On August 20, 2010, John Morton, Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a memorandum providing guidance on pending removal cases. The hope is to reduce the huge backlog of cases with the Immigration courts. In sum, if there is an approved or approvable petition that will make the respondent eligible for adjustment, ICE is to dismiss the case and send to USCIS for adjudication.
This is very welcome news by Watson Immigration Law and others. Many of our clients in removal proceedings will now be eligible for a smoother and hopefully faster adjudication of their adjustment. I know that many of my clients dread going to immigration court (or any court for that matter). At least this way, they will be able to avoid a stressful situation too.
It must be noted that the above policy will only apply to cases without complications such as criminal convictions and other serious immigration violations.
If you are in immigration removal proceedings, it might be worth reviewing your situation to see if this might benefit you.
Here is a link to the memo.