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Aust Schmiechen, P.A. The attorneys of Aust Schmiechen, P.A. are experienced in all areas of U.S.

immigration law, including adjustment of status, family petitions, consular processing, waivers, asylum, removal (deportation) defense and naturalization.

How Not Changing Your Address Could Get You Ordered RemovedKeeping your address updated with the government has for a lo...
09/16/2026

How Not Changing Your Address Could Get You Ordered Removed

Keeping your address updated with the government has for a long time been one of the most important things you have to do as a noncitizen in the United States. It just got even more important.
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which makes decisions interpreting the law in immigration court, issued a decision on September 3, 2026, called Matter of DIJI. The BIA decision in that case overruled a previous case that had been the law for 25 years. In doing so, the BIA made it easier for immigration judges to order people removed from the U.S. if they missed court because they did not know about their hearing.

The 25-year-old case, Matter of G-Y-R-, had said that when a person missed their hearing, they could generally not be ordered removed if they had never received their Notice to Appear (NTA)—the document that orders them to appear in immigration court. That meant that if someone had moved but not yet changed their address, or if their mail was stolen before they could open it, these were valid reasons why they did not know about their hearing, and they could avoid a removal order.

Now, Matter of G-Y-R- is no longer the law, and Matter of DIJI is much stricter. Matter of DIJI says that it is enough for the U.S. government to send the NTA by regular mail to the most recent address the individual provided, even if they provided that address before their court case was opened. And even if the individual never saw that hearing notice, they can still be ordered removed for missing their hearing.

What should you do?

It is more important than ever to update your address if you have a case open with the immigration court. The law requires that you do so no more than five business days after you move, but it is better to file your address change as soon as possible. This website provides basic instructions on how to do it.

Additionally, it is critical to check the EOIR Automated Case Information website at least once per week. You should do this even if, as far as you know, you do not have a case in immigration court. All you need is your nine-digit Alien Registration Number (A-number) and your country of origin to see if a case has been opened against you or you have been scheduled for a hearing. This way, even if your mail does not show up like it is supposed to, you can still see if something has happened in your case.
But do not forget about changing your address with other agencies.

Immigration court is not the only place that needs to know when your address has changed. If you are not a citizen—even if you do not have any pending applications—you have to report your address change to US. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) within 10 days of your move. There are very few exceptions or exemptions to this rule. You can do this online or by mail.
Additionally, if you were ever detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), you have to let ICE know your address has changed as soon as possible after you move. You can do so here.

Always save your receipts.

Whenever you change your address, make a copy or take a screenshot of the form you completed. You never know if EOIR, USCIS, or ICE is going to say that they never received your change of address, and you need to be ready to prove that you did it.

If you have questions about address changes or anything else related to your immigration case, schedule a consultation with Aust Schmiechen at 612-724-4860.

Case victory! A client from Jordan, his spouse, and three children were finally granted U status after a 9.5 year wait! ...
09/10/2026

Case victory! A client from Jordan, his spouse, and three children were finally granted U status after a 9.5 year wait!

The Expiration of TPS: What it Means and What You Can DoSince 1990, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has prevented the d...
09/02/2026

The Expiration of TPS: What it Means and What You Can Do

Since 1990, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has prevented the deportation of millions of people in the United States to countries where war, disasters, and other serious conditions make it unsafe for them to return. The Trump Administration is gradually bringing it to an end.

On June 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that courts have very little power to rule on whether the Secretary of Homeland Security is allowed to terminate TPS for certain countries. The result has been a continued waning of the list of countries with TPS designations. Since that ruling, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has let TPS expire for Myanmar (Burma), Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and has not renewed it.

As of the publication of this blog post, only four countries still have TPS designations: El Salvador, Lebanon, Sudan, and Ukraine. If none of these designations are extended, El Salvador’s designation will expire on September 9, Sudan and Ukraine’s on October 19, and Lebanon’s on November 27.

What status will I have if my TPS expires?

If you still have any other unexpired status once your TPS expires, you will retain that status. Otherwise, you will be living in the United States without status and are subject to removal.

What will happen to my work authorization?

If you have an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or “work permit,” with the category A12 or C19, it expires when your TPS expired or will expire. This is because the EAD is associated with either a pending or granted TPS application. When TPS expires, the associated work permit expires.

If you have work authorization through another category, such as C8 for a pending asylum application, you will still be authorized to work with this EAD after your TPS expires.

What do I do if my TPS expires?

If your TPS has recently expired or will expire soon, you should act quickly to apply for the benefits you are eligible to receive. For example, if you have a fear of returning to your country because you will be harmed based on a protected ground—such as your race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group—you are eligible to apply for asylum.
If you are eligible for asylum, your time holding TPS status may exempt you from the usual filing deadline of one year after your arrival. However, you should ideally file your asylum application before TPS expires. If this is not possible, you should do so as soon as possible.

You may be eligible for other benefits, such as adjusting your status to a green card if you are married to a U.S. citizen. To understand what you might qualify for, call Aust Schmiechen at 612-724-4860 to schedule a consultation.

08/26/2026

Back with another Immigration Law update of the week! This time about the new asylum fees.

The Annual Asylum Fee: How to Check it and How to Pay itThe United States government has begun charging a new annual asy...
08/17/2026

The Annual Asylum Fee: How to Check it and How to Pay it

The United States government has begun charging a new annual asylum fee of $102, and it is causing a lot of panic because of the lack of understanding of how it works.

