In honor of St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, earlier this week I visited the American Irish Historical Society, located on 5th Avenue in the Upper East Side. Continuously operated since 1897, the society is dedicated to promoting and preserving Irish culture and knowledge. The society hosts special exhibits, cultural events, and has a research library with over 14,000 volumes. Highlights of the society's permanent collection include one of the original copies of the famous "Irish Proclamation" from the Easter Rising in 1916, as well as this bust (above) of Dr. William James MacNeven, a prominent Irish-American doctor and revolutionary who immigrated to the United States in 1805 after having failed to convince the French to help free Ireland. The society offers tours at 11am and 3pm from Monday through Friday. But no free Guinness on the tours. (Sorry, obligated to mention Guinness in any post about St. Patrick's Day.) Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!
USCIS: H-1B Third-Party Worksites Memo
Last month, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) released a memo with guidance for H-1B petitions where the beneficiary will work at one or more third-party work sites. While many H-1B holders perform their work at the petitioner’s main address or at one of the petitioner’s locations, in certain cases the employee may work at one or more third-party worksites and perform their work for clients of the petitioner.
Read moreNation of Immigrants
An Incomplete History of Protest
Constitution III by Mark Bradford
An Incomplete History of Protest, an ongoing exhibition at the Whitney Museum, examines how artists from the 1940s to the present have reacted to and protested the political and social issues of their time. Whether by protesting the Vietnam War or combating the AIDS crisis or fighting for civil rights or representation, the featured artists in the exhibit "see their work as essential to challenging established thought and creating a more equitable culture." Mark Bradford's Constitution III (above) looks at first like an abstract painting, but it contains excerpts from the US Constitution. The text along with the rough surface suggest the founding document is living, "subject to modification and debate." Overall, the exhibit shows how the artists attempted to "play a profound role in transforming their time and shaping the future."
USCIS: Re-Registration Period Opens for Syrians with Temporary Protected Status
US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this week that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Syria’s designation who want to maintain their status through September 30, 2019, must re-register between March 5, and May 4, 2018. The procedures for re-registration, including how to renew employment authorization documentation, have been published in the Federal Register and on the USCIS website. To re-register, all applicants must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status; additionally, applicants may also request (at the same time or later) an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by submitting a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Both of these forms are free on USCIS’ website at uscis.gov/tps.
Read moreVox: "March 5 is supposed to be the DACA 'deadline.' Here’s what that means for immigrants."
Last September, President Trump announced the termination of the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and gave March 5, 2018, as the deadline for Congress to find a legislative solution for the approximately 700,000 DACA recipients. This March 5 deadline arrived this week just after the Supreme Court declined to hear the administration’s appeal of a federal judge's injunction that halted Trump's decision to terminate the DACA program. Currently, because of the recent court injunctions and the actions of the Supreme Court and despite the March 5 deadline, USCIS is accepting DACA renewals only and operating the DACA program on the “terms in place before it was rescinded on Sept. 5, 2017, until further notice.”
Read moreMoral Test
Rose Crystal Tower
We visited world-famous artist Dale Chihuly's exhibition at the Bronx Botanical Gardens last summer and were blown away. So when we saw that he had another glass sculpture in the Union Square Triangle, we had to check it out. The Rose Crystal Tower stands thirty-one-feet tall and is made of Polyvitro crystals and steel. Over his distinguished fifty-year career, Chihuly has become known around the world for his iconic glass sculptures and architectural installations in cities, museums, and gardens. "New York City’s energy, architecture, and rich creative history is formidable and it continues to offer infinite inspiration for artists,” Dale Chihuly says. “I am excited to share my work with the residents and visitors who pass through New York City every year.”
Olivia Scofield: The DLG-Proust-Actors Studio Questionnaire
Olivia, a new associate attorney here at the firm, is a big fan of her native Atlanta. “If you’re a native Atlantan, you’re obnoxiously pro-Atlanta,” she says. “It’s a unique place, arguably the leader of the New South, and it’s a cool place for transplants. I love its up-and-coming food restaurants and cultural and arts scene.”
Read moreNPR: “Immigrants Are Scrambling To Submit Petitions For Family Members To Come to U.S.”
As President Trump continues his call to limit family-based immigration, an increasing number of immigrants residing in the US are filing petitions to bring eligible family members to America, in case an immigration bill restricting family reunification is eventually passed. Currently, the US immigration system allows for family reunification (what President Trump derisively calls “chain migration,”) where in certain cases Green Card holders or citizens can sponsor eligible relatives to come to the US. President Trump has proposed limiting family-based immigration to immediate family members, including spouses and minor children, and restricting it for parents, siblings, and adult children.
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