Practice resources
Search immigration practice advisories, sample filings, manuals, brief banks, and government guidance from trusted practitioner sources.
Explains the statutory age-in rule for VAWA derivatives and offers practical guidance on preserving derivative eligibility as children age out.
In recent months, practitioners have been reporting troubling new patterns in FOIA processing of A-file requests. Some people report unusually high rejection rates on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for reasons related to address requirements. Rejections due to “no record” also have been reported even where the requester is sure that there is a record because they have a partial paper trail of contacts with USCIS. Frequent over redaction of FOIA responses also has been reported. This
The fate of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) continues to be uncertain, due to the ongoing litigation and the increase in anti-immigrant policies being implemented each day by the Trump Administration. With the increase of attacks on immigrants including DACA holders and the uncertainty of the future of the benefit, it is crucial that DACA advocates stay informed of ongoing DACA trends and policy announcements that are impacting DACA holders. Moreover, it is important that advocates
Recent policies announced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, new legislation signed into law, and unusual legal interpretations by the Board of Immigration Appeals have all led to a significant uptick in ICE detentions since January 2025. As advocates, our goal in every case where a client is detained is to secure their release, if at all possible. However, in many cases recently, ICE is claiming that the noncitizen cannot legally be released or even get a bond hearing, under a theory that
Under the current administration there has been much discussion about whether filing a U nonimmigrant status (“U visa”) petition is risky considering the long processing times, the lack of protection given to applicants while they wait for relief, and the increased enforcement climate. This advisory will lay out some of the main “pros” and “cons” to applying for U nonimmigrant status as they exist now, to help practitioners explain to prospective applicants how to weigh benefits and risks and ma
The Trump administration’s January 2025 expansion of expedited removal to people residing in the interior of the United States has raised concerns about whether the government could try to apply this summary removal process to young people who entered the country as unaccompanied children (UCs) but no longer meet the definition. This resource – created with our partners at the Children’s Immigration Law Academy and National Immigration Project – answers common questions about expedited removal a
The Trump administration’s January 2025 expansion of expedited removal to people residing in the interior of the United States has raised concerns about whether the government could try to apply this summary removal process to young people who entered the country as unaccompanied children (UCs) but no longer meet the definition. This resource—created with our partners at the Children’s Immigration Law Academy and Immigrant Legal Resource Center—answers common questions about expedited removal an
The National Immigration Project has partnered with CLINIC and Ready to Stay to update a previously-issued CLINIC practice advisory on LGBTQ asylum and related protection claims. This updated advisory discusses new LGBTQ precedent, and also addresses application of the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule in this context. The resource also includes a sample brief, sample country conditions table of contents, and sample CLP briefing in its appendices.
On September 12, 2025, the D.C. Circuit denied the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal, dissolved its temporary, partial administrative stay, and fully restored the district court’s August 1 order in CHIRLA v. Noem , a lawsuit challenging Trump 2.0 government directives applying expedited removal to paroled individuals. The August 1 order, which is now fully in effect, stays policies that allowed DHS to put individuals who were previously paroled into the United States at a port of ent
This resource is a comprehensive client intake form meant to assist practitioners in screening for immigration relief options and assessing red flags. Accompanying the intake form are notes to assist practitioners in spotting issues and relief options as well as a summary of common forms of relief. This sample client intake form is generic, to screen for general relief since the goal at the screening stage is not to make a final determination of eligibility but to assess pathways for relief.
This practice advisory provides information about recently implemented fee increases at USCIS and EOIR. These fee increases are a result of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” also known as HR1. This advisory explores what we know and what we still don’t know about the fees, how to pay them, and potential future changes.
This practice alert provides an overview of updated USCIS policy on the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), which affects noncitizens hoping to immigrate through adjustment of status as the “child” of a lawful permanent resident or other derivative “child” beneficiary and who might rely upon CSPA to remain classified as a “child” even if their biological age is 21 or older. On August 8, 2025, USCIS announced that it was reversing a 2023 policy relating to the CSPA. This alert describes the 2023