It's the US Open again and time for all things tennis (and Roger Federer!). This week I was at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens when the five-time US Open champion delivered fourteen aces (including the one above) and defeated Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets. Roger (we're on a first name basis) continued his success in US Open night matches, notching another record: the most wins without a loss in the first round of the US Open by any man in the Open Era (since 1968), according to ESPN. In total, Roger has eighty-three career wins at the US Open, putting him 2nd behind Jimmy Connors (who had ninety-eight). Just some fun facts as you go into the long weekend. Go Roger! And Happy Labor Day!
USCIS: Extension and Expansion of Premium Processing Suspension for H-1B Petitions to Reduce Delays
US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) is extending the previously announced temporary suspension of premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions and will also expand the temporary suspension to additional H-1B petitions effective September 11, 2018. USCIS says that they expect these suspensions to last until February 19, 2019, and will provide notice before resuming premium processing for these petitions. During this time when H-1B premium processing is suspended, USCIS will reject any Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, filed with an affected Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. If petitions are submitted with one combined check for the Form I-907 and Form I-129 H-1B, both forms will be rejected.
Read moreDance Magazine: “Is the US Government Cracking Down on Artists’ Visas?”
Throughout the past year, dancers and US-based theatre companies have been experiencing delays and denials in attempts to obtain approvals for performances in the US. In late March, the Joyce Theater's annual gala performance had to include a last-minute substitution after two Paris Opéra Ballet dancers were unable to obtain visas. "It was a shock," Linda Shelton, executive director at The Joyce Theater, tells Dance Magazine. "In all 25 of my years here, I think we'd only been turned down once before. That was ages ago and we already had a feeling that dancer wouldn't be approved anyway, because of an issue with their passport. This was just a big, big surprise." Then, less than a month later, visa petitions for Bolshoi Ballet stars Olga Smirnova and Jacopo Tissi to perform at the Youth America Grand Prix gala were denied. Last year, South Korea's Bereishit Dance Company had to cancel a performance because of similar issues.
Read moreImmigrant Elders
USCIS: Clarification of STEM OPT Extension Reporting Responsibilities and Training Obligations
US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) updated their Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT) webpage to clarify the reporting responsibilities for those participating in the STEM OPT program. USCIS states:
Students and employers must report material changes to the Designated School Official (DSO) at the earliest opportunity by submitting a modified Form I-983. Employers must report the STEM OPT student’s termination of employment or departure to the DSO within five business days. As previously indicated on the webpage, students must report certain changes, such as changes to their employer’s name and address, to their DSO within 10 business days.
The reporting obligation is especially important since those failing to do so could possibly accrue unlawful presence, according to updated guidance by USCIS.
Noting that prompt reporting ensures that DHS is able to effectively oversee the program, DHS also clarifies that STEM OPT participants may engage in training that takes place at a location other than the employer’s principal place of business but only if all training obligations are met, including that the “employer has and maintains a bona fide employer-employee relationship with the student.” DHS notes that they will perform a case-by-case review confirming whether the student will be a “bona fide employee” of the employer that signs the training plan, and also confirm that the employer signing the training plan is the same entity employing the student and providing the practical training experience.
The London Mastaba
The London Mastaba on Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park.
The London Mastaba, the first major outdoor public work by the artist Christo in the UK, consists of 7,506 horizontally stacked, painted barrels on an anchored floating platform. The sculpture’s total weight is 600 metric tons, but it only takes up approximately 1% of the lake's total surface area. “It’s a dream come true,” Christo says in ArtNews about the piece. The London Mastaba, which took two years to produce, is entirely funded through the sale of Christo’s original art works. For those who can't make it to Hyde Park, The London Mastaba can also be experienced in virtual reality via the Acute Art app for free. Users of the app can look down on the sculpture from a bird’s eye view and see it at different times, including sunrise and sunset. For those who can make it in person, the sculpture is on view to September 23, 2018. Go see it while you can. It's magnificent.
NPR: “Deported Parents Describe Agonizing Wait To Be Reunited With Their Children”
More than three weeks after the court-mandated deadline for all migrant children to be reunited with their families, over 500 children are still separated and in federal custody. More than 360 of these children have parents who have already been removed (deported, as it’s commonly called) from the US. Trump administration officials initially argued that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups should be responsible for locating these parents; however, US District Judge Dana Sabraw from California ordered the government to take responsibility.
Read moreSaving Their Children
Narcissus Garden in Rockaway
MoMA PS1 presents Yayoi Kusama’s site-specific installation of Narcissus Garden as part of Rockaway!, a free public art festival in Fort Tilden in Rockaway, Queens. Consisting of 1,500 mirrored stainless steel spheres, Narcissus Garden is on display in a former train garage that dates back to when Fort Tilden was an active US military base. The mirrored metal surfaces reflect the viewers (do you see Joseph?) as well as the industrial and decaying surroundings of the abandoned building. First unofficially presented in 1966 at the 33rd Venice Biennale, Narcissus Garden was installed on the lawn in front of the Italian Pavilion where Kusama stood among the mirrored balls. She tossed the spheres in the air and offered to sell them to visitors for 1,200 lire (approximately $2) in an act of self-promotion as well as a critique of overly commercial contemporary art. This exhibition is free and open to the public Friday through Sunday, 12pm to 6pm, through Labor Day, September 3.
National Foundation for American Policy: “H-1B Denials and Requests for Evidence Increase Under the Trump Administration”
H-1B denials and Requests for Evidence (RFEs) increased dramatically in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017 soon after President Trump took office, according to a report by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) that used data from US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). The report by NFAP, a non-profit and non-partisan public policy research organization, includes data showing that H-1B petition denials increased by forty-one percent from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of the 2017 fiscal year. Additionally, RFEs issued in the first three quarters of the 2017 fiscal year came to 63,599 combined, almost equaling the total number of RFEs—63,184—issued in the fourth quarter of the 2017 fiscal year.
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