals

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the extension and expansion of previously declared filing fee exemptions and expedited application processing for specific Afghan nationals. These measures aim to facilitate the resettlement of Afghan nationals and, in many instances, enable family reunification in the United States by expediting the processing of their requests for employment authorization, Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), long-term status, immediate relatives' status, and related services.

USCIS Announces Availability of Additional H-2B Visas for Fiscal Year 2024

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a temporary final rule, making an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for fiscal year (FY) 2024, in addition to the statutory cap of 66,000 H-2B visas available annually.

USCIS Revises Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) Age Calculation for Certain Adjustment of Status Applicants

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has provided updated guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the determination of when an immigrant visa number "becomes available" for the purpose of calculating a noncitizen’s age in specific situations under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).

To acquire lawful permanent resident status in the United States based on a parent’s approved petition for a family-sponsored or employment-based visa, a child typically must be under the age of 21. If a child turns 21 during the immigration process, they may "age out," rendering them ineligible to immigrate with the parent based on the parent’s petition.