Marijuana legalization bill proposes to remove immigration consequences
Marijuana continues to carry severe immigration consequences, even for foreign nationals merely employed in the legal marijuana industry, but a new bill recently passed by the House Judiciary Committee could change that.—Jason Gerrol
Massachusetts District Court halts “suspicionless” searches of electronic devices at U.S. Border
Although the court stopped short of requiring border officials to obtain a warrant supported by probable cause prior to searching smartphones and laptops, its decision is being hailed as a major victory by privacy rights advocates. The ruling will serve as an important check on the rising number of electronic device searches conducted at the border each year.—Jenny L. Holmes
DHS extends TPS documents for six countries
To ensure compliance with various court orders, DHS has announced it will extend the validity of TPS-related documents for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan through January 4, 2021.—Jason Gerrol
Trump’s immigrant health insurance proclamation blocked by federal court
On October 30, 2019, a federal court temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to deny immigrant visas on health insurance grounds.—Jason Gerrol
Premium processing fee increase
Effective December 2, 2019, USCIS will increase the premium processing fee on nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions.—Mary-Benham B. Nygren