By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta When Congress enacted the Child Status Protection Act, it wanted above all else to soften the harsh blows of long delays by the USCIS in the adjudication of “green card” cases. How? Congress did so by extending this generous benefit to protect vulnerable children who would otherwise be […]
By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta Given the crushing backlogs in the EB-2 preference for India and China, and the EB-3 for India, where the wait can exceed 30 years, one would hope that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service’s Appeals Administrative Office (AAO) would read INA § 204(j) more generously, which allows […]
By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta We continue to blog on the salient ideas in our article, Tyranny of Priority Dates, published in BIB Daily, http://scr.bi/i0Lqkz, on March 25, 2010. Would it not be advantageous if those caught in the crushing EB-2 or EB-3 backlogs could file an adjustment of status application, Form I-485, […]
By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta We post some of the ideas that we have proposed in the forthcoming article, The Tyranny of Priority Dates, http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/news.aspx?SubIdx=ocyrus20103925436, on this blog. This post advocates that an H-1B seeking an extension beyond the six years may do so even though the other spouse is the beneficiary of […]
In continuation of our previous article, H-1b Update: Filing Date Approaches; Scrutiny At POEs Increases; USCIS Issues H-1B Guidance Under Economic Stimulus, dated February 19, 2010, http://tinylink.com/?7h4K85wN87, USCIS has announced on March 10, 2010, that it will not extend the period in which it temporarily accepted H-1B petitions filed with uncertified labor condition applications […]
The recent decision in Kazarian v. USCIS, — F.3d —-, 2010 WL 725317 (C.A.9 (Cal.)), http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/opinions/view_subpage.php?pk_id=0000010327, goes a long way in discrediting the circularity argument that the USCIS often deploys to shoot down petitions filed under the extraordinary ability category (EB-1). Even though the petitioner lost in this case, the new re-issued decision is still […]
Much has already been written to deservedly criticize the USCIS Memo by Donald Neufeld dated January 8, 2010 (Neufeld Memo), http://tiny.cc/z3ZU8, which suddenly undermines the ability of IT consulting firms to file H-1B visas, http://cyrusmehta.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-uscis-memo-on-employer-employee.html. The latest is an excellent blog post from my friend and colleague, Angelo Paparelli, http://blogs.ilw.com/angelopaparelli/2010/02/my-entry.html, who shows how the Neufeld […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta* and Myriam Jaidi** On February 2, 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an interim rule, (available at http://tiny.cc/GvK9A), which adopts the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) rule at 8 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 1003.102 that provides grounds to discipline practitioners for ethical violations. One specific […]
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has extraordinary power under Section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to summarily remove a nonimmigrant from the U.S. at a port of entry if they find him or her inadmissible either for fraud or for failure to possess the proper visa. Generally, there is no further hearing or […]
In the aftermath of the most devastating earthquake in Haiti, we lawyers are all trying to find ways to help. Assisting Haitians legalize their status in the United States is a good start, and there are pro bono clinics lined up already in New York. Haitians who can work legally can send more remittances to […]
