News
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 […]
Continue Reading On May 26, 2015, USCIS will begin accepting applications for employment authorization (Form I-765) for certain spouses of H-1B foreign national workers. The H-1B foreign worker must 1) be in valid H-1B status in the United States and 2) must also be the beneficiary of an approved I-140 immigrant visa petition for an alien worker. […]
Continue Reading Attorneys and clients alike are experiencing frustration with the processing times of cases at the local USCIS office. On April 13, 2015, the Denver Field Office issued a processing time report, which is essentially a snapshot of the cases they were working with on February 28, 2015. On that date, the local office was processing […]
Continue Reading We are patiently and optimistically waiting for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to make a decision on whether to allow the Department of Homeland Security to implement the DAPA and expanded DACA programs while the Courts decide whether the DAPA and DACA programs themselves are legal. On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced that […]
Continue Reading The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has selected several of our attorneys to participate on national committees related to the practice of immigration law. It is an honor for our Firm to have nationally-known attorneys be recognized for their work and selected as leaders in the community. Managing Partner David Kolko has been asked to […]
Continue Reading Today, USCIS announced some limited relief for Nepali citizens in the United States, in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquake. While the agency stopped short of granting Temporary Protected Status, otherwise known as TPS, the agency did provide an array of temporary immigration relief for some Nepalese citizens. Among the protections announced, USCIS can […]
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In July of 2014, as a response to the so-called “surge” of foreign nationals arriving at the southern border, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a directive instructing all U.S. Immigration Courts to prioritize the following removal cases: 1) recently arrived unaccompanied children 2) recently arrived families with children released on an Alternative to […]
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