We'll sue EU commission over US visa policy, say MEPs

The European Commission may end up in court unless it threatens to impose visa restrictions on US citizens.

MEPs in the civil liberties committee demanded on Wednesday (12 October) that the commission makes the threat because citizens of five EU states - Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania - still need a visa to enter the US.

"The European Parliament would have a case to take you to court," Dutch liberal Sophie In't Veld told EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos.

Swedish liberal Cecilia Wikstroem made similar comments.

"This is a flagrant failure to act and it has to have consequences. This institution [EU parliament] has to act against the European Commission in full compliance with the treaties," she said. Read more: https://euobserver.com/justice/135471

For more information, please, contact Las Vegas Immigration Attorney Darren Heyman

Once a newcomer, she now helps others apply for US citizenship

This essay is part of an occasional series provided by our partner organization Encore.org, which is building a movement to tap the skills and experience of those in midlife and beyond to improve communities and the world. Read more stories and share yours at Encore.org/story.

It was the 1970s and I had been plunked down in a place called Norman, Okla.

It was a challenge for a 21-year-old immigrant from Taiwan with little English, but I was excited. I had a scholarship to study biochemistry at the University of Oklahoma graduate school. Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2016/1005/Once-a-newcomer-she-now-helps-others-apply-for-US-citizenship

For more information, please, contact Las Vegas Immigration Attorney Darren Heyman

U.S. Immigration Judges Look Within to Minimize Bias

SAN FRANCISCO — One of the immigrants appearing before Judge Dana Marks in a crowded court here was a boatworker from the former Soviet Union who stared in silence as a prosecutor asked about his criminal history. Another was a mother who started praying after testifying that she had fled Honduras because her husband beat her. She sought divine rather than judicial intervention.

In all, 336 people from 13 countries and even more ethnic backgrounds appeared in San Francisco’s immigration court recently over three days. All of them were facing possible deportation, because they either were in the United States illegally or had committed crimes serious enough to jeopardize their legal presence as noncitizens. One challenge facing Judge Marks was deciding whether to deport some of them immediately after they had testified. Another challenge was her own biases. Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/us/us-immigration-judges-bias.html?_r=0

For more information, please, contact Las Vegas Immigration Attorney Darren Heyman

Why Congress Will Extend The EB-5 Immigrant Visa Program

Congress will decide on Tuesday whether to make changes to an immigrant visa V +0.19% program that’s been bringing in thousands of foreign nationals since it was revamped in 2011. And while there has been ample focus on the number of companies set up to lure wealthy foreigners into projects that sometimes go bust, it seems to be the exception to the rule. The EB-5 immigration visa may be the best immigration program the U.S. has to offer.

Foreign investors — most of them from China — are putting up a minimum of $500,000 to renew and rebuild rundown urban areas and create jobs. It’s a legal way in for the kind of immigrant, a fortunate one, that tends to contribute to the neighborhood by bringing in money and jobs. In return, the investor, their spouses and their children under the age of 21 all get a green card. Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2016/09/27/why-congress-will-extend-the-eb-5-immigrant-visa-program/#506552b66344

For more information, please, contact Las Vegas Immigration Attorney Darren Heyman

From May 10, 2016, STEM F-1 visa students can work for 3 years under OPT

NEW YORK: F-1 visa students who are enrolled in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields of study from accredited educational institutions in the United States will be allowed, beginning from May 10, 2016, to work for as long as three years under the Optional Practical Training (OPT).
The Department of Homeland Security released its final rule in this matter, which will be published in the Federal Register Friday, March 11. The rule goes into effect on May 10, 2016, which means that all students who are either under OPT till that date, or who qualify for OPT by then, will be able to work further, for a period totaling 36 months. Read more: https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2016/03/10/may-10-2016-stem-f-1-visa-students-can-work-3-years-opt-45656/
For more information, please, contact Las Vegas Immigration Attorney Darren Heyman

Missing Fingerprints Lead to Over 800 Wrongful U.S. Citizenship Approvals: DHS Report

At least 858 people from countries that are of concern to the United States' national security were able to avoid deportation orders — and actually received citizenship — due to incomplete digital fingerprint records, according to a report released Monday.

The report from the the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General determined that records were missing from a DHS digital repository because paper-based fingerprint cards used prior to 2008 were not consistently digitized.

An FBI repository is also missing records, the report found, because immigrationofficials had not always forwarded fingerprints to the FBI in the past. Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/missing-fingerprints-lead-over-800-wrongful-u-s-citizenship-approvals-n650951

For more information, please, contact Las Vegas Immigration Attorney Darren Heyman

How immigration helps the US economy: Report

Contrary to popular belief, immigration has benefited the US economy and had little effect on the overall wage gap and job market, according to a report by the The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

The report updates a 1997 document that detailed the fiscal effects of the 40 million immigrants on the US economy and labor market. The updatecomes at a time when immigration has come to the forefront of political thought and has become a decisive issue in the presidential election.

When looking at the big picture, the researchers found "little evidence that immigration significantly affects the overall employment levels of native-born workers." Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2016/0924/How-immigration-helps-the-US-economy-Report

For more information, please, contact Las Vegas Immigration Attorney Darren Heyman