Immigration News Weekly

May 8 - 14

With US Naturalization Ceremonies on Hold, Former Refugee Continues to Help Pay Application Fees
VOA | Aline Barros | May 13
“The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not been conducting in-person interviews and oath ceremonies for immigrants seeking to become naturalized citizens since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, legal experts say thousands of people may not be naturalized in time for the U.S. 2020 presidential election. In the meantime, a former refugee from Kenya continues his efforts to help people applying for U.S. citizenship."

They Lost Their Jobs. Now They May Have to Leave the U.S.
New York Times | Miriam Jordan | May 12
“The lives of tens of thousands of foreign workers on skilled-worker visas, such as H-1Bs, have been upended by the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis. Many have been waiting in a backlog for several years to obtain permanent legal residency through their employer, and now face the prospect of deportation. The Trump administration is also expected within the next few weeks to halt the issuance of new work visas such as the H-1B, for high skilled foreigners, and the H-2B, for seasonal employment. The new measures under review, according to two current and two former government immigration officials, would also eliminate a program that enables foreign graduates of American universitiesto remain in the country and work.”

Immigrants - Essential, Ignored, Persecuted - are Committed ot the U.S. Where’s Our Gratitude?
Washington Post | León Krauze | May 11
“The coronavirus pandemic has shocked America’s economy, and one of the groups that has suffered greatly is the vast Hispanic community. A recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll captured the extent of the anguish: Latinos are almost twice as likely as whites to have been laid off or furloughed during the crisis. Unemployment among Hispanics has risen to 18.9 percent. More than one in five Hispanic men have either lost their jobs or seen their hours reduced.”