An Executive Order suspending US immigration was issued by the White House on April 22, 2020. The order would reduce immigration to the United States by approximately one-third. The stated rationale for the executive order is that since the COVID-19 pandemic has so far resulted in over 22 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits, reducing […]
With the exponential rise in H-1B denials, we recommend that employers challenge erroneous USCIS decisions in Federal Court. Three recent decisions by Federal Judges pave the road to success. H-1B denial rates increased from 6% in fiscal year 2015 to 21% in fiscal year 2019. The denial rate for H-1B extensions increased to 12%. The […]
Given all the recent immigrant-bashing by politicians hungry for votes, I could not stop myself from reading a new book entitled “Adios America” by Ann Coulter in which she sets out to convince us that immigration is destroying our country. A more apt title for her book would be “Keep America White!” To her, immigration […]
On December 10, 2019, USCIS issued policy guidance regarding what constitutes good moral character for naturalization purposes. However, it is clear that this guidance will affect not only applicants for naturalization, but also those applying for adjustment of status and other types of immigration benefits including cancellation of removal. Specifically, the new guidance incorporates the following […]
On December 21, 2000, President Clinton, unable to get his LIFA amendments through Congress, signed the Republican-sponsored LIFE amendments into law. AILA has an excellent summary of the LIFE Amendments. The LIFA amendments would have been a boon to immigrants, advancing the registry date to 1986, permanently restoring section 245(I) to the law, and granting […]
Recently, a foreign-born physician scheduled a consultation with me. She had an interview coming up, and for some reason, her attorney was unable to accompany her. She was super-nervous because her case had been going on for years, and the facts were quite complex. I let her know that she was right to be concerned. […]
The H-1B online registration system will go into effect on March 1, 2020. Employers must submit the required information online for each H-1B beneficiary whom they wish to sponsor between March 1 and March 20. However, the details of the system have yet to be released by the USCIS. The fact that the current Administration […]
Supreme Court DACA oral arguments regarding whether the Trump Administration acted correctly in attempting to terminate the program took place on November 12, 2019. DACA is short for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was announced in 2012. DACA allows some persons with unlawful presence in the US after being brought to the country […]
In September 2019, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) asked their colleagues to support a unanimous consent resolution to approve S386, the Senate version of H.R. 1044, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019. H.R. 1044 was passed by the House of Representatives last July. The Act would abolish the 7% per-country […]
On July 11, 2019, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky) introduced the BELIEVE Act (S. 2091) as a way to reform legal immigration to the United States. The Believe Act would abolish per-country quotas for employment-based immigration similar to H.R. 1044 which was passed by the House of Representatives on July 10, but would not result in […]
