The US State Department published reports on the human rights violations carried out by Cameroonian government officials. These violations include torture and the ongoing persecution of women and people identifying within the LGBTQ community. Cameroon is currently in a civil war and presents a harrowing reality for those forced to return. These events and the continual unrest have led many to flee to the US and other countries to seek asylum.

Documenting the alleged abuse

Unfortunately, a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SLPC) in conjunction with Freedom for Immigrants documented the claims of abuse and coercion endured by those detained while attempting to seek asylum. The alleged abuse occurred at the hands of corrections officers and ICE officers at various detainment facilities. The asylum seekers from Cameroon were forced to sign documents under duress and threatened with abuse and lengthy detainment while housed amongst federal prisoners.

Asylum seekers deserve protection under the law

The people included in the report were seeking asylum and face dangerous repercussions if sent to Cameroon. One of the refugees reported a physical attack after being refused an attorney. Detainees also reported being forcibly stripped and enduring multiple threats with many witnesses present. Between 2010 and 2019, around three-quarters of asylum seekers from Cameroon were granted asylum.

USCIS announced the extension of TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for certain nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Haiti, and Sudan. The much awaited news bring a sense of relief to more than 400,000 immigrants.

If you have TPS, this means that you can continue to legally live and work in the United States at least until October 4, 2021. Your employment authorization document under TPS should also be automatically extended until that date.

If you have questions about TPS or want to discuss your immigration case, feel free to give us a call for a consultation.

Finally! DACA is restored to its original form. What does this mean for you?

• If you are eligible, but have never received DACA, you can apply for the first time
• Advance Parole (travel permits) are an option for DACA recipients
• Any DACA recipient who received a 1-year renewal of their benefit should automatically have their protections extended to two years

This week, after a U.S. District Court in Brooklyn ordered USCIS to restore the DACA program, the agency finally published guidelines allowing new applications to be submitted. This is a monumental change for DACA-eligible immigrants, and means that new applications will be accepted by USCIS for the first time in more than 3 years.

Those who meet the following requirements may apply for DACA for the first time:

If you have DACA, it is very likely that you can apply for Advance Parole.

What is Advance Parole?

It is a process available to some immigrants (such as those with DACA, TPS, and pending adjustment applications) which allows them to travel outside of the United States and come back without putting at risk their immigration benefit. In addition, it allows immigrants to have a lawful entry, which can be very helpful to Adjust their Status and become green card holders.

The Trump administration has taken a harder stance on immigration in many ways. One those is in the number of H1-B visas it’s denying. A new analysis from the National Foundation for American policy found that more highly skilled foreign-born workers have been denied H1-Bs than ever before in recent years. The analysis focused on how the administration denied new applicants H1-B visas, not employees seeking an H1-B extension.

How denials are impacting employers

In the analysis, 20 of the top 25 U.S. employers report H1-B denial rates that are 10% higher for new applicants in 2020 than in 2015. Also, information technology companies reported more H1-B denials than companies in other industries. In fact, 10 IT companies had visa denial rates 20% higher in 2020 than in 2015.

Some of the IT companies that had highest rates of new applicant H1-B visa denials were the following: