[Blogger’s Note: This post is submitted as a necessarily-lengthy formal comment to the November 20, 2015 draft guidance of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, PM-602-0122, interpreting the phrase, “the same or [a] similar occupational classification” as used in the “increased job flexibility” provisions of Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) §§ 204(j) and 212(a)(5)(A)(iv). This
Eyes off the Prize: White House Oblivious to Immigration Bureaucrats’ Running out the Clock
Two hundred days ago President Obama stoked the hopes of immigration advocates with his announcement of wide-ranging executive actions to try — as far as his authority would carry him — to change America’s broken immigration system for the better.
Generating most of the media fanfare and Republican outrage were his plans to expand eligibility
Immigration Howling, Hope, Hype and Hodgepodge: USCIS’s New L-1B Memo
Social media flamed with expressions of outrage, relief and tepid optimism ever since President Obama announced on March 23, 2015 the release of long-awaited policy guidance on a key temporary worker visa category:
Today, I’m pleased to announce a new action I’m also taking to make it easier for global companies who are present here
Immigration on a Clean Slate: Game-Changing Proposals on Visa Modernization
Terabytes of text have already been generated in the course of extolling or excoriating President Obama for his November 20 Executive Actions on Immigration. The prolific foaming of bloviating mouths has mostly been prompted by the promise of deferred action and work permits for undocumented immigrants under the DACA and DAPA programs. Surprisingly, however, his
Immigration Voices: Coming out of the Shadows with the U Visa
[Blogger’s note; Probably the most gratifying element of practicing immigration law is watching clients flourish. Obtaining immigration benefits, especially lawful permanent residency, often unleashes a wave of innovation and creativity. Less often, it produces a humanitarian “pay it forward” moment. This is the story of today’s guest blogger, Protima Pandey. Many years ago, I
Worksite Harmony and the President’s Executive Actions: It’s All about Immigration Timing
“Politics at bottom is not all that complicated. It’s all about timing.”
Facing a recalcitrant House of Representatives controlled by Republicans, President Obama made an historic announcement on November 20th outlining an array of executive actions he would take to fix as much as he could of our broken immigration system.
Understandably, public
Immigration “Fire on the Ground” — What’s Next for the L-1B Visa?
Since 2008 American employers have been burning mad about how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has gone from fairly reasonable to highly restrictive in its interpretation of the L-1B “specialized knowledge” visa category. This statutory visa category allows certain “intracompany transferees” to enter and work in the U.S. for a qualifying employer if he
Immigration Voices: Dr. No vs. the League of Extraordinary Aliens
[Blogger’s note: An anonymous immigration lawyer offers this lament on the woeful quality of adjudications at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For related wailing, see: “ ‘I Hate [Bleep]ing Immigration Law’ — Whenever I Get an Unjust Request for Evidence,” “End the Tyranny of Immigration Insubordination,” and “Immigration Indifference
USCIS Gets an EB-5 Earful at Immigration Listening Session
[Blogger’s note: For EB-5 stakeholders interested in learning more about the USCIS Listening Session, you can register for “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Update,” a webinar presented by members of Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s EB-5 Immigrant Investment Team on May 13, 2014. Topics include:
• The April 23, 2014 USCIS’s stakeholders listening session
• FINRA’s recent
Waiting in the Wings: A New Leader at the Immigration Helm
The dysfunctional immigration world continues to spin dangerously out of control.
Do-nothing House Republicans (and five pusillanimous Democrats) commit political seppuku with the passage of the ENFORCE Act — a going-nowhere bill which would authorize civil suits against the President to dissuade him from doing something to husband scarce prosecutorial resources and ameliorate the harsh