On June 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Ur Jaddou, President Biden’s choice for the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in a 11-10 vote. The committee voted along party lines to bring Jaddou closer to a confirmation vote on the Senate floor. Senator Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) abstained.

Jaddou served as USCIS chief counsel during the Obama administration and previously had positions on Capitol Hill and in the State Department. If confirmed, she has indicated she would work on addressing USCIS’s many challenges, including reducing lengthy visa and naturalization backlogs and budgetary issues that led to furloughs in the summer of 2020.

Donoso & Partners, a leading immigration law firm based in Washington, D.C., will continue to report on developments regarding the immigration law and policy through our news section of donosolaw.com.