Entries by Cyrus Mehta

Ethics for Immigration Lawyers During COVID-19

Based on my video presentation at a  Practising Law Institute One Hour Briefing  entitled Ethics and Immigration: Spotlight on Select Rules and Client Representation during Covid-19, I drew up some frequently answered questions (FAQs) that might be helpful to  immigration lawyers. Immigration lawyers have adapted to work remotely from home during the Covid-19 pandemic, which […]

Using a Sledgehammer to Crack a Nut: Trump Proclamation Bans Chinese Students and Researchers Linked to China’s “Military-Civil Fusion Strategy”

President Trump has issued a proclamation limiting Chinese students wishing to study in the United States to undergraduates under certain conditions, and limiting Chinese researchers. The proclamation states that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) uses some Chinese students, mostly post-graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, to operate as “non-traditional collectors of intellectual property” in the […]

The Differing Impact of Foreign Entity Changes on an L-1 Extension and EB-1(C) Petition

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Rebekah Kim U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a final policy memorandum designating Matter of F-M- Co. as an Adopted Administrative Appeals Office Decision. The decision clarifies that for employment-based first preference category multinational executives or managers, a petitioner must have a qualifying relationship with the beneficiary’s foreign employer at […]

FAQ on Changes in Salary and Other Working Conditions for Nonimmigrant Workers in L-1, O, TN, E and F-1 Status Due to COVID-19

In continuation of my Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) relating to the COVID-19 crisis on immigration issues, I focus on other nonimmigrant visa categories besides the H-1B visa category. Changes in employment at the workplace, especially salary reductions, continue to abound especially for other nonimmigrant visa workers in L, E, O and TN status. There are […]

Building the Legal Case to Challenge Trump’s Immigration Ban

President Trump’s latest Proclamation  is a brazen attempt to rewrite US immigration laws under the guise of protecting Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Proclamation bans most noncitizens who will enter the United States as immigrants for 60 days from April 23, 2020.  Confirming the sham, Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller, according to a leaked private […]

FAQ for Green Card Holders during the COVID-19 Period

I have received inquiries from lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, who are outside the United States and have been unable to return to the United States in the COVID-19 period. They are unable to return either because there are no flights out of the country to the US or they feel vulnerable to […]

Immigration Attorneys on the Frontlines in the COVID-19 Crisis

Since USCIS still requires paper submissions by mandated deadlines and the immigration courts in detention centers still function, the COVID-19 crisis has compelled immigration attorneys to take more risks than others, and many are performing essential services on behalf of clients like first responders, medical personnel and delivery people. If some people in certain occupations […]