New York Times: "With Move Across London, U.S. Embassy Can’t Please Everyone"

The new US Embassy in London under construction. (Photo by US Embassy London used under Creative Commons.)

The US Embassy in London is moving locations, and not everyone is happy about it. After years of criticism and protests by local residents against the current Embassy building in Grosvenor Square because of safety and security concerns—the protests included a hunger strike by a countess—the US Embassy is moving from its Modernist concrete building in beautiful, historic, and exclusive Mayfair, where the Embassy has been based since 1960, to a more protected and environmentally responsible building in the gritty district of Nine Elms on the South Bank of the Thames. While the move planned for 2017 is welcomed by local Mayfair residents who for years have feared terrorist attacks, the new location also has its own critics.

The new building was designed by Philadelphia firm KieranTimberlake to reflect "the core values of democracy—transparency, openness, and equality" and also to be "welcoming, secure, and highly sustainable." The design, however, has been called "boring," a "corporate office block," and "the Ice Cube." Former Guardian architecture critic Jonathan Glancey said that the proposed building is "remote and superficially transparent" and that it reflects "what we can divine of the US political process. Nominally open to all and yet, in practice, tightly controlled[.]"

Peter Rees, the City of London’s former head of planning, wrote in an email to the New York Times: “It seems sad that the U.S. Embassy is relocating from a beautiful historic square in Mayfair to a fortified bunker in former railyards on the far side of the river...It’s like moving from New York’s Upper East Side to New Jersey.”

Ambassador Robert Tuttle, who led the search for a new site, said on the London Embassy website: “We looked at all our options, including renovation of our current building on Grosvenor Square. In the end, we realized that the goal of a modern, secure and environmentally sustainable Embassy could best be met by constructing a new facility.”

As the New York Times said when the original building design was chosen:

The project as a whole...is a fascinating study in how architecture can be used as a form of camouflage. The building is set in a spiraling pattern of two small meadows and a pond that have as much to do with defensive fortification as with pastoral serenity: an eye-opening expression of the irresolvable tensions involved in trying to design an emblem of American values when you know it may become the next terrorist target.

No word if Gould Pharmacy, which rents lockers for applicants who cannot bring their large electronic items into the Embassy, will also open a new location. It might be finally time to leave those large electronics at home.

Delays in Visa and Passport Issuance at US Embassies/Consulates Caused by Technical Problems

The Department of State (DOS) is currently experiencing technical problems with their overseas passport and visa systems. This appears to be a worldwide situation and not specific to any particular country, citizenship document, or visa category. Those affected by this technical problem should check the DOS website for any updates. Moreover, DOS has not provided a time frame for the resolution.

Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants
The systems in place to perform background security checks on each visa applicant are experiencing technical difficulties. US Embassies/Consulates are not able to bypass these security checks. As a result, nonimmigrant visa applicants filing nonimmigrant visa application Form DS-160 on or after June 9, 2015 will not be able to move forward with their visa application process until the technical issues are resolved. While DOS sincerely regrets these delays, they will only entertain expedite requests for “urgent humanitarian need.” In addition, we expect that even once the situation is resolved, we will see delays while the US Embassies/Consulates clear their backlogs.

Immigrant Visa Applicants
Some immigrant visa applicants continue to experience technical difficulties accessing Form DS-260. The DOS suggests that these issues are intermittent and that applicants return to the application website periodically to try to complete Form DS-260.

Passport Applicants
The technical difficulties are also causing delays in the printing of US passports that were approved at overseas passport facilities. Applications accepted by the Passport Unit at an Embassy abroad on or after May 26, 2015 are affected by this delay. Applicants who requested a US passport during this time frame and who have travel plans within the next ten business days should consider requesting an emergency passport at the US Embassy at which they originally applied.

