Blog: Think Immigration
We believe that immigration law is an integral part of America’s past, present and future. We also know that immigration law is complicated. Here you’ll find experts writing in an accessible way about immigration issues, from big, broad ideas down to specific cases. Our members bring knowledge they’ve gleaned from the daily practice of immigration law to this space and offer their expertise to readers.
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“I’d Like to Thank the U.S. Senate…”
Seriously, I can't quite believe it. The Senate managed to give me a birthday gift, Christmas present, and welcome basket beyond my wildest expectations on the day that I was installed as AILA's President. S. 744, the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act“
Ding Dong, DOMA Is Dead
Cheers erupted this morning outside the Supreme Court as the ruling was announced that by a 5-4 decision, Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional. For over 15 years, because of DOMA, bi-national same-sex couples were often forced to choose between separation or staying t
Anyone else getting dizzy?
Immigration reform seems to be both alive and dead, to be closer than ever, and further away. Depending on who you listen to, you would swear that it's a done deal, yet somehow simultaneously dead. One guy says it'll never get the votes it needs to get out of the Senate, much less have any [̷
U.S. Grads Deserve Better Than the Boot
Institute an OPT Extension for Grads Who Lost H-1B Lottery During the first week of April, 2013, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received approximately 124,000 petitions for H-1B work visas, more than the yearly limit of 85,000. That not only means that all the H-1B slots for
House Vote to Defund DACA Requires Action Now
On June 6th, the House voted 224 to 201 to defund the infant Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA“) program, announced by President Obama on June 15, 2012. On a mostly party-line vote, 220 House Republicans supported the amendment introduced by Representative Steve King (R‑IA) that w
The Senate Floor Dance Is Set to Begin
Immigration reform is on tap to start up on the Senate floor next week, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), with buy-in from many Senate Republicans led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). I don't mean buy-in as in committed to supporting the bill, since that is not
The Many Benefits of Immigration Reform
It is faith-restoring to see that, despite Congress' historic partisan divide, bipartisan leaders can put fear aside and do what is in the nation's best interest. The sweeping Comprehensive Immigration Reform (“CIR“) bill, S.744, the brainchild of the politically courageous bipartisan “Gang o
Immigration Reform and Making a Workable H-1B Program
It has been stated frequently over the past few years that the global competiveness of the United States depends in substantial measure on our ability to attract and retain the best talent internationally. This includes keeping the foreign students who have been educated in U.S. universities. Accord
The Importance of the Human Stories Behind Immigration
Imagine you're a hardworking staff member for a U.S. Senator. You're looking at an immigration reform bill that's nearly a thousand pages, seemingly covers a million different issues and includes provisions that will impact tens of millions of people. Immigration isn't necessarily your area of exp
On Tap for Tuesday’s Hearing: Nonimmigrant Visas
After working its way through 32 amendments related to border triggers and the rest of Title I at their markup last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee is going to jump ahead on Tuesday to Title IV, which has a mixed bag of nonimmigrant provisions for business immigration. These provisions came aft
Like Déjà Vu, All Over Again
Really? Seriously? Wow. Not the most erudite comment I've ever made but that's what I'm reduced to facing this week's Amendmentpalooza. Wow. I'm looking at the breakdown of proposed amendments to the Senate immigration reform bill (S. 744). AILA National is conducting careful analysis of the hund
Senator Leahy’s Refreshing Amendment Policy
Listen carefully. That ‘click' ‘click' ‘click' sound you hear isn't your clock. Around the country, and potentially around the world, immigration advocates and restrictionists alike are hitting the “refresh“ button over and over and over again on a Senate Judiciary Committee website. Why? W
The Time Is Now: Five Reasons Why Congress Will Pass Immigration Reform
Things are different this time around. The passion is different, the energy is different and, most of all, America is different. As Congress gets ready to take on what is arguably the most contentious issue in the country, there is no mistaking it: America is ready to create an immigration process
Why the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) is an integral part of immigration reform
As the Senate gets ready to unveil the details for what is to be the biggest reform of our immigration laws this week, families across our nation hope their fears and struggles will be ended or at least eased with the new laws. A major concern revolves around the definition of marriage for the purp
Immigration Rally in Washington, DC: Marching for Change
On Wednesday, April 10, just the day before AILA's National Day of Action kicked off in Washington, DC, tens of thousands of protesters marched on the Capitol in support of immigration reform. Advocates came by foot, car, bus, train, and plane from all over the country. They held signs telling the
Politics of immigration: A style change or attitude change?
Last week the Associated Press (AP) changed its style manual so that the term “Illegal“ is to be used to describe an action or procedure, but not a person. No more “illegal immigrant“ in AP stories. News organizations have debated the use of the term “illegal immigrant“ before bec
A Bird in Hand—CIR and Deferred Action
With all the buzz about immigration reform, why apply for deferred action now? For those who were waiting to see how the elections turned out or whether the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or “DACA“ program was “real“ and not just a trick, the answer is clea
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Ronald Reagan once said that “All great change in America begins at the dinner table“. He was right. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn. The film considered the then controversial subject of interracial marria
Stateside Waivers: Some Families Still Left Out in the Cold
This week, USCIS launched the new I-601A provisional waiver program, allowing certain relatives of American citizens who are in the country illegally to get a decision on their waiver case, before leaving the United States. The exact numbers are not known, but it is clear that the new rules will imp
The Need For A Realistic Pathway to Citizenship
We are witnessing the most robust debate in more than a generation on how to reform our antiquated immigration laws to meet the demands of our twenty-first century economic and security needs. In coming up with a broad framework for this comprehensive legislation, we must stand firm against ideologi
Public Service Announcement: Scammers are lying about immigration reform. Please do your part and share facts and information with your community.
If you are reading this column, it is probably not written for you. It is written for your friends, relatives or neighbors that may not fully understand what has happened, what has not happened and what may happen this year with immigration reform. For those reasons, I write this with only one req
Our Lady Liberty Still Stands As A Beacon Of Freedom
To every immigrant, nothing rings more true than the words of the Emma Lazarus Poem engraved on the Statue of Liberty “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp
The WHY?s of Immigration Reform 2013
There is growing agreement that the immigration system in the United States is a moral, humanitarian and economic disaster. While I welcome the attention Congress, President Obama and the media are finally giving to immigration reform, I cannot seem to shake my growing feeling of uneasiness and ove
The Time is Now for Immigration Reform
“Tough, but fair.“ That's how President Obama described a critical element of any immigration reform plan: a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants now living in the shadows. For these aspiring Americans, many of whom have been caught in our dysfunctional immigration system for mor
The Road to Comprehensive Immigration Reform
These days, there are daily advancements on the road to the realization of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR). President Obama campaigned on it. The House of Representatives needs it. The Senate has a bipartisan Gang of Eight working on it. It appears that all parties are ready and set to cro