We have joined forces with a new firm. You are being redirected to our new partner after 5 seconds. Immigration has driven technological growth of the United States since our founding. Some of America’s greatest inventors and investors were immigrants. But over a hundred years ago, the cutting edge of tech, the ENIAC of its time, was built for the Department of Commerce and used by the...
How to Fix the Border: A Proposal for Immigration Executive Order #1, to Secure the US-Mexico Border President Obama can flex his presidential power issuing Executive Orders regarding immigration. I propose the most urgent presidential mandate should be to build a border wall. As an immigration attorney based in California, I would benefit from the government ignoring the border and creating...
In addition to being an alien extra-terrestrial, Thor is in the United States illegally, and is indeed an illegal alien. In the 2011 Marvel film, Thor arrived in New Mexico via the Bifröst rainbow bridge wormhole, circumventing well established border and immigration controls. He is entirely undocumented. Here are my thoughts on the matter as a veteran immigration attorney. Though Thor is the...
On April 9, 2015, the Administrative Appeals Office of the USCIS issued a landmark H-1B decision, Matter of Simeio Solutions LLC (I&N Dec. 542). Under this decision anytime an H-1B employee changes location of work requiring a new Labor Condition Application (LCA), the employer must also file a new or amended H-1B petition. A new LCA is not required if the new location of work is within the...
On February 24th, 2014, USCIS director Leon Rodriguez announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has amended a regulation which will allow spouses of H-1B visa holders seeking legal permanent resident status (LPR) to obtain employment authorization documents (EAD). This regulatory update is part of president Obama’s broader executive action outlined in November 2014. USCIS...
Along with the new DAPA program, President Obama announced major changes to the DACA program. The previous applicant cut-off age of 31-years-old has been removed; The date of an applicant’s for continuous residence in the U.S. has been advanced from June 15, 2007 to January 1, 2010; Work permits will now be granted for 3 years, rather than 2 years. To qualify for DACA under the new rules...
On November 20th 2014, President Obama announced his plan to provide deferred action for 4-5 million undocumented persons residing in the U.S. While the executive order does not provide legal status or a pathway to citizenship, qualifying parents of U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) will be eligible to receive work permits and temporary relief from deportation. To qualify...
Earlier this month USCIS published rules for the renewal of enrollment in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. As of April 2014, over 500,000 individuals have already benefited from the DACA program. Individuals may request DACA renewal if they continue to meet the initial criteria and these additional guidelines: Did not depart the United States on or after Aug. 15, 2012,...
The Schengen Visa is a required travel document [1] issued to individuals travelling within the Schengen Area who are not citizens of member countries. The Schengen Area is comprised of 26 countries which allow the free movement of individuals within this space as if it were a single country. The list of Schengen member states is as follows: [1] U.S. citizens traveling for less the ninety days...
While the debate on comprehensive immigration reform has stalled in congress, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new set of rules on Tuesday which could provide work permits for upwards of 90,000 people. The main focus of these regulatory changes is to retain high-skilled workers by providing employment authorization for holders of the H-4 visa, while streamlining several...