The Tampa Asylum Office will adjudicate asylum applications filed by individuals residing in western Florida, northern Florida, and portions of central Florida. The Miami Asylum Office will continue to adjudicate asylum applications for individuals residing in southern Florida and portions of central Florida and will retain jurisdiction over Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This change will not affect the jurisdiction of any other USCIS asylum offices.

We understand you may have questions about DACA and the recent court decision in State of Texas et al. v. United States of America et al., 1:18-CV-00068 (S.D. Texas July 16, 2021). We have updated our website to help answer some of your questions about the decision, including how it may affect your current DACA and work authorization, or any requests for DACA or related benefits.

To learn more, visit our DACA Frequently Asked Questions page.

We are revising policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to comply with a recent court order on immigrant investors and investment of loan proceeds.

Please see the Policy Alert for more information.

USCIS has announced that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) applicants who are eligible nationals of Burma, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela or Yemen, or individuals without nationality who last habitually resided in one of those countries, can now file Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, online, if they are applying for TPS for the first time.

Read our news release for more information.

We are updating the USCIS Policy Manual to eliminate the need for individuals who have applied for a change of status (COS) to F-1 student to apply to change or extend their nonimmigrant status while their initial F-1 COS application is pending.

Read our web alert for more information.

On July 16, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas held that the DACA policy “is illegal.” The Court granted summary judgment on plaintiffs’ Administrative Procedure Act (APA) claims; vacated the June 15, 2012 DACA memorandum issued by former Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano; remanded the memorandum to DHS  for further consideration; and issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the government’s continued administration of DACA and the reimplementation of DACA without compliance with the APA. The Court, however, temporarily stayed its order vacating the DACA memorandum and its injunction with regard to individuals who obtained DACA on or before July 16, 2021, including those with renewal requests.

Consistent with this order, DHS will continue to accept the filing of both initial and renewal DACA requests, as well as accompanying requests for employment authorization. However, pursuant to the July 16, 2021 order from the Southern District of Texas, DHS is prohibited from granting initial DACA requests and accompanying requests for employment authorization. Also consistent with that order, DHS will continue to grant or deny renewal DACA requests, according to existing policy.

On July 2, the White House released the Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization. This strategy outlines the federal government’s approach to promoting integration, inclusion, and citizenship to all who are eligible.  

Visit uscis.gov/promotingnaturalization for more information and for more information on our naturalization policies issued since January 2021, see our fact sheet.

The 2019 Public Charge Final Rule is no longer in effect, and DHS will partner with federal agencies to ensure impacted individuals are aware.

Read more here: Public Charge Letter to Interagency Partners.

• March 10: The Public Charge Final Rule

We are no longer applying the August 2019 Public Charge Final Rule. On March 9, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit lifted its stay of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’ Nov. 2, 2020, decision which vacated the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule nationwide. USCIS immediately stopped applying the Public Charge Final Rule to all pending applications and petitions.

For more information, see our main public charge webpage, our public charge litigation page, and DHS’s news release.