Entries by Cyrus Mehta

“CULTURALLY UNIQUE” DEFINITION UNDER P-3 VISA CAN INCLUDE HYBRID OR FUSION ART FORMS OF MORE THAN ONE CULTURE OR REGION

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By Cyrus D. Mehta U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) issued a binding precedent decision in Matter of Skirball Cultural Center, 25 I&N Dec. 799 (AAO 2012) addressing the term “culturally unique” and its significance in adjudicating P-3 visa petitions for performing artists and entertainers. This decision is significant in light […]

Assault On Battered Immigrants: HR 4970 Undoes VAWA Protections and Risks Lives

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By Myriam Jaidi “This will get people killed,” my colleague and I agreed while we reviewed the “Immigration Provisions” of HR 4970, the bill introduced in the House in April, ostensibly to “reauthorize” the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) originally promulgated in 1994 and reauthorized and strengthened since its original passing.  The Immigration Provisions found […]

FLEUTI LIVES! THE RESTORATION OF A CONSTITUTIONAL DECISION

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By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta There was a time when a lawful permanent resident (LPR) or green card holder had more rights than today. Prior to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA),   if an LPR with a criminal conviction travelled abroad,  he or she was not found inadmissible, or […]

Federal Court Reverses Unreasonable H-1B Denial For Market Research Analyst

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Employers who file perfectly bonafide H-1B petitions for certain occupations face unreasonable denials from the USCIS. One H-1B occupation that is especially vulnerable to a denial is  Market Research Analyst. The USCIS’s rationale for the denial is that the occupation must require a degree in the actual position and not in closely related fields. Thus, even […]

WILL THE REVISED USCIS Q&A ON ESTABLSHING THE EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP IN H-1B PETITIONS SAVE STAFFING COMPANIES?

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By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta Since the issuance of the January 8, 2010 guidance memorandum by Donald Neufeld, concerning the employer-employee relationship in H-1B petitions (Neufeld Memo), especially when an employer places an H-1B worker at a third party client site, workers at IT consulting and staffing companies have been the most adversely […]

Stop the Assault on Employment Immigration to the USA

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At the behest of Senator Grassley (R-IA), the DHS Office of Inspector General recently issue a controversial report, The Effects of USCIS Adjudication Procedures and Policies on Fraud Detection by Immigration Service Officers. I wonder about the intentions of Senator Grassley who put a hold on the Fairness For High Skilled Immigrants Act, which passed […]