From our annual holiday party. This year a wine class with cheese pairings at Corkbuzz. Here (after we pulled open the holiday "crackers" and put on our crowns) we're drinking an "off-dry" Riesling, which many thought went well with the Cambozola blue cheese.
I love you. You’re perfect. Now, we need a visa.
When I became an immigration attorney, something happened that I wasn’t quite expecting. I found myself curious about the immigration aspects of strangers’ lives. From the famous actress on the Oscars’ red carpet who is speaking with that lovely accent to the athlete from Eastern Europe joining the NBA to the random bike messenger with a brogue, I wanted to know the path that led them to the US. It was more than that, too. When Justin Bieber was arrested (multiple times) my first thought was, “How will this affect his immigration status?” When George Clooney became engaged to a British woman, my mind immediately went to what kind of a visa would she get (and then shortly thereafter to, “Guess my chances are gone”).
Needless to say, I love all things pop culture, and that includes reality television. So, when Joseph sent me a link to TLC’s 90 Day Fiance, I was immediately intrigued.
Read more"Shakedown: How Deportation Robs Immigrants of Their Money and Belongings"
Out of the 400,000 people deported from the US in fiscal year 2013, nearly one third were deported without their money or personal belongings, a new report by No More Deaths says. Using data from No More Deaths' Property Recovery Assistance Project, the report argues that dispossession has become a prevalent and dangerous deportation practice. The report explains the three main ways whereby immigrants being deported lose their money and/or their belongings: complete failure of US officials to return money and belongings before they are deported; cash or funds returned in forms that cannot generally be accessed internationally, such as personal checks, money orders, or prepaid debit cards; and, least common, money directly stolen by US agents.
While the report acknowledges that some Customs and Border Protection (CBP) "agents have indicated that they go out of their way to ensure the return of confiscated belongings," these officers "view this activity as a favor outside of the scope of their duties." This view as well as comments by "higher-level officials suggest a willingness, at all levels of CBP, to use the power to seize belongings at will rather than in accordance with the law."
While the money lost is generally valued at under $100 USD per person, nevertheless this amount represents significant funds for many deported immigrants. As a result of their loss of funds or property, these immigrants reported that they could not afford to travel home, afford shelter or food, were unable to obtain employment due to loss of identification documents, or were exposed to dangers such as threats, robbery, or attacks. This is not to mention the psychological trauma of the loss of personal keepsake and family heirloom items.
The report recommends that detained immigrants be granted access to vital belongings including medications while in custody, that belongings should never be destroyed while detained immigrants are serving a sentence, and that funds are provided to immigrants in cash before they are deported.
In response to the allegations, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Marsha Catron said in an email that the "agency has standards to ensure detainees' property is safeguarded and returned when they are released or deported" and that any "'allegation of missing property will be thoroughly investigated[.]'"
The Onion: "5 Million Illegal Immigrants To Realize Dreams Of Having Deportation Deferred"
"'After escaping the drug cartel violence of my village and fleeing to America, it was the thought of a life suspended in complete limbo that kept me going as I traveled through the grueling desert terrain for three days. To be tacitly allowed to live and work in this country that I love, all the while knowing that this protection could disappear in two years, or even two months—it’s made it all worth it.'"
Jacki Is Leaving D&B
We asked Jacki how sad she was to be leaving D&B and moving to sunny California. This sad, apparently.
From Visitor to Green Card: The Life of a Legal Immigrant
In media coverage of immigration reform, one of the common complaints of anti-immigrant groups is that “illegal immigrants” should have followed the current immigration law to come to the United States.
As someone who advocates every day for people struggling to live and work here, I often wonder if most people realize just how long, arduous, and seemingly arbitrary the path to a Green Card (or even a non-immigrant temporary visa) can be for those who follow the rules. As an example, let's take a look at "Maya"—a fictional character not based on any particular individual, but a representative example of the journey many foreign nationals take.
As many foreign nationals do, Maya first comes to the US as a visitor with her parents as a young girl to visit family friends who moved to the US. After she spends two weeks on the beaches of Florida and goes to Disney World, she thinks that the US is an amazing place.
Read moreNew York Times: "Why I'm Giving Up My Passport"
Jonathan Tepper is giving up his US passport. The founder of Variant Perception, a macroeconomic research company, has spent most of his life abroad, but as an American citizen he is still required to fulfill "onerous financial reporting and tax filing requirements that are neither fair nor just." Mr. Tepper is scheduled for an "in-person final loss of citizenship appointment" at the US Embassy early next year. He will keep his British passport, obtained in 2012. With the renunciation of his US citizenship, he will join the 3,000 Americans who gave up their citizenship last year, a number that is expected to grow this year and next, even as the cost for renunciation of citizenship has increased dramatically from $450 to $2,350.
The reason, Mr. Tepper explains, is the unusual US tax laws that apply to American citizens and companies no matter where they are physically located. He notes that America is the "only country (except, arguably, Eritrea) that taxes all of its citizens on worldwide income rather than where the income is earned. Expatriate Americans have to pay taxes once, wherever they live, and then file again in the United States." Even if no taxes are owed (the IRS doesn't tax the first $97,600 of foreign earnings), many expatriates must pay thousands of dollars to accountants to navigate the complicated rules.
The US government has been taxing Americans living abroad since the Civil War, when it did so to prevent Americans from fleeing to Britain to avoid taxes. The recent Foreign Tax Account Compliance Act, which requires foreign financial institutions to report certain assets held by American clients or face severe penalties, has led to the refusal of many foreign institutions to take on American clients and arguably to the upsurge in Americans renouncing their US citizenship.
Mr. Tapper writes: "The founders agreed on 'no taxation without representation.' Why can't Congress?"
Lonely Americans
"All Americans have something lonely about them. I don't know what the reason for that might be, except maybe that they're all descended from immigrants.”
Joey and Petey Go Ice Skating
Joey took a break from work this afternoon to go ice skating at The Standard with his little penguin friend, whom he affectionately named Petey. They were busy practicing their moves and will no doubt be entering ice skating competitions in the couples category this winter.
Options for Fine Artists Applying for a US Visa
I love that in New York City art is everywhere—there’s graffiti on the side of buildings; sculpture installations throughout the streets and parks; and a huge variety of galleries and museums with artwork ranging from modern multimedia exhibitions to Renaissance paintings.
Since we are based in a city that is a center of the art world, and we often work with some of the best of these artists, we wanted to highlight some immigration considerations in the context of the fine art world, namely for gallery and museum artists.
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