If you filed your I-589 asylum application less than one year ago, you are not yet subject to the fee. However, if you filed your asylum application more than one year ago, you could be facing a deadline to pay. The fee applies whether your case is being reviewed by USCIS, the immigration court (also known as the Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR), or the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).

If your case is before USCIS

If your asylum case is pending before USCIS, you may be due to pay the annual fee without even knowing it. USCIS will not necessarily notify you about paying the fee on the anniversary of when you filed your asylum application. Anytime is possible for those whose cases have been pending for more than one year.

Some people have reported that they never received notice from USCIS and only saw that they had missed the deadline when they checked their case in USCIS’s online portal. Therefore, it is important to check your online USCIS portal (if you have one) to see if you have been sent a notice to pay.

You can also fill out this questionnaire to see if you owe the annual fee—and if you do, to pay it. It is important that you check to see whether you owe the fee at least monthly, because USCIS has shown that it intends to severely penalize those who do not pay. USCIS has put out a new rule that it can refer cases to immigration court without giving the applicant an asylum interview first; this could possibly be a penalty for nonpayment or late payment.

If your case is before immigration court (EOIR)

If your asylum case is in immigration court, the judge can order that you pay the annual fee at any time, much like USCIS. But unlike USCIS, you can pay the fee even if it has not been ordered yet.

If you can afford it, it is well worth it to pay the fee before your case has been in court for one year, just to be safe. The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) has reported that judges have sometimes ordered payment with a one-day deadline, making it very difficult to pay on time, and missing a deadline can result in your case being dismissed. Paying ahead of an order can avoid this issue.

ASAP created this video to show you how to pay the annual fee to the immigration court. Make sure you save a copy of the receipt and submit it to the immigration court.

If your case is before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)

The immigration court payment portal (which includes the BIA) currently does not allow a payment to be made specifically to the BIA for the annual asylum fee. Similar to EOIR, you should receive an order if you owe the annual fee to the BIA, and your best option may be to wait for this order before paying.

Case victory! The Chicago Asylum Office grants Aust Schmiechen client from the Middle East asylum! Congratulations to ou...
08/13/2026

Case victory! The Chicago Asylum Office grants Aust Schmiechen client from the Middle East asylum! Congratulations to our client who can now have the security of being an asylee!

USCIS Removes Right to an Asylum Interview: What to KnowOn July 27, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Services (DHS)...
08/07/2026

USCIS Removes Right to an Asylum Interview: What to Know

On July 27, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Services (DHS) announced a new rule that allows asylum officers to transfer cases to immigration court without first giving the applicant an asylum interview.

For decades, someone who filed an “affirmative” asylum application—meaning that they filed before the court had opened a case against them—was guaranteed an interview with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer. USCIS officers are not judges, cannot order removal (deportation), and tend to be more likely to grant asylum than immigration judges. If USCIS did not grant asylum after the interview, then it would refer the case to immigration court, meaning it is now in the court’s power to decide the case.

As part of the new rule, the U.S. government has removed all references in the Code of Federal Regulations to an individual’s “right” to an asylum interview. The regulations now state that an asylum officer can transfer an asylum application to immigration court “based on a review of the record . . . and other relevant evidence.” The government has also removed the right for an applicant to explain potential issues with their application in person to an asylum officer, thus removing the ability to answer any questions the officer might have.

This is a massive change at a time when immigration judges in Minnesota currently grant below 1 percent of asylum applications. For many people, an asylum interview is their only realistic shot at winning protection in the United States.

When does the rule take effect?

The rule took effect immediately despite not being a “final rule.” Usually, the government has to complete a process of seeking out public opinion on a rule before it takes effect. However, the rule states that an individual’s “desire” to receive an asylum interview is not significant enough to trigger this process.

When can USCIS refer a case to immigration court before an interview?

The new rule outlines several reasons why an asylum officer can refer a case to immigration court without first giving the applicant an opportunity to explain.

First, an asylum officer can refer the case if they determine that the application was filed more than a year after the applicant’s arrival without qualifying for an exception to the rule (such as maintaining lawful status).

Second, an asylum officer can refer the case if they determine that the applicant is prohibited from winning asylum for a reason such as committing a serious crime or having found a safe place to live in a third country.

Third, an asylum officer can determine without conducting an interview that the applicant’s case does not merit asylum under the law.

Finally, an asylum officer can refer the case if they find that the applicant should not be granted asylum as a matter of discretion, meaning because of factors not specific to asylum law such as less serious criminal history, entering the U.S. unlawfully, or having been previously deported.

What can you do if your asylum case is pending before USCIS?

If you have not fully explained your answers to certain questions on the asylum application, or you have not yet submitted all of the evidence that you have, it is important that you do so. USCIS may not provide you an opportunity to explain yourself at an interview if it determines that your case is missing key explanations or evidence.

Case victory! We are so happy for our client from Somalia who has finally received her Permanent Resident Card. In July,...
08/07/2026

Case victory! We are so happy for our client from Somalia who has finally received her Permanent Resident Card. In July, USCIS finally approved our client’s application after she had to wait for nearly 20 years. She is finally secure in living in the United States permanently.

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