Entries by Cyrus Mehta

IMMIGRATION LESSONS FROM THE FALL OF STRAUSS-KAHN

By Cyrus D. Mehta From an immigration lawyer’s perspective, the fall of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, who has been charged with attempted rape and other serious sex offenses against an immigrant hotel worker from Guinea in a posh New York hotel, resonates with important immigration themes. Most important, the […]

EXPANSION OF STEM FIELDS AS AN EXAMPLE OF ADMINISTRATIVE FIXES FOR A BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM

By Cyrus D. Mehta I was pleased to see the announcement below. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (ICE) of all agencies, expands immigration benefits to students who have graduated in science, technology, engineering and math degree programs (STEM) fields. ICE, which has been deporting non-citizens in high numbers in recent times, ironically acknowledges that this is […]

REFLECTING ON OUR IMMIGRATION POLICY AFTER OSAMA BIN LADEN’S DEATH

One cannot help reflect on how Osama bin Laden so radically changed immigration policy for the worse After the 9/11 attacks, masterminded by bin Laden, everything concerning immigration was viewed through the prism of national security. Even a garden variety bona fide marriage case between a US citizen and foreign national spouse will only be […]

RESUMPTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NO-MATCH LETTERS AND CONSTRUCTIVE KNOWLEDGE

By Cyrus D. Mehta On April 6, 2011, The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration announced that SSA would resume sending “no-match” letters, https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/public/reference.nsf/links/04052011011437PM. Two I-9 compliance mavens, John Fay, http://www.electronici9.com/enforcement/the-return-of-the-social-security-no-match-letter/ and Kevin Lashus, http://www.immigrationcomplianceblog.com/ice/social-security-administration-resumes-sending-no-match-letters/, have adequately commented on this new development, and I will not go into the technicalities of the specifics of such […]

DEPORTING A US CITIZEN CHILD? TAKE A LEAF OUT OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT’S BOOK ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

By Cyrus D. Mehta This week, while we have all been stunned at the way Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) sent a four year old US citizen child packing out of the country to Guatemala, http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/23/navarrette.child.deported/?hpt=Sbin, even though her parents lived in the US, we can take some comfort that the State Department scrupulously adheres […]

NATURALIZATION WHILE WORKING ABROAD FOR AN AMERICAN FIRM

By Cyrus D. Mehta It is not uncommon for a permanent resident to receive a plum posting for an American corporation overseas or for its subsidiary. This is a frequent occurrence these days in a globalized world, and especially when jobs have become more scarce in the US since the economic downturn. While such an […]

EAWA HAS SUNSET

By Cyrus D. Mehta Does anyone remember EAWA, the Employ American Workers Act and its effect on H-1B petitions, http://bit.ly/hDQnHd? This legislation was passed on February 17, 2007 and was set to sunset in two years. Congress has not extended this provision even though the second anniversary passed on February 16, 2011. The law created […]

The LCA in the Age of Telecommuting

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Myriam Jaidi An H-1B employee has a job with a company based in New Jersey. Her job can, however, be performed remotely from virtually anywhere in the United States or the world. So long as she has good internet access, she can sign in to her employer’s server and perform […]