Ever since I first sat in a Los Angeles movie theatre watching Grand Canyon, Lawrence Kasdan’s 1991 film, the only movie, to my knowledge, whose protagonist is an immigration lawyer, I knew I would mouth to myself, repeatedly over the ensuing years, one of its memorable lines. The main character, Mac (played by Kevin Kline)
Powdered Wig Immigration with the Lawyer as Potted Plant
Many thoughts rushed through my mind as I read the heartening headline to a press release issued January 19 by the American Immigration Council (“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Takes Steps to Improve Noncitizens’ Access to Legal Counsel“).
What did USCIS do to improve access to lawyers? Did it instruct the agency’s Fraud
The DHS Inspector General Report on Fraud Detection at USCIS: Pious Immigration Baloney
The historian said to the venture capitalist, “Let’s drop the pious baloney,” as each sought the highest office in the land. No, this post is not the set-up to a joke, except perhaps a nod to the risible circular firing squad that the GOP presidential candidates have formed.
And it’s not about a sliced
Power-Mad Career Immigration Bureaucrats Cry Wolf, Spook DHS Leaders
Immigration stakeholders howled with joy this week over an announcement by Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), and the DHS agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), about the forthcoming publication of a new immigration regulation.
Usually, the intention to publish a rule is no cause for huzzahs. But this Notice of Intent
Guest Immigration Post: What Are We Paying for? USCIS and the I-526 Exemplar Process
[Blogger’s Note: Today’s post comes to us courtesy of my colleague, Brandon Meyer, a prolific writer whose analysis and commentary cover a wide array of immigration law topics. Brandon offers a spirited post on a troubling aspect of the EB-5 employment-creation immigrant investor green card category. Thanks to him for having allowed me to be in top
Telling Immigration Stories: It’s Not Just about Code Sections
From the first prehistoric evenings sitting around campfires, humans have been telling stories. Heroic myths, fairy-tale fables, oral histories — all have been seared into heart and memory through the power of narrative. Civil and criminal trials are merely stylized forms of storytelling. Journalism’s hook, theatre’s Sturm und Drang, reality television’s sour and sweet confections —
The Immigration Appeaser-in-Chief Should Try Some New Ammunition
President Obama had a macho moment this week when he suggested, rhetorically, a poll of ghosts. “Ask Osama Bin Laden” and the “22 out of 30 top al-Qaeda leaders who’ve been taken off the field,” he proposed, “whether I engage in appeasement.” The storied bugaboo of foreign-policy appeasement, best typified by the flaccidity of British Prime
Immigration Governance Unmasked
Who really wields power in Washington? The December 3rd opening sketch of Saturday Night Live, featuring Fred Armisen as a chastened President Obama, offered an answer to the question.
SNL‘s Obama shared his insight, gained over the last three years, that the presidency is not truly a powerful post, but merely a “ceremonial position . . .
Immigration’s Hobgoblin: A Foolish Inconsistency
Europe is at a tipping point. Will the European Union be dashed on Greek or Italian shores. Will France follow Greece and Italy in losing the esteem of bondholders? Will the EU revert to an Uncommon Market and again suffer its historic curse, a mash-up of competing and warring states whose citizens must proffer passports to
Missive from Mumbai: Why Are U.S. Immigration Agencies Attacking India and Hurting America?
At least when it comes to India, Yogi Berra had it wrong. It’s not déjà vu all over again.
Blogging this weekend from my hotel room in Mumbai, I vividly recall my first trip to India in 1993. Invited as part of an American Bar Association delegation, I spoke in New Delhi on “Nonimmigrant Visa Options for Computer