Beating Heart

Heartbeat in Times Square.

Heartbeat in Times Square.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Brooklyn-based art company Stereotank unveiled this sculpture titled Heartbeat (everyone goes, awwww) at Father Duffy Square. This nine-by-six foot interactive installation (on display until March 8) features lighting effects and six instruments including a xylophone and a South American drum called a tumbadora, all of which visitors can use. Sara Valente, who created the sculpture with her husband Marcelo Ertorteguy, said: "'It’s like a melting pot of heartbeat sounds, just like New York City.'"

Is a Sock Drug Paraphernalia (And How Is that Relevant to Immigration)?

In 2010, Moones Mellouli, a Tunisian national and US lawful permanent resident with two master's degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia and jobs as an actuary and as a math instructor at the university, was arrested for driving under the influence and having four Adderall pills in his sock. After he plead guilty to a misdemeanor for possession of drug paraphernalia—i.e., the sock in which he had the four pills—he got a suspended sentence plus a year's probation. Then he was ordered removed (i.e. deported).

Mr. Mellouli appealed and last month the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case, which is essentially about "whether a minor drug offense must render a lawful permanent resident deportable from his home and family in the United States." This is not the first time the Supreme Court has considered such a question.

From NPR: "Federal law allows the government to deport a non-citizen convicted in state court for a crime 'relating to' any drug controlled under the federal criminal code. But state laws often make many more drugs illegal, and Kansas law treats any container used to store a drug as 'drug paraphernalia.'" The SCOTUS blog noted that during the oral arguments the Justices "probed in detail the meaning of the language and how it applied to the case at hand." In the end, "a majority of the Court seemed to side with...Mellouli’s interpretation" and Mellouli "had the better of the statutory argument."

Justice Samuel Alito made an interesting point, which also might suggest which way the Court is leaning: "'It's really hard to believe that the Kansas statute actually regards as drug paraphernalia any thing that is used at any time to contain a controlled substance.'"

Matt Bray Day

Once a year in February, Matt Bray emerges from his office. Whether he sees his shadow will determine whether the H-1B cap will be reached in the first week of April. We managed to snap a picture of this elusive man just as he emerged this year. Did…

Once a year in February, Matt Bray emerges from his office. Whether he sees his shadow will determine whether the H-1B cap will be reached in the first week of April. We managed to snap a picture of this elusive man just as he emerged this year. Did he see his shadow? When will the cap be reached?

Ten Things to Watch Out for in an Online Forum

Hardly a week goes by where I don’t hear a client mention that they heard something on a blog/chatroom and want to do what this other person recommended. Years ago when I first started hearing clients talk about these chatrooms I took a look for myself at the type of information out there, and occasionally now I’ll go back and look around at what people are saying in these forums. Every time I look I can’t help but cringe at all the inaccurate advice people are giving each other. While I can certainly understand that many individuals are seeking clear and unbiased information on immigration questions (and that often people want to know if they are getting the best advice from their immigration attorneys), I can’t stress enough how careful readers should be of taking advice from others on the Internet. Below is a list of ten of the more common inaccuracies/misinformation (which I've paraphrased) I have seen on blogs and in chatrooms. (Trust me, this is not an all-inclusive list).

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USCIS to Begin Accepting Requests for Expanded DACA on February 18

Last November President Obama announced he was taking executive actions on immigration reform, after the House of Representatives failed to act on the immigration reform bill passed by the Senate in 2013. One of the president's initiatives involve expanding eligibility for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to applicants of any age who entered the US before the age of sixteen and who have lived in the US continuously since January 1, 2010, as well as extending the period of DACA and work authorization from two to three years.

US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has just announced it will begin accepting applications for this expanded DACA program on February 18, 2015, only weeks away, even as the Republican-controlled Congress heads toward a showdown with Obama over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the mother agency of USCIS.

Who is eligible for the expanded DACA program?
Individuals of any age with no lawful immigration status who entered the US before the age of sixteen and who have lived in the US continuously since at least January 1, 2010. Applicants must also meet schooling requirements as well as not being convicted of certain crimes or posing a national security threat.

How is this different than before?
The first DACA program announced in 2012 requires that applicants have continuously resided in the US since June 15, 2007, and that they were under thirty-one years of age on June 15, 2012. Additionally the initial DACA was granted only for a period of two years.

How to file?
USCIS lists all the requirements including what documentation is required along with the necessary forms, fees, and where to send the application.

Is an attorney needed to file the case?
Matt Bray has an excellent post regarding this question.

When can the DACA case be filed under the new requirements?
On and after February 18, 2015! 

What authorization is received with DACA?
If the application is approved, individuals will not be placed into removal proceedings or removed from the US for three years unless their DACA is terminated. In addition, they will be granted employment authorization. Travel authorization (advance parole) may also be granted in certain cases.

USCIS cautions those applying for DACA to be especially wary of immigration scams. They've published a list of helpful tips for before and after filing to avoid scams and ensure that their case has been properly received and is processing correctly. Applicants for DACA cases (and in general for immigration matters) should be especially wary of anyone calling them about their immigration case and claiming to be from USCIS or the government.

Although DACA is limited in that it only defers removal and does not provide permanent lawful status, this DACA expansion is good news for many undocumented immigrants including one of America's most well-known and visible undocumented immigrants: Pulitzer Prize-winning Filipino journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who summarized DACA: “'This is not amnesty…It’s only temporary. It doesn’t provide a Green Card. It doesn’t provide citizenship. It doesn’t provide healthcare. It doesn’t provide anything really, except free from deportation, a work permit, people can drive, people can travel hopefully, and again just not to live in fear[.]”

UPDATE: US District Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas ruled late Monday, February 16, 2015 to temporarily block President Barack Obama's executive action on the expanded DACA program as well as the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program. Consequently contrary to their original plans discussed in this post USCIS will not be accepting applications February 18 for the expanded DACA program, and going forward until further notice for expanded DACA and DAPA. We will provide more updates as we receive them.

Do’s and Don’ts of the E-3

Not too long ago, Lizzie B. created a wonderful chart highlighting some alternatives to the H-1B. In that post she covered the basics of the E-3: that it is for Australian citizens who are coming to the US to work in a professional job, that it is issued in two-year increments and that the Australian national must be getting paid a salary that is in line with what the Department of Labor (DOL) deems appropriate for the position. The E-3 is one of the easiest US visas to obtain. It is a fast process since the application can be made straight at the US Embassy/Consulate, and does not require piles of documents. Some employers choose to do the application themselves, and while most of the time everything goes well, sometimes things can go awry. I thought it might be helpful to create a list of do's and don’ts for the E-3 application to help avoid denials if employers are filing these themselves:

DO...

✔  BE AN AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN
The beneficiary of the E-3 application must be an Australian citizen with an Australian passport. People who live in Australia without having acquired citizenship are not eligible. The spouse and children of the principal beneficiary need not necessarily be Australian citizens in order to get the E-3 dependent visa (E-3D).

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