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This author Ali has created 157 entries.

Obama-era DACA Program Reinstated by New York Federal Court Order in Vidal v. Wolf

DACA Program Reinstated by New York Federal Court Order
Dec29

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri In what counts as a severe blow to the Trump administration’s revamped immigration system in its final month, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued an order to reinstate the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program DACA to its pre-Trump administration status.[1]   Before President Trump tried to end it in September of 2017, DACA served to permit young immigrants without legal status but had been brought over as children, to live and work legally in the U.S.[2]   This was

December 29, 2020
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District Court for the Northern District of California Strikes Down H-1B Regulations for Violating APA

Strikes Down H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program
Dec11

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri As noted before on this blog site, on October 8, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security issued an interim final rule that was meant to revamp the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa program.[1] Called Strengthening the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program, this interim final rule changed the definition requirements for “specialty occupations,” among other aspects, in order to make applications for the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa more challenging.[2]   The overall purpose behind the changes was to decrease reliance on the H-1B program and encourage employers to look more

December 11, 2020
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Department of Justice Prepones Deadlines for Filing Stays on Deportation, Potentially Disrupting Attempts of Migrant Children to Stay Legally in the Country

Deadlines Disrupting Migrant Children to Stay Legally
Dec09

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri In what came as a shock to immigration attorneys and clients applying to stay in the US and halt deportation proceedings, the Department of Justice imposed new deadlines for migrant children that critics say have left attorneys and clients in a mess.[1] Last week on November 24, 2020, the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees US immigration courts, set up new deadlines by which migrants in certain cases must file an application with the immigration court to stay in the United States

December 9, 2020
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Trump Administration’s Public Charge Rule denying green cards to immigrants that need food stamps or other public benefits.

Trump Administration's Makes changes to Public Charge Rule
Dec03

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri Over the past year, immigration activists have steadfastly opposed the Trump Administration’s changes to the Public Charge Rule, which denied green card applicants who would likely use various types of public assistance, such as Medicaid, food stamps, and housing vouchers.[1] Legal challenges have been especially persistent, with the first wave of lawsuits leading to a hold placed on the policy by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which was in turn reversed by the Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote in January 2020.[2]     Concern was

December 3, 2020
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DHS Proposes End Work Authorization for Aliens with Final Removal

DHS Proposes to Cancel Work Authorization For Aliens
Dec01

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri On November 17, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a rule to cancel work authorization for non-resident aliens, subject to final removal awaiting deportation.[2] This cancellation of work authorization would specifically apply to those aliens subject to final removal awaiting deportation that has been released from DHS custody but still lack the requisite travel documents needed to deport them from the U.S.[3]    As part of its efforts to further entrench his immigration policy during the home stretch of his Presidency, the Trump Administration

December 1, 2020
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USCIS Adds a List of Factors That May Be Relevant in Considering Adjusting an Applicant’s Status

Status Application Adjustments Guidelines Updated by USCIS
Nov26

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri On November 17, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated their guidelines in their Policy Manual regarding what type of discretion the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should use in adjudicating status application adjustments.[1] Typically, in order to get approval for adjustment of his/her/their immigration status, the applicant must show their eligibility and prove that an exercise of discretion in favor of his/her/their application is warranted.[2]   Whether discretion is positive or negative depends on how the USCIS balances and weighs the

November 26, 2020
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California Voters Approve Ridesharing Drivers from Labor Protections

California voters approve Uber-Lyft-sponsored proposition 22
Nov24

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri In an earlier post, we talked about how the First District Court of Appeal in California ruled that Uber and Lyft drivers were employees and were entitled to full protections under California’s Assembly Bill 5 law (AB5) such as paid sick leave, overtime, and fair wages.[1] Around the same time, however, Uber and Lyft were sponsoring a state ballot-initiative for Election Day known as Proposition 22 that would have exempted their drivers from the protections of AB5 and identified them as “independent contractors” rather than “employees.”

November 24, 2020
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State Appellate Court Classifies Uber and Lyft Drivers as Employees

Uber-Lyft Drivers either Employee or Independent Contractor
Nov11

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri The rise of the gig economy has to new forms of work that face tremendous obstacles when it comes up against worker legislation like the NLRA. No job has become more symbolic of the gig economy than the rideshare services known as Uber and Lyft. There has long been a debate about whether Uber and Lyft drivers were either employees or independent contractors. Being the latter would exempt Uber and Lyft from giving their drives their necessary protections and benefits under the National Labor Relations Act and other

November 11, 2020
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The Department of Labor’s New H-1B Wage Hike Rule Faces Overwhelming Legal and Empirical Challenges

H-1B Wage Hike implemented by Trump Administration
Oct30

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri The Trump administration caused an uproar among employers when it implemented its Interim Final Rule on October 8th, 2020 substantially increasing the amount in wages to be paid to employees who held H-1B visas in an attempt to pressure employers to drop them in favor of a domestic American workforce.[1]   In addition to boosting wages to pressure employers to look domestically for employees, it also changed the requirements for an H-1B visa by looking not simply for a college degree but specifically for degrees in “specialty occupations”

October 30, 2020
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SEC vs CFTC: two different reporting systems that require the reporting of similar data.

SEC and CFTC Record Similar Data with Two Different Systems
Oct28

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri