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In addition to EB-2 NIW petitions, our firm has had great success over the years in filing EB-1A, EB-1B, and O-1 cases. Due to retrogression, many of our clients who have approved I-140s under the EB-2 category are now considering the extraordinary ability options. Some examples of EB-1A approvals we have had very recently are a Business Sustainability Manager for a leading fashion company, a Food Scientist developing alternative protein foods, a Computer Scientist specializing in Natural Language…

The January Visa Bulletin was just released. The good news is that most priority dates have advanced.   The biggest change was under the EB-1 category for Indian Nationals. The Dates For Filing moved from July 1, 2019 to January 1, 2021. The Final Action Date moved from January 1, 2017 to September 1, 2020.   The EB-1 dates also progressed forward for China. The Dates For Filing moved from August 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023. The Final Action Date moved from February 15, 2022 to July 1,…

The Visa Bulletin for October was just released. It appears that retrogression will continue for the EB-2 NIW. While we are extremely disappointed that priority dates did not become current for the EB-2 category, the good news is that USCIS has designated the ""Dates For Filing"" chart to be used for October.   Under the ""Dates For Filing"" chart, the EB-2 priority dates for all countries other than China and India will move considerably from July 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023. For China the…

There were some important changes in the Visa Bulletin setting out August 2023 priority dates.   EB-1 Update   The main change in priority dates is the retrogression of the EB-1 category. The EB-1 category priority date of China remains unchanged at February 1, 2022, however, the priority date for India has retrogressed by over 10 years from February 1, 2022, to January 1, 2012. Also, the priority date for all other countries has been retrogressed from Current to August 1, 2023.  …

USCIS to allow I-765 EAD with an approved I-140 due to I-485 Retrogression. USCIS just issued a Policy Alert that now allows for an I-765 EAD if the applicant has an approved I-140 even if the I-485 priority date is not current. This is an interesting development and that will allow certain individuals to continue to reside and work in the U.S. However, what appears to be a very promising new development, has significant restrictions and ultimately will be of little value to very few people.  …

WHAT HAPPENED:   USCIS announced today, June 12, 2023, that they will be expanding premium processing for applicants filing Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, and requesting a change of status to F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, or J-2 nonimmigrant status. USCIS will also make the online filing of Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, available for these applicants. This expansion will occur in phases:   Starting TOMORROW (6/13): USCIS will accept Form…

USCIS just released the Visa Bulletin for April 2023. The Final Action Dates are to be used for the April Visa Bulletin. Under the Final Action Dates, the EB-2 priority dates for all countries have retrogressed. The EB-1 priority dates for China and India have once again retrogressed.   The EB-2 priority dates for all countries other than China and India have retrogressed from December 1, 2022 to July 1, 2022. Meaning if your I-140 was filed after July 1, 2022, starting April 1, 2023 you will…

USCIS continues to implement new procedures that ensure increased efficiency. Beginning March 6th, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests for certain F-1 students who already have a pending Form I-765 if they fall under one of the following categories: pre-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT); post-completion OPT; and 24-month extension of OPT for STEM students. Beginning April 3rd, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests for F-1 students in the previous categories when filed along with Form…

USCIS has just announced that it is implementing the final phase of the premium processing expansion for EB-2 NIW I-140 petitions. Effective January 30, 2023 a new NIW can be filed with premium processing. If you have a pending NIW petition you can request premium processing, regardless of when your case was filed.   Until the EB-2 category for adjustment of status becomes current again, in most cases, it probably doesn't make sense to file a new NIW with premium processing. However, NIW petitions…

The recently released Visa Bulletin for January 2023 shows that the EB-1 priority date for Indian and Chinese nationals has retrogressed to June 1, 2022 based on the Dates of Filing. The priority dates for the EB-2 category remain unchanged with the priority date for India set at May 1, 2012, China July 8, 2019 and all other countries are December 1, 2022.

The recently released Visa Bulletin for December 2022 indicates that the EB-2 visa category will retrogress starting December 1, 2022. This means that concurrent filing will no longer be available for EB-2 based I-140 filings. The priority date under Dates of Filing is now December 1, 2022. The EB-2 priority dates for India and China remain unchanged.  

USCIS has again extended filing deadlines. The filing deadlines were extended until January 24, 2023. This means that there is an automatic extension of 60 days available to file a response to a Request for Evidence or a Notice of Intent to Deny, among other Notices and Requests issued between March 1, 2020 and January 24, 2023. Additionally the filing of an I-290B Notice of Appeal or Motion is considered timely if filed up to 90 days from the issuance of a decision made between November 1, 2021…

The new filing date upon which Premium Processing can be requested for a pending EB-2 NIW is February 1, 2022. The USCIS premium processing fee is $2500.00 and you will get a decision back within 45 days. We have filed several requests for premium processing on behalf of our clients with pending NIW petitions and have had positive results, with the approval in many of them being issued within less than a week. If your I-140 was filed on or before February 1, 2022, and you are interested in requesting…

On September 7, USCIS announced that there are no green cards available for either EB-1 or EB-2 classifications for the remainder of the current fiscal year. This means that green cards will begin being issued again when the next fiscal year begins in October. As such, if you have a pending adjustment of status with an approved I-140, you can anticipate that your green card will be processed after October 1, 2022.   It is important to note that based on the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates…

Concurrent with the announcement that all green cards had been allocated for the EB-1 and EB-2 categories for the current fiscal year, the Visa Bulletin for October was also released. The priority dates for EB-1 and EB-2 were unchanged for the September Visa Bulletin but there was a significant retrogression for EB-2 priority dates for India. NOTE: September is using the Final Action Dates for Employment Based visas and October is using the Dates for Filing charts.   The EB-1 priority dates…

USCIS has announced that the reproduced signature flexibility that was implemented on March 20, 2020, became permanent policy effective on July 25, 2022. On March 20, 2020, USCIS specified that a document may be scanned, faxed, photocopied, or similarly reproduced provided that the copy was of an original document containing an original handwritten signature and that for forms that require an original “wet” signature USCIS would accept electronically reproduced original signatures.   In…

USCIS announced that the automatic 60 day extension has been extended to July 25, 2022. During the pandemic, USCIS provided an automatic extension on due dates. Any RFE or NOID that was issued on or before July 25, 2022 has an automatic 60 day extension from the due date stated in the RFE or NOID. The automatic extension also provides for 60 days to file a motion to reopen/reconsider or appeal from a denial as opposed to the standard 30 days (33 days if mailed) to file.   However, USCIS in…

USCIS issued an alert stating that the agency will begin ""phasing in"" premium processing for NIW Petitions on July 1, 2022, but only for ""certain previously filed Form I-140 petitions requesting E21 national interest waiver (NIW) classification. The alert states ""(p)lease see the Form I-140 information below regarding the upgrade schedule and when new petitions may be filed requesting premium processing."" Despite this statement that additional information is available a close examination failed…

Shortly after posted my initial summary of the USCIS Alert discussed in my previous post below, USCIS issued an Announcement updating the information that was not initially provided with the Alert. Beginning July 1, 2022, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests ONLY for E21 NIW petitions received on or before June 1, 2021. Basically, unless your case has been pending for more than one year already, you cannot avail yourself of premium processing.   Also, in the new Announcement was the phase…

USCIS announced on May 3, 2022 that a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) automatically extending EAD validity for renewals from 180 to 540 days was implemented effective tomorrow, May 4, 2022 through extensions filed before October 27, 2023. The TFR states that certain persons who have timely filed an EAD extension will automatically receive a 540 day extension. Included in the list are our clients in category (c)(9) who have filed an Adjustment of Status based on an I-140 approval or filing. The standard…

On March 29, 2022 USCIS at long last announced that premium processing will soon be available for EB-2 National Interest Waiver petitions. Premium processing will be available for both newly filed cases and currently pending cases. The USCIS fee for premium processing is expected to be $2,500.00. USCIS plans to begin a phased implementation for expanding premium processing and the EB-2 NIW will be part of the first phase. A full reading of the text of the law suggests that NIW premium processing…

