I’m planning to soon recruit a community manager for “Unshackled” who can work in building the community with me from the ground up. This will easily be a part-time gig, or potentially a full-time one, and involve a lot of brainstorming, building workflows, onboarding people, and experimenting with community-building ideas. If that excites you (or you know someone who’d be a good fit), email me and let me know!Also, we welcome 44 new members to our newsletter community since last week. Thank you to anyone who forwarded this to a friend and spread the word. And welcome, guys! 💚

Immigration is a complex world. So every Wednesday, I try to simplify that by sharing top stories, curated resources, & fun tweets from the internet that matter to you. I also sprinkle it with updates on my upcoming book Unshackled, at the end. If you want to get this straight to your email inbox, come sign up! You can read all past editions here. 💃 

This week's TL;DR

USCIS' new policy update to protect 'Aged Out' childrenMarch Visa Bulletin: Know your priority datesWho's hiring right now?

📌 Stories you should know about

USCIS’ new policy update to protect thousands of ‘Aged Out’ childrenUSCIS just updated their policy manual with a minor change that could help at least a few 1000 children of H-1B holders not get kicked out of the country due to “aging out.” If you’re born outside the U.S. to someone with an H-1B visa, you automatically become a “dependent” and get the H-4 visa. But, because of the way the law is written today, your H-4 becomes invalid the moment you turn 21 (or get married). This new update from USCIS helps children of immigrants who got their I-485 by turning back the clock by a few months. It only helps 1% of the 200,000+ children in the country, but it’s a step in the right direction.March Visa Bulletin: Know your priority datesHey there, green-card hopefuls! The Department of State just released the Visa Bulletin for March 2023. Overall, there weren’t many changes. On the slightly negative side, the EB-1 category for Indian and Chinese nationals is still retrogressed by a year, as it was in January. (For those who don’t know what a “visa bulletin” is, it’s a chart that shows you the current “priority date” for all the visa categories).New Poll Shows Majority of GOP Primary Voters Support Comprehensive Immigration ReformAccording to a recent poll, around 60% of GOP primary voters said that a candidate's prioritization of "comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship," would make them more likely to vote for a GOP presidential candidate. I’m still skeptical of comprehensive immigration reform happening anytime soon, but polls like this at least help more Republican and Democrat senators to be favorable to it.

🎁 Resources curated for you

Who the friggin’ frig is hiring right now?The title says it all. Despite the very public and disheartening layoffs that’s taken over the tech world, there are still several companies hiring who want you! This website scrapes that list to update consistently. Check it out, and share it with anyone who might find it handy.How to satisfy the O-1 Visa “Membership” criteriaThe O-1 has eight criteria, of which you need to satisfy at least three. Of the eight, the “memberships” is the most frustrating one of all — as almost no one gets it, because of the way it’s defined. This article helps break down what it really means, and some ideas you can use to potentially satisfy it.Get a 30-min consult for $49Boundless has an “Ask My Attorney” program where you get to book a 30-min consult for $49 to chat with a lawyer. This is one of the cheaper programs I’ve come across. Bookmark the link in case you need to consult with a lawyer in the future!💡 None of the information shared in this newsletter is meant to be legal advice. If you're looking for legal advice, speak to a lawyer, or hit reply and let me know so I can connect you with one.

📕 What's the latest on Unshackled?

I’m drowning in editing, re-writing, and following up with people who need to confirm their stories and quotes in the book.But, it’s been really fun.The book’s first draft is ready, and I’ve begun sending it out to experts who can review it and give us feedback on what’s missing, if anything.As a result of how involved the past week has been, I’ve taken a step back from social media to solely focus on getting to the finish line here.When you’re writing a book, there’s a certain stage when it feels like a thousand puzzle pieces finally begin to fall into place and start forming what looks like a vaguely familiar picture. That’s where we’re at right now.I can’t wait to get this into your hands soon enough, and hear what you think.Hey, by the way, if you haven't yet, be the 785th person to pre-order the book below. 👇Get UnshackledThank you so much for reading till here.Got a burning question? Did you come across a resource that seemed useful? Want to say hi?Whatever it is, email me. I read and respond to every email.And, if you enjoyed reading this email, forward it to one friend. It helps more than you know.Until next week, stay awesome.​Yours truly,Soundarya 💚

👀 Fun corners of the internet

Eyes hurt just looking at this… Source: Bob Webber .