Hirota & Associates, LLLC

08/05/2026

The backlog at USCIS has continued to get worse.

In 2026, applicants are waiting substantially longer for decisions on their immigration applications than they were a year ago. Across all USCIS forms, the average backlog clearance time nearly doubled between 2025 and 2026, increasing from 9.4 months to 18.6 months.

This slowdown reflects a broader shift in USCIS processing: higher denial rates, a larger pending caseload, and longer processing times. In the American Immigration Council’s updated dashboard, you can see these changes and more in real time.

Read More:

Processing at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has continued to slow, the latest immigration application data shows.

07/30/2026

Over the past few days, members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association have reported an increase in clients being detained by DHS at U.S. airports during domestic travel. This is occurring across the country, including in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia. Impacted people include those whose lawful status has expired but may have timely filed adjustment of status applications or asylum applications which would allow them to be in a period of authorized stay. Reports include people being detained who do not have criminal records and who have valid work authorization or advance parole documents.

If you are not in lawful status, please consult a reputable immigration lawyer about the risks related to domestic travel.

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07/09/2026

Happy Birthday Chiako!

06/23/2026

Chiako and Stella just wrapped up an incredible four days at the annual American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) conference. It was an amazing opportunity to connect with colleagues, dive into the latest immigration law updates, and bring back valuable insights to our practice.

Beyond the sessions, they also got to experience a bit of San Diego—highlighted by a visit to the famous San Diego Zoo and a trip to the land border crossing at San Ysidro.

Grateful for the continuous learning, great memories, and a fantastic week! ✈️💼

06/06/2026

Federal Judge Vacates the 39-Country Pause on Immigration Applications

On June 5, 2026, Chief Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island struck down a series of Trump administration policies that effectively halted the processing of immigration applications for individuals from 39 countries, stating:

"…the Benefits Hold Policy, the Global Asylum Hold Policy, the Comprehensive Re-Review Policy, and the Country-Specific Factors Policy—are declared unlawful and are vacated and set aside."

The judge noted: “And USCIS’s hold on adjudications cannot be attributed to anything these individuals did wrong; rather, it arises solely by the happenstance of their birth.”

What this means for affected cases
While the ruling requires USCIS to resume processing the affected applications and petitions, the government may choose to challenge the decision.
Our firm continues to monitor developments in this area.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-judge-invalidates-trump-policies-targeting-immigrants-from-39-countries/ar-AA24Vj1O?ocid=BingNewsSerp

https://democracyforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/16112511402.pdf

05/02/2026

Maile and Chiako celebrated Law Day and Lei Day today with the Hawaii State Bar Association by retaking their oath at the Hawaii Supreme Court and standing in support of the rule of law. When lawyers are sworn in as members of the bar, we take an oath to defend the Constitution and the rule of law, which means no one is above the law and everyone must follow the law. The 2026 national theme for Law Day is "The Rule of Law and the American Dream."

04/17/2026

Please share this flyer with friends and family to get the word out about how to protect yourself from immigration scams! Mahalo! Unfortunately, we've heard about people getting scammed in Hawaii.

04/15/2026

04/03/2026

We celebrated our office manager Susan’s birthday yesterday with lunch at Fete in Chinatown. Our office is closed today for Good Friday.