Archive for the ‘Legal News’ Category
What is The Diversity Visa Program?
In light of the tragic attack in New York City this week by Sayfullo Saipov, Trump has called for the end of the Diversity Visa program (the immigration program that allowed Saipov to immigrate to the U.S). In typical Trump fashion, Trump continues to lead through fear, which has the terrible effect of undermining any […]
Proposed Immigration Bills: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Before our discussion below of recently proposed immigration bills, it is worth reviewing the process of how a bill (a proposed new law) becomes law. The fact of the matter is that, for better or for worse, our country’s founders made it very difficult to change the law (with few exceptions). Bills hit […]
Can CBP search my computer when I arrive in the U.S.? The Evolving Border Search Doctrine in the Age of Trump
The 4th Amendment and the Border The right to be free from “unreasonable searches and seizures” absent a judicial warrant is constitutionally ingrained in our 4th Amendment. . . but this right is not absolute. One notable exception is that the 4th Amendment does not apply at the border, which includes land […]
President Trump!!?? Practical Implications to our Immigration System (Part 2)
After digesting our new reality and venting about it (see Part 1 of this blog series), let’s try to rationally analyze how President Trump may change our immigration system. Is There Any Hope for the DAPA Program and the Expansion of the DACA Program? No. Neither of these programs ever took effect because of federal […]
President Trump!!?? What Does This Mean for Our Immigration System (Part 1)
President Trump’s (I can’t believe I just wrote that) anti-immigration rhetoric has been a staple and at times the foundation of his unprecedented rise to President. From his promise to build a wall to his proposed ban on Muslims, his extreme rhetoric appealed to and rallied at historic levels his core supporters. So now the […]
Wired Magazine Points Out that Immigrants Across the Spectrum Fuel Innovation
Silicon Valley and the tech media have widely discussed the immense contributions highly-skilled immigrants make in the tech world, and consistently advocate for fixing the many problems in our employment immigration system. This focus on highly skilled immigrants sometimes is juxtaposed with lower-skilled immigrants, who often do not have immigration status. This dichotomy can result […]
Chobani Yogurt: A Leader in Job Creation for Refugees
In an era where serious corporate misconduct seems to make the news every couple of years, (from Enron’s massive accounting fraud to Merrill Lynch and friends’ implosion of the financial system to BP’s Deepwater Horizon environmental disaster) it is easy to become pessimistic and believe that many large corporations do not have a conscience. Fortunately, […]
Some Facts About Our Southwest Border
The sad irony about much of the public discourse on immigration is that their is often a complete disconnect between people’s heated opinions and actual facts. Moreover, when any segment of our economy suffers, immigrants are often unjustly blamed. Fact deficient reasoning and vitriolic opinions based on fiction are on the rise, led by the […]
USCIS Increases Fees by an Average of 21%
Effective December 23, 2016, new fees for almost all applications filed with USCIS take effect. On average, fees per application have increased by 21%. This is the first fee increase by USCIS in 6 years. Some notable fee increases are below. N-400 (Naturalization): from $595 to $640 (+ $85 biometrics fee which remains unchanged) I-129f […]
The Future of Our Immigration System: A Clintopia or a Trumpocalypse?
As we approach the end of Trump’s latest reality TV endeavor (running for President), we can only hope that this reality TV show comes to an end. While after the latest unveiling of Trump’s truly amoral and scary character, it appears that Hillary has the upper hand, this has not always been the case. Acclaimed […]