Goal!

This is a fictional fact pattern case study for the purposes of providing general legal information. No Daryanani & Bland client information is used or revealed and any similarity to real people is entirely coincidental.

With the World Cup set to begin in Brazil on June 12th, soccer fans around the world are eagerly awaiting their chance to support their national teams in the sport’s premier international competition. Brazil last hosted the World Cup in 1950, when they were stunned by neighboring Uruguay who beat the host nation 2-1 in the finals, widely considered one of the greatest upsets in the tournament’s history (since my mother was from Uruguay, I’m especially proud of this achievement). As the World Cup draws near, we thought it was a good time to discuss US visa options for athletes. To help illustrate how some of these options may play out during an athlete’s career, let’s discuss Ms. Victoria Barboza, a fictional soccer player from Colombia. 

For as long as she could remember, Victoria was running around with a soccer ball at her feet. With the soul of a striker and a passion for the game she inherited from her grandfather, nothing in this world brought her more joy than the crisp snapping sound of the ball hitting the back of the net. Throughout her childhood, she took every opportunity to play in the few amateur youth leagues available to girls in Colombia. Unfortunately, however, as is the case in far too many countries around the world, the vast majority of resources spent on soccer were dedicated to the professional development of male athletes. As she neared the end of high school, Victoria found herself with little to no avenues to continue pursuing the game that she loved.

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USCIS: Medicals only Valid for One year

Effective June 1, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has indicated that Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, will only be valid one year from the date of submission to USCIS. Further, the medicals must be submitted to USCIS within one year of the medical examination.

By way of background, most applicants for permanent resident must submit Form I-693, as part of their adjustment of status application, in order to show that they are not inadmissible on medical grounds. In 2002, USCIS (then known as INS), based on discussions with The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), extended the validity of medical exams beyond the one-year threshold if USCIS took longer than one year to adjudicate the petition. This extension policy was renewed annually each year for the last twelve years. Recently, CDC has raised concerns with the USCIS policy of extending the validity of medicals and so we now have the new policy.  

As part of the new policy, USCIS will also provide additional ways to submit Form I-693. The form will no longer be required as part of the initial filing.  Instead, USCIS will send a Request for Evidence (RFE) for it or allow it to be submitted at the time of the USCIS interview (for those cases scheduled for interview). If petitioners wish to avoid the RFE, they can submit the I-693 medical with the initial filing but if the case is not adjudicated within the year, they would have to submit a second medical.

At first glance, this policy seems to create additional expense and burden for the foreign national. Why should a petitioner have to wait for an RFE to submit a medical?  What risk could possibly occur if USCIS reverted to its extension of the medical given that many of the delays are not the fault of the foreign national? Certainly USCIS should ensure that a ten-year-old medical is updated before a green card is issued but perhaps updating should be requested on a case-by-case basis.
 
USCIS has scheduled a call on June 12 to further explain the rationale of this decision. Stay tuned.

Passports, Lost, Stolen, Drawn On

Metro reported on a story (which The NY Daily News picked up) about a four-year old boy who decided to use his father's Chinese passport as a drawing pad. Kotaku makes a compelling argument that the story is a hoax, but documents another more likely example of a kid coloring on a parent's passport. Whatever the authenticity of these stories, it's an important reminder, especially in these busy summer months of travel, for all to keep their passports safe and secure--both from children's hands when they have a crayon and potential thieves. For foreign nationals who have passports lost or stolen, the State Department has instructions (first noting that copies should be made of the passport, visa stamp, and I-94): file a police report; request a replacement I-94 if applicable; contact the appropriate country embassy for passport replacement; contact the US Embassy/Consulate where the visa stamp was issued to report it was stolen; and lastly, to apply for a replacement visa stamp.

UPDATE: Further confirmation that the story (though a good one) was a hoax.

Matthew Bray: The DLG-Proust-Actors Studio Questionnaire*

Hailing from a long line of native New Yorkers (on his mother’s side going back to the 1840s), Matt Bray grew up in Middletown, New York, and lived in Baltimore, Maryland until he returned to New York City for college. As a kid, he came to the city regularly with his family to visit relatives and “the old neighborhoods” of his parents--Washington Heights and Parkchester--and, as a teenager, he ventured downtown for underground punk shows and to experience the bright lights of the city. “I feel lucky to have spent time in Greenwich Village and the East Village in the late 80s and early 90s,” Matt says. “It was crazy, weird, colorful, a little scary. There were all these really unique little shops and a sense of possibility. You didn’t have to spend all your time working to just to get by, mostly because rents were cheaper. You could give your time to things that you wanted to do.”

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New York Times: "The Immigrant Advantage"

Immigrants born abroad who later acquire US citizenship have a distinct advantage as compared to native-born Americans, Anand Giridharadas writes, including higher earnings on average, higher rates of marriage and lower rates of divorce, more stable careers, and less instances of poverty. He notes:

What’s interesting about so many of America’s immigrants is how they manage to plug instincts cultivated in other places into the system here. Many are trained in their homelands to behave as though the state will do nothing for them, and in America they reap the advantages of being self-starters.

Mr. Giridharadas first observed this phenomenon when reporting for his book, The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas, about the shooting of a Muslim immigrant from Bangladesh, Raisuddin Bhuiyan, by Mark Stroman in a 9/11 revenge attack that killed two other immigrants and blinded Mr. Bhuiyan in one eye.

Mr. Bhuiyan realized that he was among the lucky Americans. Even after the attack, he was able to pick up and remake himself, climbing from that minimart to waiting tables at an Olive Garden to six-figure I.T. jobs. But Mr. Bhuiyan also saw the America that created Mr. Stroman, in which a battered working class was suffering from a dearth of work, community and hope, with many people failing to form strong bonds and filling the void with escapist chemicals, looping endlessly between prison and freedom.

The article is here.

Some Like It Hot Pot

Dating back approximately 1,000 years, hot pot refers to several East Asian varieties of stew, consisting of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. Varying vastly by region, typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, and seafood. The cooked food is usually eaten with a selection of dipping sauces.

Ashley: I discovered the deliciousness of hot pot with a group of friends here in New York City a few years ago and have been going on a near monthly basis since that time. I love it for both the culinary and social experiences. My favorite culinary aspect of hot pot is the dipping sauces. Most places have a make-your-own sauce bar and it can make or break your meal depending on how you mix it up. Sensitive stomachs beware!

Liz: I would definitely classify myself as an adventurous eater who loves to experience different cuisines. When Ashley spoke of her hot pot adventures I knew I wanted in! Over the past months I have really enjoyed discovering the different variations on “hot pot” in New York City.  I also really appreciated spending the time with Ashley and learning from her sage sauce-making abilities.  

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New York Times: "In the White House, Debating How Far to Go in Easing Deportations"

Given the President ordered Homeland Security "to make immigration enforcement more humane," and the debate continues on how best to do so, it may be worthwhile to glimpse inside a hearing in Immigration Court, which The Washington Post did masterfully earlier this year. Mario Iraheta, an undocumented immigrant and national of El Salvador, is in removal proceedings after he was arrested for drinking and driving. Complicating matters, he has criminal convictions for hit and runs, both misdemeanors for property damage of less than $1,000. He appears via live feed from a detention facility in Farmville, Virginia, since the government often can't afford to transport detainees to their own hearings. The judge is Lawrence Burman, who has about seven minutes to spend on this case that morning. In the court is Iraheta's wife, Maria, and his three children ("'Today will be a new beginning for us,'" he says. "'They will see we are a good family.'") along with his attorney Ricky Malik, who is now representing Iraheta pro bono, after the family's money ran out. See what happens.