USCIS announced that it is taking action by implementing new procedures and policies to reduce current backlogs that exist. The agency in an effort to speed up case processing times established new internal cycle time goals. The time goals include 3 months for I-765 and I-131 processing and 6 months for I-485 and I-140 non-premium processing. As part of the efforts to reduce the backlog USCIS also is expanding Premium Processing. The agency announced that premium processing will be added to expedite…

A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, “The America Competes Act 2022” proposes incentives for nonimmigrant entrepreneurs to start-up businesses in the United States to make the United States more competitive by encouraging some of the best and the brightest to bring their entrepreneurial talent into the country. The bill proposes a “W” visa that would cover an alien classified as a nonimmigrant entrepreneur with an ownership interest in a start-up business, an alien who is or will…

A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, “The America Competes Act 2022” proposes to exempt persons with a doctorate degree in a STEM field from a qualified United States research institution, or a foreign institution if the degree is equivalent to a U.S. STEM doctorate who are seeking admission to engage in work in the United States in a field related to the doctorate, from the per-country green card caps. If this passes this will help address the Adjustment of Status wait times for India…

On January 21, the White House issued a Fact Sheet outlining actions that the U.S. Government is undertaking to attract STEM talent to come to and remain in the United States. Important changes to the different visa types are outlined below:   J1 Visas - In support of the recent Joint Statement of Principles in Support of International Education, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced the Early Career STEM Research Initiative. Under the new Opportunity…

On Monday, January 25, 2022, USCIS issued a Policy Alert updating the requirements to obtain an expedite. USCIS updated its policy guidance to clarify the criteria and circumstances that may warrantexpediting the adjudication of a benefit request as well as explaining how USCIS assesses expedite requests. This update, contained in Volume 1, Chapter 5 of the USCIS Policy Manual, is effective immediately. The guidance contained in the Policy Manual is controlling and supersedes any related prior guidance.…

USCIS recently issued an ALERT that they will process EAD expedite requests on EAD renewals that are pending for Essential Healthcare and Public Health Workers. To be eligible to expedite your EAD renewal your current EAD must be set to expire within 30 days or have already expired. Also, you must be an Essential Healthcare or Public Health Worker as defined on pages 7 to 9 in the pdf ""Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce: Ensuring Community and National Resilience in COVID-19…

USCIS announced on December 9th that they are temporarily waiving the requirement that the I-693 Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record be filed within 60 days of being signed by a Civil Surgeon. The policy is effective immediately and is in effect until September 30th, 2022. The waiver applies to all pending cases, regardless of when the application was submitted or when the Form I-693 was signed. Previously, in August, USCIS extended the validity of the I-693 Medical Exam from two…

It appears that there is a provision in the proposed spending bill presently before Congress which proposes to recapture more than 400,000 unused green cards. It is estimated that there are approximately 224,000 green cards that were allocated during the period from 1992 to 2019 which were never issued. Additionally, in 2020 there were 200,000 green cards that went unissued. It is safe to assume with the pandemic and the delays that exist in the processing of green cards that there will be many…

An I-485 lawsuit was recently rejected by U.S. Federal Court. A group of I-485 petitioners recently filed suit against USCIS because of what they felt was an unacceptable delay in the processing of their green cards. The petitioner requested injunctive relief asking the Court to order USCIS to adjudicate their pending I-485 Adjustment of Status to permanent residence by October 31, 2021.  Citing Bian v. Clinton, 605 F.3d 249, 255 (5th Cir. 2010) the Court was not persuaded that the I-485 applicants…

The White House just announced that it will lift COVID related travel restrictions effective November. Although a specific date has not been given, it is anticipated that it will be in early November. While this is good news for those who have valid visas, it does not change the waiting times to obtain visas at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. With U.S. Embassies and Consulates still not working at full capacity, and with little sign of the COVID pandemic letting up anytime soon, it is highly…

