Although medical and recreational marijuana activities are illegal under federal law, at least 25 states have legalized marijuana for medical use. Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska have gone even further by legalizing some forms of recreational marijuana, including its production and sale. This conflict between federal and state law creates a curious anomaly for the […]
A class action lawsuit, Tenrec, Inc. v. USCIS, challenging the annual H-1B lottery recently overcame a motion to dismiss, and will move forward. There is a decent chance that the plaintiffs may prevail and employers will no longer be subject to the H-1B lottery. The annual H-1B visa cap forces employers to scramble way before the […]
In addition to our blog, we also regularly post immigration updates twice a month on our website at www.cyrusmehta.com. The latest Mid-September 2016 Immigration Update is available at https://blog.cyrusmehta.com/blog/2016/09/15/mid-september-2016-immigration-update/. While our blogs provide an interesting insight into an interesting contemporary immigration issue, our immigration updates comprehensively cover many significant developments twice a month. We extract, […]
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposed a rule allowing certain international entrepreneurs to be considered for parole (temporary permission to be in the United States) so they may start or scale their businesses in the United States. This is not the first administrative initiative for entrepreneurs. In 2011 the USCIS provided guidance on how […]
The ability for a foreign national worker to move to a new job is crucial in an age of never ending backlogs in the employment-based (EB) immigrant visa preferences. If an I-485 application for adjustment of status has been filed and been pending for more than 180 days, under INA 204(j), the I-140 immigrant visa […]
It is poetic justice that Khizr Khan, a Muslim and an immigrant, has been able to take on Trump and trounce him. Trump has derided both Muslims and immigrants with the objective of pandering to his base of white male voters. After Mr. Khan’s strong repudiation of Trump, he is no longer looking as invincible […]
Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech was so warm and embracing of immigrants when compared to Donald Trump’s acceptance speech a week earlier. These were some of her key remarks on immigration: We will not build a wall. Instead, we will build an economy where everyone who wants a good-paying job can get one. And we’ll build […]
Donald Trump began his presidential campaign last year by accusing Mexican immigrants who cross the border as being criminals and rapists, and ended with the same sentiment in his acceptance speech of the Republican nomination by thundering that “nearly 180,000 people with criminal records ordered deported from our country are tonight roaming free to threaten […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and *Anand G. Sinha One does not need a degree in public policy or law to understand the basic premise behind the concept that the United States ought to make the attraction of the best and brightest individuals a paramount immigration policy. By enabling the most talented and gifted individuals in […]
In the backlash against globalization, as seen in the vote in favor of Brexit, there is an even more insidious backlash against immigration. The world has prospered because of the expansion of trade and technology, and also due to the free movement of capital and people. Millions of the world’s poor people have been lifted […]