UPDATE (June 18, 2015): The State Department reports that the Bureau of Consular Affairs continues to address the global technical problems with their visa systems. While there is no indication that the outage was related to a cyber security issue, the system is not expected to be online before next week at the earliest. Although passports are still being processed, visa applicants should expect lengthy delays and also that their appointments may be rescheduled. US Embassies/Consulate are prioritizing urgent medical and other humanitarian cases as well as H-2A agricultural workers. We will provide any additional updates as we receive them.

UPDATE (June 23, 2015): The State Department reports that as of yesterday twenty-two consular posts have been reconnected to their systems (which represents about half of the global nonimmigrant visa volume), and they are continuing to restore systems to full functionality. Though some progress has been made, biometric data processing has not been fully restored. As promised, the State Department has prioritized temporary and seasonal workers with nearly 1,250 visas issued in Mexico, and they have issued more than 3,000 visas globally for urgent and humanitarian travel. There is a large backlog of cases to clear, but many posts are conducting visa interviews and are able to print some visas and also have rescheduled visa appointments. Domestic passport operations are functioning albeit with some processing delays and the State Department continues to issue routine and expedited passports to US citizens for all overseas travel needs.

UPDATE (June 24, 2015): The State Department reports that thirty-nine consular posts, which represents more than two-thirds of their normal capacity, are now online and issuing visas.  Moreover, the State Department anticipates that the system will be fully reconnected this week, and personnel will work over the weekend to clear the backlog.

The Other Side

"For the past five months, she had been documenting the gradual unraveling of their lives, in moments both mundane and monumental: the first visit to their home by immigration officers, the delivery of Zunaid’s deportation orders, his final trips to eat American ice cream and watch American basketball. Now only four days remained before he would be sent off to Bangladesh, a deportation that would upend not just one life but two. Zunaid would be forcibly separated from the United States after 20 years; his wife, an American citizen, would be forcibly separated from her husband."

- "The Other Side of Deportation: An American
Struggles to Prepare for Life without Husband"
The Washington Post

Fata Morgana

Fata Morgana by Teresita Fernández.

Madison Square Park has been transformed with the largest and most ambitious outdoor sculpture in the park to date. Fata Morgana, by New York-based artist Teresita Fernández, consists of 500 running feet of golden, mirror-polished discs that create canopies above the pathways (which, by the way, all lead to the newly renovated and re-opened Shake Shack). A "fata morgana" is a mirage seen above the horizon line, and this sculpture "perforated with intricate patterns reminiscent of foliage, will create abstract flickering effects as sunlight filters through the canopy, casting a golden glow across the expanse of the work, paths, and passersby." It really is quite lovely, and in the park until this winter.

June Is Immigrant Heritage Month

Welcome.us, a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating immigrant diversity in the United States, is celebrating June as Immigrant Heritage Month "to encourage every American to tell the story of how they first felt welcomed to the American experience." To that end, the organization is bringing together people and organizations including politicians and celebrities to tell "the stories of individuals that, together, comprise a uniquely American narrative."

With ordinary people from all over the US as well as celebrities, Welcome.us and their YouTube channel feature Americans sharing their immigrant heritage, including Dominican-American actress and Devious Maids' star Dania Ramirez in "An American Alien,” which profiles her Dominican family in New York City and asks the question, "Did you achieve your American dream?" In "Z for Zendaya," Disney superstar Zendaya Coleman discusses her German and African background. Welcome.us also invites people to share on social media photos of their family heirlooms, recipes, traditions, or family photos that celebrate and honor their immigrant heritage.

In his most recent weekly address, President Obama discussed Immigrant Heritage Month:

I think of growing up in Hawaii, a place enriched by people of different backgrounds – native Hawaiian, Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and just about everything else.  Growing up in that vibrant mix helped shape who I am today.  And while my father was not an immigrant himself, my own life journey as an African-American – and the heritage shared by Michelle and our daughters, some of whose ancestors came here in chains – has made our family who we are.

