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.
Browse the Blog: Think Immigration collection
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
A Call for a Journey
With anticipation, I awaited President Obama's inauguration speech. As I have listened over the years to many presidents speak, I waited for a call to action. Most years, we were lucky to hear a couple of words that referred in passing to the need to “secure the borders“ (at the cost of 18 b
Illinois Driver’s Licenses: A Small Step in the Right Direction
Kudos to Illinois for joining Washington and New Mexico as the only states to allow undocumented immigrant motorists to apply for driver's licenses. Last week Governor Pat Quinn promised to sign a bipartisan bill that will allow approximately 250,000 undocumented immigrants to obtain a three year,
Six Things You Need to Know about Stateside Processing of I-601A Waivers
Starting March 4, 2013, certain relatives of American citizens who are in the country illegally and need a waiver of unlawful presence before being eligible for a green card can get a decision on their case before leaving the United States. For those who can take advantage of the new rule, this mean
AILA Takes Manhattan
The holiday season was in full swing in New York when AILA President-Elect Doug Stump and I “invaded“ the city last week. No stealth maneuvers here, this was a planned, coordinated campaign - we were there to talk to the press. Most of the reporters were people AILA Communications has been wor
Our Grandparents were Entrepreneurs Too!
Anyone who believes that the entrepreneurial spirit is bred in the business school or the boardroom should visit “Shop Life,“ a new permanent exhibit that opened recently at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York. The Tenement Museum tells the story of the immigrant families that live
Prosecutorial Discretion for the Families of Deferred Action Recipients
On the eve of Thanksgiving, I think I'm doing what most Americans do this time of year - I'm counting my blessings. I have so much to be thankful for - both in my personal life as well as my professional life. In my professional life, I find myself extremely thankful for several new policies imple
Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Let’s Get It Right This Time
Last week's national elections made it abundantly clear that the Latino communities and new citizens from other parts of the world have changed the equation on the issue of immigration. The impact these communities had on the re-election of Barack Obama has clearly changed the political landscape f
JUST A LITTLE RESPECT…¿Que no?
It was a frantic Tuesday with voters lining up in the early morning to cast their votes in another historic election. Media coverage lit up the screens of homes and businesses across the nation, social media crowded the internet and pundits began their analyses. By the time night had descended on
By Reelecting Barack Obama, the American People Have Demanded Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Originally posted on Huffington Post American voters chose to renew their contract with a President whose vision of economic vitality involves three distinct pillars — innovation, education and rebuilding of America's infrastructure. Nearly two years ago, during his 2011 State of the Union address,
Analysis: The GOP at the Real American Crossroads
No modern Presidential election has been determined by a single factor, although over time hindsight will diminish the perceived significance of some issues and the lens of history will bring others into sharper focus. That said, it is indisputable that President Obama owes his second term to Latin
Hurricane Sandy: An Immigration Perspective
The power is still out, the servers are down, the subway is closed, and there is a mountain of work ahead of all of us before the New York area is even close to back to normal. But amidst all the destruction, there have been a multitude of stories of people doing their best to […]
Immigrant Women: Forgotten and Discounted
While there was plenty of talk during the presidential debates about the equality of women, one group remained unmentioned and invisible: immigrant women who suffer in silence at the hands of their abusers. During the second presidential debate, candidates were asked about how each of them intended
Making a Case for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR)
By most estimates, there are over 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Some have crossed the U.S borders without authorization while many have come here legally and subsequently fell out of their valid immigration status. It is not a coincidence that since the enactment
An Open Letter to Gov. Jan Brewer
September 26, 2012 The Honorable Janice K. Brewer Arizona Governor Executive Tower 1700 West Washington Street Phoenix, AZ 85007 Dear Governor Brewer: On August 15, 2012, you issued an Executive Order which barred those individuals eligible for Deferred Action (DACA) from obtaining driver's licenses
The H-1B Slow Dance: US Businesses Deserve Better
USCIS has told AILA that between the California Service Center and the Vermont Service Center, perhaps as many as 17,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions filed between April and mid-June remain unadjudicated, and many remain completely “untouched“ by examiners. That means that USCIS has done very li
My take on AILA’s Fall Board of Governors Meeting
It is the time of year again when the kids head back to school, the leaves start to turn, and we prepare to hunker down for the long winter. This time of year also marks the fall AILA Board of Governors meeting - so while my family set out to ride the Purple Ride 2012 […]