The CDC recently set forth new ""Requirements for Immigrant Medical Examinations: COVID-19 Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons."" Beginning October 1, 2021 persons applying for permanent residence will be required to provide proof that they have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus at the time of their medical exam or receive the vaccinations before the medical exam can be completed. The proof of vaccination will be part of the required medical examination. The addition of the COVID-19…

There appears to be a rumor that the U.S. government has made it easier for pilots to obtain a green card through the NIW process. As respected leaders in helping pilots obtain green cards, we have been getting several inquiries from pilots and even other immigration attorneys inquiring about how pilots can obtain a green card under the rumored new immigration initiative. We have not seen anything substantive from the U.S. government to indicate that the standards required for pilots to obtain a…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. consulates and embassies in many countries around the world are still not operating at full capacity. 33 countries still require that non U.S. citizens or permanent residents obtain a National Interest Exception (NIE) before they can enter the U.S. from the affected countries. Embassy shopping has been pretty much shut down at this point as the consulates and embassies in each country are limiting appointments to citizens and residents of that country. Some countries…

We are seeing improvement in NIW processing times. NIW cases at the Nebraska Service Center have not been too seriously affected by the pandemic. NIW cases are still being adjudicated at the NSC in approximately 8 months. The Texas Service Center was struggling before the pandemic and became even worse. The NIW processing times posted online for the TSC continue to vary greatly. A new Director was recently appointed to the TSC and we are seeing improvements. While many cases are still languishing,…

USCIS in furtherance of President Biden's executive order, ""Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans"" has issued a new policy guidance which restored the 2004 guidance giving USCIS officers deference. The 2004 guidance was rescinded in 2017 by the Trump Administration, in their efforts to curtail legal immigration. The reinstated 2004 guidance, allows USCIS officers to once again give deference to prior determinations…

Effective immediately the I-944 is no longer required.   On March 10, USCIS posted an update to the Public Charge Rule. It sated that As of March 9, 2021, ""applicants for for adjustment of status should not provide the Form I-944, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency, or any evidence or documentation required on that form with their Form I-485."" The USCIS statement went on to specify that they ""will not consider any information that relates solely to the Public Charge Final Rule, including, for…

On March 9, 2021, DHS issued a litigation statement announcing that it would no longer continue its attempts to enforce the public charge rule. Later in the day, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a follow-up statement announcing that DHS had withdrawn from all public charge related litigation. The DHS has dismissed the appeals that were pending in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Federal Seventh Circuit and was in the process of dismissing the appeal pending in the Federal Fourth Circuit. As…

On Wednesday February 24, 2021 President Biden revoked, with limited exceptions, the ban on immigrant visas, at consulates and embassies overseas. However, the ban on the issuance of nonimmigrant work visas such as H-1B, H-2B, L and certain J visas was not revoked. The nonimmigrant visa ban is set to expire on March 31, 2021 and unless the Whitehouse specifically revokes it before then, it appears there will not be any new H-1B visas issued overseas until after that date unless a national interest…

Today, Wednesday February 2, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order titled ""Executive Order on Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans"". In Section 4 of the Order, titled ""Immediate Review of Agency Actions on Public Charge Inadmissibility,"" President Biden is requiring the State Department, the Attorney General and the Department of Homeland Security to review the ""public charge"" policy implemented by…

As mentioned in the prior blog, during his first day in office, President Biden revoked the Travel Ban instituted by the Trump Administration in February of 2017. The ""Proclamation on Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to The United States"" effective immediately revoked Executive Order 13780 of March 6, 2017 (Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States), Proclamation 9645 of September 24, 2017 (Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted…

Early Wednesday, soon to be President Biden announced major new immigration policies that he wants to quickly implement. The most important to our clients is that he wants to clear up the employment-based immigration backlog and do away with per country visa caps.   This is exciting news and we are hopeful that the new administration will be able to follow through on their intentions. If the administration is able to clear the EB visa backlog, this will now be the best time in years for people…

UPDATE:   Senate Bill 386 and House Bill 1044 were not added to the Omnibus Spending Bill and will not go into law in 2020. Please follow our blog for updates on legislation related to the equalization of priority dates.   Previously Published 12/2/2020:   Late on December 2, 2020 the U.S. Senate passed Senate Bill 386. Senate Bill 386 is the follow up to House Bill 1044 which was passed in July 2019. There are differences between SB 386 and HR 1044 that will need to be reconciled…

