An asylum seeker is a person who has fled their own country and applies to the government of another country for protection as a refugee. According to the United Nations Convention and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (the Refugee Convention), a refugee is a person who is outside…
Illegal immigrants can now apply for state-financed scholarships and aid at state universities after Gov. Jerry Brown announced last Saturday that he had signed the second half of a legislative package focused on such students. The bill is the second half of the California Dream Act. Mr. Brown signed the…
Since he arrived in this country two decades ago, Chef Jose Andres has been a tireless advocate for Spanish cuisine. His D.C.-based restaurants helped popularize tapas, the small plates that typify Spanish food. He is also a model and inspiration to many aspiring Chef immigrants looking to move to the…
In the past several months we have received numerous lengthy Requests for Evidence regarding L1B visa cases. We are not alone, many lawyers across the country report similar requests in L1B cases. The L1B visa is designed for individuals from foreign countries who plan to come to the United States…
I-9 Audits is always a hot topic. Chief of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), John Morton, recently announced that the agency is going to increase the number of companies it will audit for I-9 violations and regularly impose fines on violators. I-9 violations can be devastating. Fines for I-9…
When you are traveling to the United States for the first time you are likely to have questions and concerns about what happens when you arrive at the Port-of-Entry? A foreign national traveling to the United States will arrive initially at a U.S. “Port-of-Entry” (POE). The POE can be an…
Alabama has prevailed where four other states which enacted anti-immigrant state laws, including Arizona, did not. Today Alabama law enforcement officers will have the right to question and detain anyone they suspect may be an undocumented immigrant, Gov. Robert Bentley said, after a federal judge upheld key provisions of the…
Attorney Ekaterina Powell spearheaded this remarkable victory. Camille is a citizen of the Philippines. She came to the U.S. in August 2007 on a J-1 visa to train in the hospitality operations of a restaurant. The restaurant subsequently hired Camille to work for them under H-1B visa in the position…
Two bills in Congress would gut the H-2A visa program, replacing it with one more open to abuses. Few would dispute that the existing system is broken. Its failure can be seen most clearly on farms: An estimated 70% of all agricultural workers in the U.S. are here illegally. However,…
So what is a U visa? The U visa is designed for noncitizen crime victims who (1) have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse from criminal activity; (2) have information regarding the criminal activity; (3) assist government officials in the investigation or prosecution of such criminal activity; and (4) the…