Entries by Cyrus Mehta

NEW L-1B VISA GUIDANCE: WILL THERE BE FEWER DENIALS OR MORE OF THE SAME?

By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta If there is one visa uniquely suited to advance America’s competitive position in the global marketplace, it is the L-1B intra-company transferee visa for specialized knowledge employees.  In an increasingly specialized economy where expertise should trump nationality, the notion of “specialized knowledge” as it affects L-1B adjudications has […]

AMERICA CANNOT BE OPEN FOR BUSINESS THROUGH AN H-1B VISA LOTTERY

By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta In America, the best day of the week has always been tomorrow except, it seems, when it comes to immigration. On April 1, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2016 cap. U.S. businesses use the H-1B […]

EVERY COUNTRY EXCEPT THE PHILIPPINES: NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN OPT-OUT PROVISION UNDER THE CHILD STATUS PROTECTION ACT

Section 6 of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) allows beneficiaries of I-130 petitions that have been converted from the Family Second Preference (F2B) to the Family First Preference (F1), after the parent has naturalized, to opt out and remain in the F2B. The American Immigration Council’s February 2015 advisoryprovides a comprehensive overview of the […]

Who is ‘lawfully Present’ Under the Affordable Care Act?

By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta   Had I been present at the creation, I would have given some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe. Alphonse X the Wise of Castile Many non-citizens will be subject to additional payment to the Internal Revenue Service if they do not maintain “minimum essential […]

MYTH OR REALITY: IS THE DHS TRULY SERIOUS ABOUT VISA MODERNIZATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY?

By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta We cannot teach people.  We can only help them discover it within themselves.   Galileo Galilei On November 21, 2014, as part of President Obama’s Executive Actions, the President issued a memorandum to modernize and streamline the U.S. immigrant and nonimmigrant visa systemfor the 21st century. The DHS followed up by […]

IN PURSUIT OF “SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE”

By Rachel Weissman When one examines the many visa categories through which a foreign national may lawfully enter or remain in our country, certain values are immediately evident. Categories which allow foreign nationals entry through U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident relatives bespeak the value our nation places on family unity. Categories which allow foreign […]

SQUARING THE IMMIGRATION CIRCLE: NEW HOPE FOR AN OLD SYSTEM

By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta The Immigration Innovation Act of 2015 (S. 153) (“I-Squared” Act) was introduced by  Senators Hatch (R-UT), Klobuchar (D-MN), Rubio (R-FL), Coons (D-DE), Flake (R-AZ), and Blumenthal (D-CT). When partisan rancor is the norm in Congress, the I-Squared Act is genuinely bipartisan, and endeavors to provide critical reforms needed […]

THE LABORATORIES OF DEMOCRACY: STATE INITIATIVE AND PROMOTION OF IMMIGRATION REFORM

By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta Although states have been experimenting with their own initiatives on immigration, they have been related to mainly punitive enforcement laws, the most notorious being Arizona’s SB 1070. Section 2(B) of the Arizona law, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in Arizona v. USA, requires police officers to determine the immigration […]

Top 10 Posts on The Insightful Immigration Blog in 2014

Thank you for reading and supporting The Insightful Immigration Blog.  Listed below are the top 10 most viewed blogs in 2014. We will continue to provide insightful commentary on contemporary immigration issues in 2015, and wish all of our supporters and well wishers a very happy New Year! While these are the 10 most viewed […]