News
By now, most immigration attorneys have been asked whether a particular foreign national client is eligible for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as “Obamacare.” The answer to this question is complicated. Whether a foreign national is eligible for enrollment in a healthcare exchange under the ACA and/or required to […]
Continue Reading In the wake of the pending litigation and injunction in Texas regarding the new deferred action programs for students and parents, a federal judge has ordered USCIS to be in full compliance of an injunction he previously issued. There are thought to be approximately 2,000 employment authorization documents (EAD’s) circulating that are not in compliance. […]
Continue Reading US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published new guidance in June on the care of transgender adults in immigration detention, in a Memorandum titled “Further Guidance Regarding the Care of Transgender Detainees.” The Memorandum provides guidelines in several areas of detainee care, including intake procedures, determining housing placement, medical care, conducting searches, and access to […]
Continue Reading We do a fair number of hardship waivers in our office each year, and I am frequently asked by my clients how to write a good hardship letter. While many attorneys have different styles for putting together a hardship waiver application, most attorneys will agree that the letter is one of the most important pieces […]
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The U.S. Department of State has announced that the worldwide “Visa Freeze” is over, and U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world are able once again to schedule visa interviews and issue U.S. visas. The State Department expects that the backlog of cases should be cleared by this week. The separate problems with the online […]
Continue Reading Kolko & Associates, P.C. is proud to announce that Senior Associate Attorney Bryon M. Large, Sr. has been reelected to serve on the Board of Governors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). AILA is a professional organization of more than 14,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law. The Board of […]
Continue Reading The U.S. State Department has announced that due to a computer hardware failure, it is currently unable to issue most immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. The technical problem impacts visas that were approved on or after June 8, 2015. In addition, the State Department announced that due to the technical issue, visa applications filed on or […]
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This week, the attorneys from Kolko & Associates, P.C., are off to the annual conference of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). AILA is a 14,000 member strong association of immigration attorneys from around the world practicing American immigration law. Each year, AILA hosts a major annual conference in a different city. This year’s conference […]
Continue Reading On June 1, 2015, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson announced the extension of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Somalia for a period of 18 months, beginning September 18, 2015 and extending through March 17, 2017. Somali nationals (and eligible individuals without nationality who last resided in Somalia) previously granted TPS […]
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The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) recently reported that the backlog for the immigration courts grew to an astounding 445,607 as of April 30, 2015, nationwide. The backlog appears to be the result of a changed focus for the courts to hearing cases involving recent arrivals and unaccompanied minors. Representing 15.7% of the docket, unaccompanied […]
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The Colorado Department of Revenue announced earlier this month an expansion of the driver license program under the Colorado Road Community Safety Act. Beginning June 1, the Colorado Springs and Grand Junction offices will resume appointments to issue licenses for those unable to demonstrate lawful presence in the United States. The program had previously been […]
Continue Reading Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals announced a decision to maintain the hold in place on the current DAPA program, pending litigation in Texas. This spring, Texas and various other states sued to keep this program from happening, alleging that it would economically harm those states. A federal judge in Texas agreed, and halted […]
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