USCIS Announces Open Application Period for Citizenship and Integration Grant Program

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is accepting applications for two funding opportunities under the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program. The grant opportunities will provide up to $10 million in grants for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country.

These competitive grant opportunities are open to organizations that prepare lawful permanent residents for naturalization and promote civic integration through increased knowledge of English, U.S. history, and civics. USCIS received support from Congress through appropriations to make these funding opportunities available to communities.

Read more at: https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-announces-open-application-period-for-citizenship-and-integration-grant-program

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information.

ICE removes Guatemalan citizen for alleged human rights violations in connection with 1982 Dos Erres

WASHINGTON — Jose Mardoqueo Ortiz Morales, who was wanted in his native country for his role in the killing of hundreds of innocent civilians in Dos Erres, Guatemala, in 1982, was turned over by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to law enforcement authorities in Guatemala Friday, May 7.

Ortiz Morales, 59, a former member of an elite Guatemalan army unit known as the Kaibiles, is accused of taking part in the massacre in which Guatemalan special forces executed 200 unarmed villagers, including women and children.

Read more at: https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-removes-guatemalan-citizen-alleged-human-rights-violations-connection-1982-dos

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information.

USCIS Temporarily Suspends Biometrics Requirement for Certain Form I-539 Applicants

Effective May 17, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will temporarily suspend the biometrics submission requirement for certain applicants filing Form I-539, Application To Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, requesting an extension of stay in or change of status to H-4, L-2, and E nonimmigrant status. USCIS will allow adjudications for those specific categories to proceed based on biographic information and related background checks, without capturing fingerprints and a photograph. This suspension will apply through May 17, 2023, subject to affirmative extension or revocation of the suspension period by the USCIS director.

Read more at: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-temporarily-suspends-biometrics-requirement-for-certain-form-i-539-applicants.

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information.