California SB 206 would allow college-level student-athletes in California to market their name, image, and likeness without affecting their amateur status. How may the new law, which is in the final phases of approval, affect international student-athletes? Foreign students enter the United States on F-1 student visas. The terms of this type of visa drastically … Continue Reading
The Trump Administration has been trying to put an end to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for many countries including: El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal and Sudan. Upon legal challenges to TPS termination, the courts have delayed termination at least temporarily. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) generally has the authority to designate … Continue Reading
The House of Representatives has taken a step in the direction of eliminating green card backlogs by passing the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 (H.R. 1044) introduced by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Ken Buck. (R-CO). The support was bi-partisan and passed in a 365 to 65 vote. The bill would: Increase per country … Continue Reading
The Trump Administration has been stepping up the collection of data in general and more specifically from visa applicants and travelers. Here are a few new policies: A pilot program has been instituted at the border that would include DNA testing and fingerprinting of children under age 14. USCIS is collecting biometric data from most … Continue Reading
The U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand, Scott P. Brown, has announced that eligible New Zealand nationals may apply for E-1/E-2 Treaty Investor Visas: “We’ve listened. And as of June 10, New Zealand business owners and New Zealand citizens essential to those companies are going to be able to reside and work in the United States … Continue Reading
We wrote yesterday on the U.S. Supreme Court declining to expedite review of DACA, as well as the recent and current legislative activity regarding the program. Later in the day on June 4th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Dream and Promise Act which would grant permanent residence status and a path to citizenship … Continue Reading
Concerns regarding the rescission of the H-4 EAD Rule have heightened in the wake of the publication of the Department of Homeland Security’s Spring 2019 Regulatory Agenda. In response, two California congresswomen, Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-Cal.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Cal.), reintroduced a bill to protect those work authorizations – The H-4 Employment Protection Act. Both … Continue Reading
President Donald Trump has introduced the broad outlines of his proposal for immigration reform. The “merit and heart system” focuses on security and establishing a more fully merit-based system for permanent residence (“green card”) status. What do we know about the proposal so far? In terms of security, it includes: Construction of parts of the … Continue Reading
Since at least 2013, there have been efforts to make the Conrad 30 J-1 visa waiver program for physicians permanent. But that has not happened and it continues to be necessary to reauthorize the program every year. This year, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Angus King (I-ME) and Charles Grassley … Continue Reading
Because some of the 9/11 terrorists used fraudulent driver’s licenses to travel, Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 to comply with the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government establish minimum standards for the issuance of forms of identification, such as state driver’s licenses. After many starts, stops, and delays, the deadline set … Continue Reading
There has been ongoing debate about how to stop the opioid crisis in the United States. To stem the flow of illegal drugs through the mail, DHS Science and Technology Directorate, in collaboration with CBP, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, has launched the Opioid Detection Challenge, a … Continue Reading
Traveling to the U.S. to give birth to a U.S.-citizen child, or birth tourism, is not a new industry. In January 2018, DHS raided 20 “maternity hotels” in Los Angeles suspected of housing “birth tourism” operations. A neighbor who lived near one of the apartment buildings reported that “a forklift delivered an excessive quantity of … Continue Reading
Prior to the government shutdown, it seemed that the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act might pass as an amendment to the spending package with strong bipartisan support. But that was not to be. Now members of the U.S. House and Senate, led by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), have again introduced … Continue Reading
President Donald Trump has announced that the government shutdown is over, for now. He has agreed to sign a short-term spending bill that will re-open the government for three weeks, until February 15, 2019. The bill does not include any wall funding. The bill is expected to be brought to the Senate floor “immediately.” The … Continue Reading
Is it possible that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program might be the key to ending the government shutdown? A DACA-for-border-funding compromise that was taken off the table a year ago is again being talked about by some lawmakers. Here is an update on where DACA stands. On September 5, 2017, then-Attorney General … Continue Reading
As President Donald Trump talks about ending birthright citizenship with an executive order, the Irish public is talking about restoring birthright citizenship. Ireland ended the right to birthright citizenship in 2004 with a referendum. A proposed law would give anyone born in Ireland the right to Irish citizenship with one requirement – the individual must … Continue Reading
A potentially significant bill eliminating the per-country caps on employment-based visas may become law. H.R. 392, Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, first introduced in 2017, had 300 co-sponsors. It is now championed by outgoing Representative Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) as an amendment to the spending package that Congress likely will pass this year. The bill means … Continue Reading
While the Trump Administration is making it more difficult and less attractive for entrepreneurs to start their businesses in the United States (in the name of “Buy American and Hire American”), other countries are rolling out the welcome mat to entrepreneurs. In May 2018, the Administration proposed a rule to remove President Obama’s International Entrepreneur … Continue Reading
DACA was set to terminate on March 5, 2018, based on President Donald Trump’s September 2017 announcement. To avoid the termination, the President challenged Congress to negotiate a legislative solution for the Dreamers. Negotiations ensued, but so did litigation and the issuance of an injunction. A federal court ordered DHS to continue to accept DACA … Continue Reading
The omnibus spending bill has been passed and signed by President Donald Trump in time to avoid a government shutdown. From an immigration perspective, here is what is “in” and what is “out” for the rest of the 2018 fiscal year. In: $1.6 billion in funding for southern border fencing (but not the $25 … Continue Reading
The H-2B visa shortage continues, impacting thousands of U.S. businesses around the country. H-2B visas are used widely in hospitality and tourism, landscaping and the construction industry to hire foreign workers for temporary nonagricultural work. There are 66,000 available annually – half for the winter season and half for the summer season. The first step … Continue Reading
Following January’s ruling by Judge William Alsup in San Francisco, a second federal court has issued a nationwide injunction ordering the government to keep DACA in place. Judge Nicolas G. Garaufis of the US District Court in Brooklyn, New York ruled that the rescission of DACA was “arbitrary and capricious” and that the equities and … Continue Reading
California seems to be at odds with the Trump Administration over many subjects, including the legalization of marijuana, the expansion of off-shore drilling, the elimination of state and local tax deductions, and immigration. The most recent clash over immigration began with the passage in October of “The California Values Act” (CVA) (SB54) and the Immigrant … Continue Reading
With the February 8th deadline for debate on DACA imminent and the March 5th DACA termination deadline approaching, legislators have been introducing bills to resolve the long-standing “Dreamer” issue. Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Christopher Coons (D-Del.) have introduced a simplified measure combining DACA and border security. It would grant permanent legal status to more … Continue Reading
