Biden Asylum Policy Could Reduce Wait Times By Years
President Biden’s plan to simplify the asylum process could decrease wait times by years while also increasing the labor force, according to Bloomberg. In August, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a new policy aimed at streamlining the political asylum application process, focused on decreasing the massive backlog of asylum claims in the immigration court system. The new policy would have USCIS officers review applications instead of immigration judges.
Green Cards Squandered Because of Delays
Thousands of employment-based visas will go to waster at the end of September, according to Bloomberg, highlighting the government’s inability to tackle the backlog due to resource constraints. No word on how many visas will go unused, but Bloomberg reports that the number could be close to 8000.
Government Can’t Find 1 in 3 Migrant Children It Released in 2021
Axios reported this week that the U.S. government has lost track of thousands of unaccompanied minors it released between January and May this year. For the first five months of 2021, one third of the calls caretakers made to migrant children or their sponsors went unanswered, raising huge concerns about the government’s ability to protect the children when they’re released to family members in the U.S.
USCIS Creates New Webpage for Lockbox Filing Location Updates
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this week that it had built a new Lockbox Filing Location updates page for applicants to better track updates they make to lockbox filing locations. The page will be updated regularly and USCIS encourages people to check it.
U.S. Carefully Vetting Afghan Refugees
The U.S. is carefully vetting thousands of Afghans who were evacuated from Kabul after the Taliban took over the capital in August. Afghan refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants are being screened using the Defense Department’s automated biometrics system. The U.S. has helped evacuate more than 116,000 people, primarily Afghans.