Visa Options for TV and Film Actors and Performers

We have previously covered special considerations for film and television visas, 10 things to remember about the I visa, and 10 common questions about O visas for the film and television industry. We even dissected some interesting fact patterns for the P-1 and O-1 visas. But let’s rewind, refresh, and simplify, shall we?

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Huffington Post: “Supreme Court Foreshadows Big Constitutional Ruling In Immigration Case”

Last week the Supreme Court issued an unusual order in a pending immigration case that could foreshadow a key constitutional ruling and in doing so limit President-Elect Trump’s powers to detain certain noncitizens who may be eligible to be removed from the country. The ruling is in regards to a class-action challenge (Jennings v. Rodriguez) brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of thousands of immigrants, many of whom are in the US legally but who have been detained without an opportunity for a bond hearing in front of a judge to possibly obtain release. US federal law grants immigration authorities broad discretion to detain foreign-born individuals if they are apprehended at the border or have criminal backgrounds. The Supreme Court’s task in this case is to “determine what limits, if any, exist for that grant of authority.”  

The justices appeared divided over how to rule, and the new order requests that lawyers for the federal government and the ACLU file a new round of legal briefs addressing whether the Constitution would require a “hearing in front of a judge―or even a release, if the government fails to present strong enough evidence that the person shouldn’t be released―if a detention lasted six months.” The lead plaintiff in the case is Alejandro Rodriguez who was detained for three years without a hearing even though he was a lawful permanent resident. He was facing removal over two minor offenses, a drug charge and joyriding as a teenager.

The ACLU explains the consequences of long-term detainment for noncitizens:

Without a bond hearing, people…may spend years behind bars in a prison jumpsuit, shackled for visits with loved ones, subjected to strip searches and solitary confinement, and referred to by guards as a number. They may suffer separation from family members, often across state lines; see their children placed in foster care; and lose jobs, savings, homes, and businesses. About 73 percent of immigration detainees are held in private prisons, which have a grisly track record of deaths due to medical neglect, suicides, and sexual abuse.

At the case’s oral arguments in November, the Supreme Court’s more conservative members appeared to be opting for a narrower ruling based on current immigration law and a prior appeals ruling in favor of the detainees. “We do not have the constitutional issue before us,” Justice Anthony Kennedy told Ahilan Arulanantham, the ACLU lawyer who argued the case. Justice Kennedy authored a concurring opinion in an earlier immigration case that upheld only brief detentions without due process.

With the additional request, the Huffington Post notes, the “justices may be signaling a desire to not split 4-to-4 in a case that could directly implicate the authority of the incoming Trump administration in an area that was a linchpin in the president-elect’s campaign.”  

“I think it’s really hard to read the tea leaves here,” Arulanantham tells the Huffington Post. He adds that the justices’ request last Thursday indicates “the court wasn’t yet satisfied with either party’s position.”

May Your Holidays Be Filled with Delicious Food and Good Company!

We held our holiday party once again at the Institute of Culinary Education in downtown Manhattan. At this annual event, we cook our own meal—okay, the chefs help out a little bit and a few glasses of delicious brut rosé don't hurt either. On the menu this year was hand-cut beet pappardelle with goat cheese and toasted walnuts, a maple chipotle-glazed duck breast, and for dessert a pumpkin and dulce de leche tart. While some food stations worked harder than others—pasta station and duck grilling station clearly outworked the "chopping the cauliflower" station—everyone had a great time (especially dessert station) and we maybe even learned something. Great work, everyone!

Visa Options for Domestic Workers

For busy families living in the United States, hiring a person to help out in their home, such as a childcare worker or housekeeper, is a common desire. Despite popular belief, however, there are not many visa options for immigrants who want to come to the US to work in a private household. There are a few nonimmigrant visas that are available in limited circumstances, which will be discussed below; however, families wishing to hire without restrictions may be disappointed by the limitations. 

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BuzzFeed: “Senators Propose Bipartisan Bill To Protect ‘DREAMers’”

A bipartisan bill to protect “DREAMers”—who were granted temporary protection against deportation under President Obama’s executive actions—was introduced this past Friday by Senators Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin. The bill, called the BRIDGE Act, would effectively extend DACA protections for more than 740,000 young immigrants who have already taken advantage of the program by providing “provisional protected presence” for three years if applicants register with the government, pay the required processing fee, and pass a criminal background check. The senators introduced the bill in response to President-Elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to end the DACA program, although after the election he has made conflicting comments about what actions, if any, he will take. 

In a post-election interview with Time, President-Elect Trump said regarding DREAMers: “We’re going to work something out that’s going to make people happy and proud…They got brought here at a very young age, they’ve worked here, they’ve gone to school here. Some were good students. Some have wonderful jobs. And they’re in never-never land because they don’t know what’s going to happen.” In statements on Twitter, Senator Graham calls the original DACA order enacted by President Obama “unconstitutional” and says that President-Elect Trump would be right to repeal it but that nevertheless Senator Graham says he does not "believe that we should pull the rug out and push these young men and women—who came out of the shadows and registered with the federal government—back into the darkness…These young people have much to offer the country and we stand to benefit from the many contributions they will make to America.” 

While the bill will need to be re-introduced next year to the new Congress, Senator Durbin tells reporters they didn’t want to wait. “There’s so much interest in this issue and so much anxiety over this situation,” he says. “We want to move to make this public. I can’t go anywhere without someone raising this issue.” Durbin says that they’re encouraged by Trump’s recent favorable comments on DACA and says that both Republican and Democratic legislators will support the BRIDGE Act. “Generally speaking most Republicans, even though they are reluctant to come to the floor and make a speech, feel it’s only fair…even if they have strong feelings against other parts of comprehensive immigration,” he tells BuzzFeed. “This is a very difficult group—once you meet them—to oppose.”

“Here’s what you’ve got to ask Republicans and Democrats: What do you do with these kids?” Senator Graham tells reporters. “Now, I’m not going to be part of a Republican Party that will take 700,000-plus young people who’ve done nothing on their own—they came here as small kids, they lived their life in America, they have no place else to go—and just ruin their lives.”

Many US mayors have also voiced support for DREAMers. In a letter signed by Rahm Emanuel, mayor of Chicago, and mayors of other cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Houston, Trump was warned of the economic harm that would come from canceling DACA. “This program helps foster economic growth and enhances public safety and national security," the letter states, and claims that as much as $9.9 billion in tax revenue would be lost over four years and $433.4 billion in US gross domestic product would be wiped out over ten years if he cancels the DACA program.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) also praises the BRIDGE Act legislation, even though AILA notes it does not provide a solution for many undocumented families and other individuals who have lived and worked in the US for many years. “Keeping DACA going is not only the right thing to do, it is smart business,” AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnson states. “The BRIDGE Act would offer protection to DREAMers for three years, during which time we hope that Congress will move forward on what is really necessary: smart, effective, and humane immigration reform.”