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A short summary of President Obama's announcement tonight on Executive Action is on my advocacy blog, Seattleimmigrationlawyerblog. Information in the form of policy memos, FAQs and more is starting to pour in from the various agencies about how they will implement the program. However, many details remain to be seen and will be forthcoming in the coming weeks. The Administration's plan calls for expansion of deferred action, expansion of those who can file for provisional stateside waivers of … [Read more...]
Immigration and Firm News
November 19, 2014 by ·
Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC interviewed immigration lawyer, elder statesman and guru, Leon Wildes, about his representation of John Lennon of the Beatles. The US government threatened to deport him because of a cannibis resin conviction in the UK. In this interesting segment, O'Donnell and Wildes discuss the history of the use of the government's exercise of prosecutorial discretion. During his representation of John Lennon, Wildes filed a Freedom of Information Act request and discovered … [Read more...]
November 19, 2014 by ·
President Obama is scheduled to announce his Executive Action Plan tomorrow, Thursday night. Meanwhile, today, the Senate is debating immigration reform and President Obama's anticipated announcement. Besides offering some relief for families, we are hoping to see some other administrative fixes that deal with the legal immigration system. See my two blog posts on proposals for family and business fixes that can be accomplished administratively without the need for Congressional Action. As a … [Read more...]
October 27, 2014 by ·
I previously posted two articles about the American immigration Lawyers Association's (AILA) letter to President Obama recommending administrative or Executive Action to fix the nation's immigration laws due to inaction by Congress. Here, I want to add some more ideas that could be accomplished by Executive Action that do not require an Act of Congress. By way of review, in my prior post, Executive Action - Business Immigration Fixes Needed, I discussed the recommendations made by AILA … [Read more...]
October 24, 2014 by ·
In November 2010, USCIS developed Form I-924A for EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Centers to file every year documenting the various investments and jobs created in their centers. The first required filing period began October 1, 2011 with reports due in before the end of the year. This year, reports are due between October 1, 2014 and December 29, 2014. However, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, USCIS issued 29 notices of intent to terminate a regional center’s designation for failure to file the … [Read more...]
October 17, 2014 by ·
USCIS has released a new website page called "MyE-Verify" where employees can check their database records to verify work authorization. MyE-Verify is presently available in Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Mississippi, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. This should be useful for all job seekers when looking for work, as more employers use E-Verify to document the work permission of their new hires. The website includes the ability to do Self-checks, which includes instructions on what to do if … [Read more...]
September 1, 2014 by ·
This blog posts follows up to an earlier post, Executive Action - Business Immigration Fixes Needed, discussing the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) letter to President Obama of August 6, 2014 requesting Executive Action. AILA recommended additional fixes to family immigration, prosecutorial discretion and enforcement related issues that could be achieved administratively in the face of Congressional inaction on statutory changes. AILA states that "the guiding principle for … [Read more...]
August 15, 2014 by ·
Immigration lawyers from around the country, who have volunteered their time at the Artesia, New Mexico detention facility, are reporting back about their experiences volunteering there helping unaccompanied minors and children with their parents. The Artiesia facility has been referred to by some as akin to a US refugee camp. Stories from these lawyers are quite heart wrenching. For example, Eileen Sterlock from Oregon reports on the AILA Leadership Blog how she has changed after watching the … [Read more...]