With Joseph R. Biden Jr. being sworn in as the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Devi Harris being sworn in as Vice President on January 20, 2021, there are likely to be significant immigration changes coming soon.    Vice President Harris is not only the first woman to serve as Vice President; she is the first person of South Asian descent to serve in this position. As the daughter of immigrants, she is likely to have a positive impact on pro-immigration policies, which we…

H.R. 8337 passed through the house on September 20th and on September 30th the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 8337. This heavily bipartisan bill was then signed into law by President Trump today (October 1).   The law allows USCIS to provide premium processing for all three Employment Based categories - EB1, EB2 and EB3. The processing fees have not yet been set but the law sets a cap at no more than $2500. The law also sets a deadline of 45 days for USCIS to render a decision.   H.R. 8337 also…

The USCIS announced their priority dates for October and the EB1 category jumped significantly. The priority date for both India and China changed from Septembers priority date of March 1, 2018 to Sept. 1, 2020.   The EB2 and EB3 categories also moved.   The EB2 changed from July 8, 2009 to May 15, 2011 for India and changed only slightly for China, moving from January 15, 2016 to October 1, 2016   The EB3 for India made the biggest move changing from October 1, 2009 to January 1,…

The USCIS new rule regarding changes in filing fees was blocked by Federal Judge Jeffrey White. While the injunction is in place the old fee schedule must be followed.   The important fee changes for NIW/EB1A and OPR clients are as follows:   I-140 – The fee will remain at $700 and will not be reduced to $555   I-485 – The fee will remain at $1225 for adults which includes the $85 biometric fee, and includes no additional charge for the I-765 or I-131. The fee for children under…

Interviews and Appointments   USCIS is officially scheduled to reopen its offices on June 4 and USCIS will begin resuming interviews and biometric appointments. USCIS will first send out notices to applicants and petitioners with previously scheduled appointments and interviews.   As USCIS begins to reopen, the number of available appointments and interviews that they are scheduling will be reduced. As such we anticipate that, with prior scheduled interviews taking priority, a slight backlog…

Starting June 1, USCIS will start resuming premium processing for all eligible Form I-140 petitions.   Starting June 8, USCIS will resume premium processing requests for H1B petitions beginning with premium requests for cap-exempt petitions that are already filed and pending adjudication.   Starting June 15, USCIS ""plans"" on resuming premium processing for cap-exempt HIB petitions that are filed on or after June 8. It appears that USCIS will determine at a future date when they will…

USCIS announced that it will be seeking funding from Congress to help with a budget deficit it is experiencing as a result of a decrease in filings for immigration benefits. USCIS has indicated that to make up for the additional funding being sought from Congress that they intend to add a 10% surcharge to all USCIS filing fees. USCIS had already announced its intent to increase filing fees back in November. Those fee requests have been under public review and have yet to be implemented. It appears…

UPDATE April 22, 2020 President Trump this evening signed an executive order banning the issuance of green cards to foreign nationals who are outside of the country. The order is effective as of 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight time on April 23, 2020. The order excludes persons in the U.S. who are adjusting their status. If you have filed or are filing an adjustment of status, then you are exempt from the ban. The order also does not restrict the filing of NIW, OPR or EB1 petitions. Although the ban…

On December 18, 2019 both Senator Durbin and Senator Lee announced on the Senate floor that they had reached a bipartisan agreement to move S.386/HR1044 forward. While not officially presented yet, the unofficial draft of the proposed legislation as outlined by both Senator Durbin and Senator Lee in their speeches yesterday provides what we see as four very important issues as they relate to employment visas. 1. H1B 50/50 Rule; 2. Adjustment of Status (I-485 applications); 3. Dependent Age Out;…

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it is implementing the registration process in the next H-1B lottery. Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year 2021 cap, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee.   Employers seeking H-1B workers subject to the cap will now be required to complete a registration process. USCIS will open an initial registration…

