AILA Releases New Edition of INA and CFR

WASHINGTON, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) is proud to release the 2019 editions of the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) and the Immigration Regulations (CFR).

The INA is the basis of U.S. immigration law and includes the immigration-related statutes that appear in Title 8 of the U.S. Code but are not part of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Immigration Regulations (CFR) two-volume set is an easy-to-use primary-source reference used by practitioners and judges alike. Title 8 covers Aliens and Nationality in one volume, with the second volume covering the immigration-related portions of Titles 6, 19, 20, 22, 28, 29, 42, and 45. The new 2019 editions have been updated with all new legislation and regulations released in 2018 and early 2019.

Among the new items incorporated in the 2019 editions are:

• A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) final rule requiring petitioners seeking to file cap-subject H-1B petitions to register electronically with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during a designated registration period (note that the registration requirement is suspended for the Fiscal Year 2020 cap season);
• A DHS final rule increasing the USCIS premium processing fee;
• A joint DHS/Department of Justice (DOJ) interim final rule (currently subject to litigation) governing asylum claims by individuals who violate a suspension or limitation on entry into the United States through the southern border;
• A DHS and Department of Labor (DOL) rule adding temporary document-retention provisions for employers who filed a petition to employ H-2B workers in Fiscal Year 2018 under the authority of Public Law 115-141, which allowed a temporary increase in the H-2B cap;
• Final rules from DHS and DOL to increase the amount of certain immigration-related civil penalties for inflation;
• A Department of State (DOS) final rule which sets out the Department's procedures for denying and cancelling Consular Reports of Birth Abroad.

"These two references are the basis of U.S. immigration law, and every immigration lawyer should have them at his or her fingertips," said AILA President Anastasia Tonello. She continued, "Especially as USCIS continues to create new standards and requirements with no basis in the law or regulations, in-depth knowledge and easy access to primary sources of immigration law are vital for any successful practice. These two resources form the cornerstone of quality immigration counsel."