The final rule expected to take effect on October 2, has been put on hold. On September 29, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in Immigration Legal Resource Center et al., v. Wolf, et al., 20-cv-05883-JWS, preliminarily enjoined the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from implementing or enforcing any part of the final rule.
While the rule is preliminarily enjoined, USCIS has stated that it will continue to:
- Accept current forms of USCIS forms
- Accept current USCIS filing fees
- Use the current regulations and guidance to adjudicate applications and petitions
In an associated news release, USCIS stated that the “unfortunate decision leaves USCIS underfunded by millions of dollars each business day the fee rule is enjoined.”
If/when the final rule becomes effective, it will bring about many changes to USCIS operations. Please refer to our previous blog post to review additional information about those changes.
Our law office will continue to monitor the situation and alert our clients of important news.
This update is brought to you courtesy of the Law Office of Sandra C. Lee. For additional information, please contact us at dlaughlin@sandralee.law.