The Homeland Security Department today issued a proposed rule titled ""U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements"". The proposed rule is open for comment until December 16, 2019 after which it can be implemented. The good news is that for NIW petitions the fees may actually be reduced. The I-140 will be reduced by $155 to $545 down from $700. The I-485 has a small proposed reduction from $1140 to $1120. However, the…

The Visa Bulletin for November was just released and the priority dates have not changed from October. For EB1 petitioners the priority date for China is September 1, 2017 and remains March 15, 2017 for India. All other countries are still July 1, 2019. For EB2 all countries except China and India remain ""Current"" and China is still August 1, 2016, while India remains July 1, 2009.

The U.S. Federal Court for the Southern District of New York issued an injunction against Trumps Public Charge Rule. The injunction prohibits USCIS from requiring any forms that require additional public charge information. The proposed ""New"" I-485 and the New I-944 were going to require additional information relating to the receipt of public assistance and other financial resources. Effective today, Monday October 14, 2019 all I-485 forms filed with USCIS, until further notice, will remain the…

A few minutes ago Senator David Perdue blocked ""Unanimous Consent"" in the Senate. As mentioned in our previous blog, it only takes one Senator to block unanimous consent. This means that Senate Bill 386 did not pass unanimous consent and must be debated prior to moving on to a vote of the Senate, unless unanimous consent can be reached in the future.

The October Visa Bulletin was issued today and the applicable filing dates for EB-2 Adjustment of Status for most countries are now current and the EB-1 priority dates, while still not current, have also moved forward considerably.   Additionally, USCIS just announced that it will be using the “Dates For Filing” chart (as opposed to the “Final Action Dates”) for determining when we can file your Adjustment of Status application.  This is great news! Also, today it was announced…

On July 10, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 (H.R. 1044), which proposes to eliminate the per-country limit for all employment-based immigrants and increase the per-country limit for all family-sponsored immigrants from 7 percent to 15 percent. It is important to note that this bill is not currently law, nor may it ever become law.  More specifically, the approval of the bill by the House of Representatives is merely the first phase of…

BACKGROUND   There exists a long-standing rule in the United States that for an individual to be permitted to immigrate to the U.S., that individual must be able to financially support himself or herself.  In other words, individuals who are or would be primarily dependent upon U.S. government assistance would not be eligible for immigration.   Legislatively, a person falling into that category has been designated a “public charge”.  More simply put, a public charge is an individual…

Dunn Law Firm has always taken great pride in a personalized approach to its clientele. Senior Immigration Partner, Thomas J. Arkell, possesses a deep understanding of the permanent U.S. resident and citizenship processes, having gone through both himself. He also understands the human element of the visa process and knows first-hand the importance of efficiency in completing the NIW application, both for peace of mind and so his clients can receive their approval that much more quickly.  …

  National Interest Waivers (“NIW”) offer a unique route for individuals with exceptional ability to obtain permanent residence in the United States without labor certification or a U.S. job offer. In his new ebook, Your Guide To National Interest Waiver Petitions, Thomas J. Arkell, senior partner at Dunn Law Firm, LLP, explains what a National Interest Waiver is, who is eligible, and how individuals can successfully apply. Thomas J. Arkell leads Dunn Law Firm’s immigration team. With…

USCIS adjudicators have recently received more latitude to deny immigration applications, petitions and requests.  Last month, a USCIS policy memorandum (PM-601-0163) became effective that affords the USCIS the ability to deny an application without first issuing a Request for Evidence or Notice of Intent to Deny if the application lacks a certain degree of requisite evidence.  This increase in discretion potentially could have an impact upon a number of routes to permanent residence,…

INTRODUCTION Recently, the U.S. government implemented a USCIS Policy Memorandum (PM-602-0050.1) that has increased the number of scenarios in which Notices to Appear will be issued. Generally speaking, a Notice to Appear (“NTA”) is typically the first step in the removal or deportation process.  More specifically, an NTA is a document that requires the recipient to appear before a judge in Immigration Court and effectively notifies the recipient that removal proceedings have begun against…