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American Bar Foundation welcomes its newest Fellows

Our offices are monitoring the situation and will update our clients as soon as we know more about the implementation of this Proclamation. In case of an emergency, please contact Brittany Thomas Faith at 423-602-0356.

Todas las oficinas locales de USCIS y las oficinas de ASC están temporalmente cerradas hasta el día 1º de abril.

All USCIS Field Offices and ASC offices are temporarily closed until at least April 1, 2020.

Nationwide CLE Webinar with the American Bar Association

Attorney Brittany Thomas Faith was recently named a “2019 Rising Stars” for the Midsouth region for the third consecutive year.

The Law Firm of Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison P.C. (“GKH”) is proud to recognize the selection of one of their Directors, Brittany Thomas Faith, as a 2019 American Bar Association On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers in America.

Two courts of appeals, Ramirez v. Brown, 852 F.3d 954 (9th Cir. 2017), and Flores v. USCIS, 718 F.3d 548 (6th Cir. 2013), have held that a grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) may make an individual eligible for adjustment of status. Both courts held, as a matter of statutory interpretation, that Congress intended TPS recipients to be considered “admitted” for purposes of INA § 245(a). Those who enter without inspection—such as the plaintiffs in both cases— generally are ineligible for adjustment under INA § 245(a).2 Pursuant to Ramirez and Flores, however, a grant of TPS status subsequent to the unlawful entry constitutes an inspection and admission, thus satisfying this § 245(a) requirement. The TPS statute, as interpreted in Ramirez and Flores, does not render a recipient eligible to adjust but rather provides only that the individual meets the one threshold requirement for adjustment.

Federal immigration authorities have recently formalized a policy to send deportation agents to federal, state and local courthouses to make arrests, dismissing complaints from judges and advocacy groups that it instills fear among crime victims, witnesses and family members. As such, people who are undocumented and people with lawful status with certain criminal convictions may be at risk of being detained and deported simply for attending their court hearings.

In an Order dated January 9, 2018, the U.S. District Court in California v DHS issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting the Trump administration from terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (“DACA”) as it relates to renewals. The court ordered DHS “to maintain the DACA program on a nationwide basis on the same terms and conditions as were in effect before the rescission on September 5, 2017, including allowing DACA enrollees to renew their enrollments.” The administration has vowed to appeal and will likely seek to place this ruling on hold in the appellate court. Until that happens, however, the Order provides that DHS must accept certain DACA renewals as of today. The Order makes it clear, though, that DHS does not have to accept applications from individuals that have not previously filed for DACA.