By Cyrus D Mehta and Damira Zhanatova* One of the most misunderstood areas of U.S. immigration law is the treatment of children born in the United States to foreign diplomats. Most people assume that anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically a U.S. citizen. In reality, the Fourteenth Amendment and federal regulations carve out a […]
By Cyrus D Mehta and Damira Zhanatova* Over the last few years, many U.S. employers sponsoring Indian-trained lawyers for permanent residence have begun seeing a new kind of I-140 Request for Evidence (RFE). The problem is not usually the lawyer’s experience, bar admission, or the substantive need for foreign law expertise. Instead, the RFE often […]
By Cyrus D Mehta and Damira Zhanatova* For many multinational employees, founders and senior executives, especially outside the United States, “employment” is not always a simple paycheck and payroll relationship. They may be compensated through their own entities, hold significant equity, or even draw no traditional salary. Yet U.S. immigration law still requires that an […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On April 1, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Trump v. Barbara, a case which raises a 14th Amendment challenge to President Trump’s executive order restring birthright citizenship. The executive order, which was discussed in detail in a prior blog, interprets the language “subject to the jurisdiction […]
In Mukherji v. Miller, a district court in Nebraska recently set aside the denial of a petition of extraordinary ability on the ground that the “final merits” determination was unlawful. Although the petitioner satisfied five out of the ten criteria for establishing extraordinary under 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3), when only three were needed to be satisfied, […]
In its June 28, 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court abolished the long-standing Chevron doctrine. Under this doctrine, courts were required to defer to the government agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, stated that “Chevron is overruled. Courts must exercise their independent judgment […]
On January 14, 2026, the Department of State (DOS) announced a temporary pause on the issuance of immigrant visas (green cards from overseas) for nationals of 75 countries, effective January 21, 2026. DOS said this pause is for the government to review how immigrant visa applicants are evaluated under the “public charge” rules. In announcing […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In recent weeks, the Trump administration has taken troubling immigration-related actions that draw the United States ever closer to becoming a police state. Most notably, on January 7, 2025, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, a U.S. citizen who was observing an ICE raid. In a […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta The H-1B visa program has been eviscerated through the promulgation of a final rule that would prioritize the allocation of H-1B visas in the lottery to those who are higher skilled and higher paid and through executive action. Relatedly, President Trump issued an executive order that would impose a $100,000 fee […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta Upon President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, the immigration landscape got radically altered. Immigrants were no longer viewed as assets to the United States. Rather, they were treated as invaders taking away American jobs and engaging in crimes. The “alien invasion” needed to be eradicated, and in order to achieve […]
