What a strange and unpredictable year this has been! As countries start to open up their borders to international travelers, the most common question we have been getting over the last few months has been, "Can I travel to the US?" Unfortunately the very lawyerly answer is: "It depends." It depends what country you are coming from. It depends if you have a visa and in what visa category you intend to travel to the US. It depends on whether you have a Green Card. It depends on whether you have a legal permanent resident or US citizen relative. It may even depend on what exactly you intend to do in the US. Below we will try to unravel some of these issues but in many cases there are no clear answers. One caveat: the information about travel to the US is changing on an almost daily basis, therefore more than ever before, if you intend to travel to the US, it is vitally important you check with an immigration lawyer for specific advice on your individual circumstances.
Read moreCondé Nast Traveler: "New Yorkers Can Enroll in Global Entry Again"
Officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lifted the ban on New York state residents applying for membership in trusted traveler programs including Global Entry after barring applications from state residents for nearly six months. DHS lifted the ban after stating in a federal court filing that its reasoning for the policy was based on false statements. In February, DHS had suspended New Yorkers from the trusted traveler programs after the New York State “Green Light” law was passed that allowed undocumented immigrants the ability to obtain driver’s licenses. DHS officials claimed after the law was passed that if they could not freely access the state’s DMV database, they would not be able to verify an individual’s eligibility for Global Entry, but other states with similar policies were not excluded. Officials also amended the “Green Light” law to allow federal agencies access to the DMV records for applicants to the trusted traveler programs.
New Yorkers’ applications for Global Entry and other trusted traveler memberships including NEXUS, SENTRI, and FAST will now be processed. When the ban was enacted, approximately 175,000 New Yorkers were reportedly removed from the programs and approximately 80,000 conditionally approved or pending applications were rejected. Although New York State residents can now submit applications and renewals to Global Entry, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which runs the trusted traveler programs, has shut down all enrollment centers until at least August 10. “The Trump Administration backing down and restoring Global Entry and other Trusted Traveler Programs to New Yorkers is a victory for travelers, workers, commerce, and our state’s economy,” Letitia James, NYS Attorney General, who sued the Trump administration over the ban, said in a statement. “We will continue to defend New York’s right to pass its own laws and will fight to protect our state’s residents anytime they are bullied by the president because safety and fairness are not mutually exclusive under the law.”
After Migration: Calabria
“After Migration: Calabria” documents the experiences of a young man who left his home in The Gambia at the age of fifteen as well as a Nigerian single-mother who gave birth to her child in a refugee camp as they integrate into Calabria in southern Italy. “Too often, stories about irregular migration are centered on trauma, and depict seekers of asylum as hapless victims in need of rescuing,” the film’s description states. “This film subverts this commonly accepted narrative by illuminating the regality of those whom we commonly disregard as outsiders.” Directed by Walé Oyéjidé and Jake Saner, the film celebrates “the lives of refugees in ways that dispel tropes” and show them as “nuanced contributors to their new societies, while journeying in search of safe places to call home.”
AILA: Extensive Delays for Printing of EAD Cards and Green Cards
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) states that in recent weeks they have received reports from members of delays in the issuance of Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) and Lawful Permanent Resident Cards (i.e., Green Cards) for some employment-based, family-based, and asylum-based immigration applications. Columnist Catherine Rampell in The Washington Post also confirmed the delays noting that US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has shut down printing EADs and Green Cards at one facility in Corbin, Kentucky, weeks ago, as well as scaled back printing at a second facility in Lee's Summit, Missouri, all of which have led to these massive delays.
Read moreChalk That Talk
Amid the continuing protests against police brutality and systemic racism, the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) presents a mural series titled “Chalk That Talk” that is an “artistic response to the injustices our community has faced through history.” Their statement: “We are students and creatives alike that are unwilling to abide by a $ystem that was designed to work again$t us.”
US Embassies/Consulates To Begin Phased Resumption of Routine Visa Services
After suspending routine visa services at US Embassies/Consulates worldwide in March due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the US Department of State (DOS) announced this week that US Embassies and Consulates abroad will begin the phased resumption of routine visa services with some posts reopening for limited routine visa services as of July 15, 2020. The resumption of routine visa services will occur on a post-by-post basis, the DOS said, and each post will coordinate with the “Department’s Diplomacy Strong framework for safely returning our workforce to Department facilities.”
Read moreTrump Administration Allows International Students to Attend Online Only Programs in Fall 2020
The Trump administration is now allowing international students to enter the US to attend colleges and universities even if all their courses for the fall 2020 semester are online. The administration rescinded a temporary rule that would have required international students to transfer or leave the country if their college or university held classes entirely online because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The rescission of the temporary rule comes after Harvard, MIT, and other colleges and universities filed suit, and university leaders, students, and educational advocates criticized the temporary rule noting that it would have jeopardized the health of students, teachers, and university staff and led to a potential dramatic loss of revenue for many educational institutions and the towns where they are located.
Read moreUSCIS Texas Service Center (TSC) Moved to a New Address On June 26
The US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) Texas Service Center (TSC) moved to a new address on June 26, 2020. USCIS states that the new facility will "help streamline processes by consolidating operations in the new location" and that the TSC "will continue to provide prompt and efficient service in processing requests for immigration benefits." Although the move was scheduled for June 26, USCIS could not accept mail at the new address until Monday, June 29. The updated address for the service center is:
Texas Service Center
6046 N Belt Line Rd.
Irving, TX 75038-0001
Those filing cases with the TSC should consult the filing address pages on USCIS.gov to find the specific address information, including suite numbers, that applicants should include when they are submitting. USCIS also adds a reminder that service centers do not provide in-person services, conduct interviews, or receive walk-in applications or petitions or questions.
PRESIDENT TRUMP ISSUES PROCLAMATION SUSPENDING CERTAIN WORK VISAS INCLUDING H-1B’S FOR THOSE OUTSIDE THE US (UPDATED JULY 2, 2020)
President Trump today issued a proclamation temporarily suspending certain employment-based work visas for those outside the United States through December 31, 2020. This order, which does not affect foreign national workers already in the US in any category, could effectively bar hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals from coming to work in the US. President Trump claims his actions are necessary to protect US jobs amid the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Read moreJuneteenth 2020
Today our office is closed in observance of the Juneteenth Holiday, which over the last thirty years has gained "prominence as an African American celebration of freedom and heritage," writes journalist Afi-Odelia Scruggs. (Scruggs also dispels five myths about Juneteenth). Originally celebrated as the anniversary of when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued orders to free enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865 (almost two years after the Emancipation Proclamation), the holiday is receiving additional attention this year amid protests against police brutality and racial violence.
This morning we visited the #BlackLivesMatter mural on Fulton Street between Marcy and Tompkins Avenues in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Artists and local residents will add to the mural names of those killed due to racial violence in the US. “We would hope that this would be a plaza where we can come and gather, and really have conversations about the future,” Councilman Robert Cornegy Jr. tells CBS New York. “And really just a focal point for the change that we seek.”
Many are calling for Juneteenth to be a federal holiday. “Recognizing Juneteenth as a national holiday would be a small gesture compared with the greater social needs of black people in America,” musician and entrepreneur Usher writes. “But it can remind us of our journey toward freedom, and the work America still has to do.” He adds: “As we celebrate today, let’s stay open to possibility. Let’s support black-owned businesses today and every day. Let’s uplift our resilient history. Let’s honor our people. Happy Juneteenth, America.”