President Obama used the address to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform and also encouraged viewers to share their own immigration stories at The New Americans Project, part of the White House Task Force on New Americans, a government-wide effort he established last year that is tasked with "better integrating immigrants and refugees into American communities in three key areas: civically, economically, and linguistically."

Many cities and venues around the country are celebrating the month with related events, including in Pittsburgh where the mayor hosted a naturalization ceremony at the City Council Chambers, in San Fransisco with an exhibit of international artists titled "The Art of Immigration," and in Boston with a Moth storytelling event titled "Roots." We've shared some of our immigration stories. What's yours?

An Unfamiliar Place

"Most people at some time in their lives have felt discomfort as a result of not belonging to a place or fitting in with a particular crowd. You would be a rare person, indeed, if you had never experienced being an outsider, if you had never been misunderstood or rejected because of who you were, how you looked, or what you said. I think that immigrants experience a similar feeling of dislocation and uncertainty as a result of not belonging to the mainstream of American society. They look, sound, or act different from the dominant culture, and they have to survive in an unfamiliar place among unfamiliar people. For this reason, I think the immigrant experience is one that everyone can relate to."

- Frances Hwang
  The New Yorker

National Running Day

David Lewis in Coney Island with the Cyclone in the background. (Photo by NYRR.)

In honor of National Running Day this week (it was June 3, to be exact), we wanted to celebrate the many runners in the office, including paralegal David Lewis who recently ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon and is training for yet another marathon. (Lizzie B, you may remember, also ran a marathon recently). Looking good, David, keep it up! Next year I'll be waiting for you on the Coney Island boardwalk with a hotdog and beer.

ABC News: "U.S. Appeals Panel Won't Lift Hold on Obama Immigration Action"

Last week, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans refused to lift the temporary hold placed on parts of President Obama's executive actions on immigration reform. The Justice Department had asked the 5th Circuit to reverse a Texas judge who had agreed to temporarily block the president's plan in February, after twenty-six states filed a lawsuit alleging Obama's actions were unconstitutional. In the two-to-one ruling, 5th Circuit judges Jerry Smith and Jennifer Walker Elrod said that "the federal government lawyers are unlikely to succeed" in the underlying lawsuit filed by twenty-six states including Texas against the executive actions. Back in February, 2015, US District Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas, in a scathing decision accusing the government of deception in their representations, ruled to place the temporary hold on President Obama's executive action to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and to create the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program. The expanded DACA had been set to take effect February 18, and the DAPA program was scheduled to begin May 19. These programs would have granted work authorization and certain protections from deportation to millions of undocumented immigrants.

“The separation of powers and checks and balances remain the law of the land, and this decision is a victory for those committed to preserving the rule of law in America,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement. While the decision is a victory for Texas and the twenty-five other states which supported the lawsuit, another fourteen states and the District of Columbia have appealed the decision, arguing that the Texas lawsuit failed to consider the economic benefits of immigration action.

''Ultimately, this is just a pause button,'' Laura Collins, the director of immigration policy at the American Action Forum, said to PRI. ''Until the court is able to rule fully on the merits of this, this doesn’t really talk about whether this program is appropriate for the executive branch to put forward.'' White House spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine said in a statement that the two-to-one 5th Circuit Court ruling ''chose to misinterpret the facts and the law.''

US Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez also said in response to last week’s court decision:

It is disappointing but not unexpected given the make-up of the Fifth Circuit and the panel hearing this preliminary case.  I am confident millions of immigrants will eventually apply for DAPA and DACA, because the law is undeniably on the President's side, as is public opinion. Meanwhile, I continue to work with Democrats and others who are preparing immigrant communities for the application process once the legal maneuvering is resolved and the courts reject the arguments of the Republican Governors and Attorneys General.  The longer the court process takes, the harder it is to imagine a Republican candidate remains competitive in a bid for the White House, because increasingly, this will be the defining and decisive 2016 campaign issue.

This ruling will not affect H-4 dependent spouses who are now eligible to apply for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) as part of President Obama's executive actions.