Entries by Cyrus Mehta

National Interest Waiver Changes for STEM Graduates and Entrepreneurs, Along with Premium Processing, Will Benefit H-4 Spouses Seeking Work Authorization

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By Cyrus D. Mehta and Jessica Paszko* Earlier this year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that as of January 30, 2023, it would accept premium processing requests for all previously filed and newly filed petitions for National Interest Waivers (NIW) under the Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) category. For an additional filing fee of […]

Texas’s Legal Challenge to Biden’s Humanitarian Parole Program is Both Flawed and Inhuman

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By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* President Biden’s humanitarian parole program is a wonderful example of how executive action can reshape immigration policy in the face of Congressional inaction.  It allows people fleeing troubled spots to come to the US in an orderly manner. The program initially implemented for Ukranian and Venezuelan nationals will […]

How the Humanitarian Parole Program at the Border Can Serve as a Template for Further Relief Under the Broken Immigration System

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By Cyrus D. Mehta & Manjeeta Chowdhary* Restive people at the U.S.- Mexico border for entry into the United States is not the new norm for the United States government. The usual procedure is to seek humanitarian relief through asylum under Title 8 of the United States Code citing a credible fear of persecution or […]

United States v. Hansen: Supreme Court Once Again Agrees to Hear Constitutionality of a Smuggling Statute That Could Impact Immigration Lawyers

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By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On December 9, 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in United States v. Helaman Hansen, a case that poses the question whether the federal criminal prohibition on encouraging or inducing unlawful immigration for commercial advantage or private financial gain in violation of  INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv) is unconstitutionally overbroad. Helaman […]

Immigration Enforcement and Prosecutorial Discretion Go Hand in Hand: Will the Supreme Court Upset this Balance?  

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By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On Tuesday, November 29th, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in US v. Texas, which involves a challenge to the Biden administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement priorities. Originally laid out in the 2021 Mayorkas Memo, this list of enforcement priorities would have allowed ICE to focus […]

Layoffs Will Hurt Nonimmigrant Workers the Most, Especially Indian Born,  but the Biden Administration Can Provide Relief

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By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In recent weeks, news of layoffs at the likes of Twitter, Meta, and Amazon have contributed to broader fears that the United States is entering a recession. In last week’s blog, we provided suggestions for how terminated workers can maintain their nonimmigrant status and potentially even pursue permanent […]

Why the AILA Law Journal is Important

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The AILA Law Journal has come a long way since its April 2019 launch. At the time of the publication of the November 2022 issue, the AILA Law Journal will be 8 issues old. I am proud to be the Editor in Chief of the AILA Law Journal at the time of the release of […]