Thank you for reading and supporting The Insightful Immigration Blog. Listed below are the top 10 most viewed blogs in 2017. While these are the 10 most viewed blogs, each blog is a carefully crafted gem, and we invite you to read all of them.

2017 was marked by President Trump’s turbulent impact on the immigration system. It started with the travel ban aimed against countries with mainly Muslim populations and enhanced interior enforcement, but then went onto undermining legal immigration, including attacks on H-1B visas. Although the Trump administration has not been able to slow down immigration through legislative changes in Congress or through rule making, it has achieved its stated objectives through shifts in policy that create more obstacles in the immigration process. The DACA program was cancelled and refugee admissions have been virtually halted. Immigrants have also been stereotyped, without basis, by conflating them with crime or by viewing them as taking away American jobs.  Our blogs critically reflect on all these developments and also endeavor to portray immigration as being in the national interests of America. We have not feared voicing our criticism as we believe it is the right thing to do on behalf of our clients and the nation. The Trump administration’s move to restrict immigration is not based on a rational policy, but driven solely by fear, xenophobia and stemming out of a eugenics movement sanctioned by the President. This was evident in a recent New York Times article that described President Trump angrily disparaging bona fide Haitian visitors by assuming they all had AIDS and Nigerian visitors who would “never go back to their huts.”   President Trump’s sentiments reflect the true underpinnings behind his administration’s new immigration policy, and the most effective way to react is to condemn them on grounds that they are not in keeping with long cherished American values as a nation of immigrants.

Our blogs also educate readers on new developments, such as on various aspects of the high skilled worker rule or on new decisions clarifying L-1 visas for functional managers or the national interest waiver. It is important to inform people on how they can maximize opportunities while the Trump administration is trying its best to restrict them.

The good news is that the Trump administration’s efforts to destabilize the immigration system have met with effective resistance through the courts, media, and advocacy. We proudly believe that our blogs are also part of this effort.

We do hope that 2018 bodes better for immigration, and wish all of our supporters and well-wishers a very happy New Year notwithstanding the challenges that lie ahead!

1. Entry Level Wage Blues
2. Analysis of the 60-Day Grace Period for Nonimmigrant Workers
3. A Few Suggestions to Defend Oneself Against the 90-Day Rule
4. Is There a Hidden Agenda? Suspension of Premium Process for All H-1B Petitions
5. Matter of Dhanasar: The New National Interest Waiver Standard
6. Raise Act Will Hurt Immigration, Americans and America
7. Stopping H-1B Carnage
8. 7 Points to Remember Regarding Resume Review in the PERM Process
9. Filing Under the FY2018 H-1B Cap; New Developments in H-1B Cap Exemption
10. Dealing with the Dreaded RFE – Reflections of an Immigration Lawyer