Amnesty International on US-Mexico Border

November 17, 2014 Joseph McKeown

"Many thousands of Mexicans (in particular) leave their homeland due to economic and social pressures and go in search of a better livelihood north of the border. Amnesty International does not take issue with the sovereign right of the United States to police its international borders in order to determine whether individuals have the legal right to enter the country. But it must do so in a manner which complies with its international human rights obligations."

- United States of America: Human Rights Concerns in the Border Region with Mexico

Springtime in Buenos Aires

November 14, 2014 Protima Daryanani

Jacaranda trees on the Plaza Intendente Seeber on the corner of Avenida Sarmiento and Avenida del Libertador in Palermo, Buenos Aires. As it turns out, the Plaza is in front of the US Embassy...I guess I was just magnetically drawn to the area.

USCIS to Honor Veterans During Naturalization Ceremonies

November 11, 2014 Joseph McKeown

In honor of Veterans Day, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) is celebrating service members, military spouses, and veterans becoming US citizens by taking the Oath of Allegiance at naturalization ceremonies across the country from November 7th through the 14th. More than 3,000 will become new citizens at nearly forty naturalization ceremonies. USCIS reports that since September 2002 more than 102,000 service members, including those serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, and Germany, have naturalized.

USCIS Director León Rodríguez, who yesterday administered the Oath of Allegiance and presented candidates for naturalization at a ceremony at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia, stated: “'On Veterans Day, we honor the men and women who have pledged to defend our nation, as we cherish the freedoms we enjoy because of the sacrifices of our service members, and their families...Today, we honor those who pledged to defend our nation before they were even citizens of our nation.'”

The USCIS fact sheet explains that special provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorize USCIS to expedite the naturalization process for current members of the US armed forces and recently discharged members as well as spouses.

Immigrants generally must be US citizens or Green Card holders to enlist in the military, but last year Representative Jeff Denham proposed under the ENLIST Act to amend the US military code to allow young undocumented immigrants who arrived in this country by age fifteen to serve in the armed forces in exchange for legal status and a path to citizenship. When he tried earlier this year to introduce †his measure as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, it was struck down.

Most recently, after announcing the military would allow young immigrants in the US under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to join through the specialized program called Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MANVI), the Pentagon has put this program on hold.

It's unclear if President Obama's long-promised executive action on immigration reform will include a path to citizenship through the military for the undocumented.

USCIS has invited users to share photos of new citizens on Twitter under the hashtag #newUScitizen (which along with today's new citizens includes a photo of actor Jonny Lee Miller becoming a citizen as well as an one-hundred-year-old woman who become a citizen earlier this year).

More American

November 10, 2014 Joseph McKeown

“The truth is, immigrants tend to be more American than people born here.”

- Chuck Palahniuk, Choke

26.2 Miles!

November 7, 2014 Guest User

As one often hears from women who just gave birth, the pain of labor is all worth it in the end when the baby is born, and the same sentiment is true of the marathon. The numerous months of grueling training, the sore muscles, the blisters, the runs done in the dark after a long day at the office, the skipping of social events to get in a long run, the heat stroke, the blackened toenails, and the time suck—my God, the time suck—all suddenly seem worth it.

Running across the Verrazano Bridge as the race begins with throngs of other runners, hearing boats in the harbor tooting their horns is very exciting. This year, however, there is a new challenge—the wind. With gusts of forty miles per hour, it feels like running in a wind tunnel. I actually have an image of a Sesame Street episode where all the characters were trying to walk against a head wind. Going over the bridge my fellow runners fling aside their garments, which take flight and smack others in the face before flying off the bridge into the water far below. I’m blown around like a rag doll for the first mile. Trying to draft off of others, I finally make it to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

O-2s in America

November 6, 2014 Jacki Granet

There is the old adage, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and the same is true (well, the village part, not the child part) for many artists and athletes working in the US on an O-1 visa. Indeed, behind many leading photographers, directors, athletes, actors, make-up artists, and other O-1 holders here in the US, there is often an individual or team of qualified, experienced, and essential support personnel in O-2 status who have worked extensively with the O-1 beneficiary over the years and who ensure every project runs smoothly.

Who can use the O-2?
The O-2 classification is for essential support personnel of an O-1 artist or athlete. A photographer’s assistant or retoucher, members of a graphic design team, members of a film crew, actors, or other such personnel, may qualify for the O-2 visa. There is no enumerated list of qualified positions. Moreover, more than one support personnel member can apply for O-2 classification with the same O-1.

NPR: "Dozens Of Countries Take In More Immigrants Per Capita Than The U.S."

November 4, 2014 Joseph McKeown

Despite America's reputation as a nation of immigrants and melting pot for the world's ethnicities, the US ranks 65th worldwide in terms of the percentage of population that is foreign born, NPR reports, citing a UN report "Trends in International Migrant Stock."

While the US is home to the most foreign-born people (45.7 million in 2013), immigrants in Australia make up more than a fourth (27.7 percent) of the population, and New Zealand and Canada come in at over 20 percent, still beating out the US, which is at 14.3 percent of its population. Sweden, Croatia, and Estonia also beat out the US in terms of the percentage of foreign-born immigrants, and Portugal, Spain, Italy, Norway, and the UK have larger net migration inflow than the US. This is not to mention Monaco (64.2 percent foreign-born), Andorra (56.9 percent), Luxembourg (43.3 percent), and Singapore (42.9 percent).

That said, a Gallup poll back in 2009 showed the US as the most desirable immigrant destination (with Canada coming in second) of the 700 million people worldwide who wished to immigrate permanently. Despite this, America "is just average" for immigrants, the Daily Beast argues. So where to go? Business Week says Switzerland and Germany (though they give an appropriate shout-out to the USA). But wait: migration hurts the homeland, this New York Times op-ed argues, which is perhaps unlikely to dissuade those seeking to immigrate because of war, political instability, or for economic reasons.

Immigration Guys

November 3, 2014 Joseph McKeown

"Whenever I start feeling too arrogant about myself, I always take a trip to America. The immigration guys kick the star out of stardom."

- Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan (who is an excellent dancer and a Yale Chubb Fellow)

Happy Halloween from New Orleans

October 31, 2014 Joseph McKeown

Just casually dancing in the streets of the French Quarter to celebrate Halloween. As people do.

Travel Report: VSC at Essex Junction

October 30, 2014 Guest User

“So Ashley, what surprised you most about today's visit to VSC?” I ask.

We’ve just ended the annual stakeholder’s event at the new location of the Vermont Service Center (VSC) of US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), where we get to meet officers of the VSC face-to-face and ask them, “What the heck were you thinking when you issued a request for evidence on my last case?” (Just joking.) Rather, it’s a time for those with a vested interest or who are significantly impacted by the decisions that come out of the VSC (i.e., the “stakeholders,” which includes immigration lawyers) to visit the VSC and participate in informational sessions. Jen reported about last year’s event.

“I think it would have to be the five million pieces of mail that they reported were sent out last year…”