Juan Manuel Montes Bojorquez, a twenty-three-old Mexican man living in California, is one of the first “DREAMers” to be deported by President Trump, immigration advocates and lawyers are claiming; a removal that would contradict the stated policy by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that does not prioritize DACA recipients for removal. The US government and lawyers for Montes have differing versions of the story surrounding Montes’s removal from the US. The US government is claiming that Montes voluntarily left the US and illegally tried to reenter, thus violating the conditions of his DACA status, and lawyers for Montes allege that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents removed him from the US despite his valid DACA status.
Read moreBlood, Sweat and Tears
USCIS: Change of Filing Addresses and Workload Transfers
Every so often, US Citizenship & Immigration Service Centers—located in California, Nebraska, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia—experience lengthy backlogs and delays in processing cases. To balance workloads and “promote timely processing,” USCIS occasionally changes filing addresses for certain petitions to direct cases away from the service centers experiencing these significant delays, as well as transfers cases from center to center. USCIS announced this week they are doing both.
Read moreTulips in Springtime
St James's Park in London.
Back in London I was finally convinced that it's springtime when I found these lovely tulips in St James's Park. The park, which also has many daffodils, is only a short walk away from three palaces (St James's, Westminster, and Buckingham Palaces) and is in the heart of historical London. They even have deck chairs to rent! Beautiful flowers and lawn furniture, what more could you ask for?
Don’t Try This at Home: 5 Reasons Why Foreign Nationals Shouldn’t File E-3 Visa Applications On Their Own
The E-3 is a nonimmigrant visa that allows Australian citizens to temporarily come to the US to work for a US employer in a professional capacity. To qualify for this visa, Australian foreign nationals must have a legitimate offer of employment in the US with a salary that complies with Department of Labor requirements, fill a position that qualifies as a specialty occupation (i.e., a professional job that requires a bachelor’s degree or higher in a specific field of study), and hold at least a bachelor’s degree (or the equivalent work experience) in a field related to the position.
Read moreNew York Times: "Border Officers Nearly Double Searches of Electronic Devices, US Says"
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the border and airports have almost doubled their searches of electronic devices for individuals entering the US in the last six months, according to data released last week by CBP.
The data shows that CBP searched the electronic devices of 14,993 arriving international travelers since October of fiscal year 2017, with only 8,383 devices searched during the same period of the previous fiscal year. CBP notes that while the number of searches did increase, it only affects 0.008 percent of the approximately 189.6 million travelers arriving to the US. CBP process more than 1 million travelers arriving in the US every day.
Read moreDignity and Humanity
Under the Cherry Blossoms
A flowering cherry tree in the Japanese Hill-And-Pond Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
We all know what springtime means: longer days, warmer weather, and, of course, blossoming cherry trees. Ahead of the Cherry Blossom Festival, also called Sakura Matsuri, a few trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden have already blossomed. The festival, held later this month, celebrates the Japanese cultural tradition of enjoying each moment of the cherry blossom season and contemplating the beauty and fragility of life. But don't just wait for the festival. Most, if not all, of the cherry trees will soon be in full bloom. Don't have anyone to go with? Not to worry. As the famed Japanese poet Issa says: "Under the cherry blossoms / none are / utter strangers."
OPINION: USCIS Rescission of Guidance Memo on Computer-Related Positions: H-1Bs Are Still Available for Computer Programmers
As most immigration attorneys were breathing a sigh of relief from having prepared all their H-1B cap cases, and from having rushed to file the H-1B renewals requiring premium processing; and as we were just popping open that bottle of champagne, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a surprise memo on March 31, 2017. Panic ensued. Trump was blamed. USCIS jumped in to explain that the March 31 memo did not constitute a change in policy but rather a clarification to the Nebraska Service Center (where many H-1Bs are now being processed) of the current policy on H-1Bs for computer programmers. So what does it all mean? Can a computer programmer still get an H-1B? What about other technology jobs? We will try to answer some of these questions below.
Read moreNew York Times: “They Adopted Refugee Families for a Year. Then Came ‘Month 13.’”
The Canadian refugee program is one of the most unique in the world. In addition to government sponsorship and resettlement, the Canadian government allows private sponsorship for refugees. Private sponsors—who can be a mix of major organizations and smaller groups and individuals—are involved at every step of the resettlement process, from initial paperwork, maintaining communications pre-arrival, assisting with the screening process, and providing financial support for numerous aspects of the refugees’ lives in Canada, including travel, accommodation, and food, although the government still assists with certain expenses.
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