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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Regulating Tax Preparers–A Clarion Call For USCIS
Any immigration lawyer who handles immigration court cases, particularly those involving claims for cancellation of removal, knows the problems caused by badly, and at times fraudulently, prepared tax returns. Most immigrants want to “pay“ their taxes. They go to the local notario who instruct
TSA’s New Travel Regulations: Will They Really Make A Difference?
Yesterday the U.S. Transportation and Security Administration issued new regulations that passengers from 14 countries would receive a “full body pat-down and physical inspection of property“ before they can board a plane headed to the U.S. http://bit.ly/64r5cQ. The countries include Cuba, Ira
Robert Downey, Jr. and U.S. Immigration
In an interview on David Letterman, actor Robert Downey, Jr., talked about a problem he had last year in Japan, when upon entering he was detained and questioned about his past criminal record. Downey said: I probably should have seen there was a sign that said ‘No Felons Allowed' in English and Jap
Flat Fee–Earned or Unearned? That is now the question.
Immigration Lawyers for years have been regarded as pioneers in the area of flat fees. Virtually every case we take as attorneys is done on a “flat fee“ basis. For some the flat fee was a refuge from the hourly billing nightmare many of us fled from at big firms. For others the flat fee [̷
ICE Announces It Will No Longer Detain Asylum Seekers—Or Will It?
There was some good news Wednesday for asylum seekers. ICE assistant secretary John Morton announced that the government would no longer detain them if they can prove their identities, are not dangerous or a flight risk, and have a credible fear of persecution or torture in their home countries. htt
Congressman Luis Gutierrez–Courageous Hero
It cannot be said about many congressman or senators, but Congressman Luis Gutierrez is a courageous hero. I say this not because the legislation he proposed today in the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 is perfect. It is not. there are issues that I
From Department of State, With Love–The Visa Numbers
Last month I blogged about my convoluted math-trying to figure out the wait times for various countries, in various categories for Employment Based visas. The January Visa Bulletin was just issued, with this explanation: D. EXPLANATION OF THE NUMERICAL CONTROL SYSTEM AND CUT-DATE PROJECTIONS WHAT CA
Who Let Pat Buchanan Out of His Padded Cell?
Just when you thought it was safe to go outside in the immigration field, someone decided to release Pat Buchanan from the custody of the anti-immigration movement, and actually published one of his anti-immigration screeds in what many consider a legitimate newspaper. In the San Jose Mercury News,
Lou Dobbs For President? OMG!
Really? Read it here and here. I thought the Know-Nothing party disbanded in the 1860s? Think about it. “President Dobbs.“ Has a certain ring to it, doesn't it? Like President Fillmore. Just rolls off the tongue. The sad truth is, however that there are possibly as many as 900,000 people who w
Come, Study, Learn, and Leave: Why Our Immigration Policy Fails To Attract And Keep The Best and the Brightest
By Robert Cohen, AILA member I noted with interest the recent ICE Press Release proclaiming that we have a record number of foreign students, 670,000, now studying in the United States. http://bit.ly/5EDJCN. My immediate thought was the contrast between this number and the cap on H-1B visas each yea
Stephanie Rose Should Explain Her Role In The Postville Prosecutions
The New York Times reported yesterday that the nomination of Stephanie Rose to be the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa has fallen under criticism because of her key role in the criminal prosecution of nearly 400 undocumented Guatemalan farmers in Postville, Iowa in May 2008. http://bi
Death Number 105: Pedro Juan Tavarez
Now that health care legislation has passed the House of Representatives, all eyes are on the Senate. Will the U.S. Congress send President Obama a heath care bill he can sign? Stay tuned. But while Congress considers health care reform, including whether or not to include a “public option“, t
Watch Out For Lou Dobbs’ Next Move
By Eleanor Pelta, AILA First Vice President Late yesterday, CNN announced that Lou Dobbs was stepping down from his position as “advocacy anchor“ of the network in order to “seek a more activist role.“ CNN announced that Dobbs would now “carry his banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere.
A Special Veterans Day Blog By AILA Member Margaret Stock
On Veterans Day this year, AILA honors the service of military veterans, past and present.While honoring all veterans, the AILA leadership in particular acknowledges the contributions of those immigrants who have served in our nation's Armed Forces. We note at the outset that one of the military mem
An Open Letter To ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton
Dear Assistant Secretary Morton: Your assumption of the reins at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this year has brought optimism. You seem to bring a much needed fresh perspective to the enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security.In particular your observation that since
Are YOU smarter than a Fifth Grader, Mr. Rovell?
This last weekend, for the first time since 1982, an AMERICAN won the NYC Marathon. As someone who has run several marathons and who would have been lapped by this winner, I greatly admire these fleet footed men and women. Why is this an immigration issue? Well, it turns out a commentator on CNBC by
Immigration Legislation– Piecemeal or The Whole Enchilada
I have had a number of AILA members and prospective immigrants email me recently about my blog on the waiting lines. In addition to the comments on the length of the immigrant visa delays (and possible changes to the wait times based upon newly found information), many commentators also threw in the
Get In The Line? What Line? The Tragic Tale of Employment Based Immigrant Visa Delays
I had a very upset client contact me this last week. He was angry . . . at the Visa Bulletin. He could not understand how, after the start of the new fiscal year, there was essentially no movement in the visa numbers. I tried to calm him by telling him that he just needed […]
BALCA–Just Say No
Over the course of the last year, AILA has been posting a series of BALCA decisions. These BALCA decisions routinely deny the labor certification appeal, even for minor, de minimis errors of the employer and/or counsel. An example of today's postings include the following: BALCA Affirms Denial Based
Lessons About Temporary Worker Programs and ImmigratioN Reform Gained From A Trip To Zacatecas, Mexico
By Deborah Notkin, AILA Past President Last month, I was honored to be invited to be a “judge“ at a program on migrant workers rights organized by the Centro de Derechos de Migrantes inZacatecas,Mexico.The organization is involved in seeking legal recourse for migrant workers, primarily enteri
Changing Practice Through FAQs . . . or Through Litigation?
I don't know if you noticed recently, but has DHS/DOS/DOL been “changing“ the law without actually changing the law? While this practice has been going on for a while (and some would argue that the decades of “liaison minutes“ were rule-making by meeting), recently it has has gotten out
Exit Monitoring “Daunting and Costly”? Remove the 3 and 10 Year Reentry Bars
In a front page story The New York Times reports today that the U.S. has no reliable system for verifying that foreign visitors have left the country after their visas have expired. Homeland Security officials counsel that with more than one million crossings a day, exit monitoring is a “daunting an
RFEs and the Nobel Prize
You know that things are bad in the world of RFEs, when members no longer believe that the receipt of a Nobel Prize will guarantee an EB-1 approval. One of our frequent Infonetters wrote that 3/4 of the the recent “U.S.“ Nobel Prize winners, were in fact immigrants. In response another Infonet
Getting To A “Truly Civil Detention System”
The problem with “Immigration Detention“ is that, at bottom, it requires the incarceration of immigrants for civil violations, whether or not they are dangerous criminals who would do the public harm.The point of immigration detention, so Congress has declared, is not to punish, but to ensure
Good, Let Them Die
What a horrible name for a post, but I am simply quoting the comment of DLG to an article published today by the Associated Press noting that the soaring number of deaths on the Southern Border so far this year. DLG's full quote is as follows: Good, let them die. Maybe if enough of them […]