Citizenship Series Part 5: Deriving Citizenship when Your Parents were Legally Separated
Naturalization of Parent Having Legal Custody Where There Has Been a Legal Separation of the Parents: The USCIS phrase may sound complex, but this path to Derived Citizenship applies to children whose parents were divorced or legally separated. The key factor is “Legal Custody.” In this post, we’ll break down what counts as Legal Custody…
Citizenship Series Part 4: Deriving Citizenship with One Naturalized Parent
Derivative Citizenship is possible for those who only have one Naturalized Parent, but this is reserved for those in special circumstances. There are only three (3) situations in which having one Naturalized Parent may qualify you for Derivative Citizenship: In this Part of the series we will be discussing situation 1. Naturalization of a Surviving…
Citizenship Series Part 3: Derived Citizenship
In the two previous parts of this series, we discussed Acquired Citizenship under the Child Citizen Act of 2000 (CCA). It is understandable that you might feel it is unfair or arbitrary that the CCA applies only to children born on or after February 27, 2001, or those who were under 18 years of age…
Citizenship Series Part 2: Automatic Acquisition of Citizenship after Birth
As discussed by Part 1, there are 4 specific conditions that must be met on or after February 27, 2001: In this part of the Citizenship Series, we will discuss the specifics of these requirements and whether they may be applicable to you. In the event all these conditions were met before your 18th birthday,…
Consular Processing vs. Adjustment of Status: What is the Difference?
Editor’s Note (July 2026): This article discusses Adjustment of Status under current USCIS policies, including the agency’s May 2026 memorandum describing adjustment of status as an “extraordinary” form of relief requiring a favorable exercise of discretion. For a detailed discussion of that policy change, see our article “USCIS Reframes Adjustment of Status as Extraordinary Relief.“…
US Immigration Now Checking Social Media for Antisemitic Content
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that starting in April 2025, U.S. immigration officials will begin reviewing the social media accounts of certain applicants for U.S. immigration benefits. The stated goal of USCIS is to screen for antisemitic content or links to “terrorist” groups. What’s Changing?The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services…
USCIS Shares Best Practices for Filing Forms by Mail
On August 24, 2024, USCIS released a list of its best practices and top tips for filing forms by mail. These tips are divided into three separate sections: (1) Complete Your Form Accurately; (2) Assemble Your Application, Petition, or Request; and (3) Mail Your Application, Petition, or Request. Here is a brief summary of these…
Did You Know USCIS Will Now Automatically Extend Your Green Card When You Apply for Citizenship?
If you are applying for U.S. citizenship but your green card has expired or is about to expire, you might worry about your status while you are waiting for USCIS to process your application. However, USCIS has a new policy to help with this. Now, when you file your citizenship application (Form N-400), USCIS will…
USCIS Provides Updated Guidance on Late Filed Extension of Stay and Change of Status Requests
On January 24, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its Policy Manual, stating that it may excuse a nonimmigrant’s late filing for an extension of stay or change of status under specific conditions, if the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the applicant’s control. The update clarifies that extraordinary circumstances are defined…
USCIS Advises to pay each Filing Fee Separately
USCIS has announced that they are transitioning to electronic processing of all requests for U.S. Immigration benefits which requires that they use multiple systems to process a package of forms. As such, USCIS now recommends that applicants and petitioners pay each filing fee separately. USCIS further advises that they may reject the entire package of…
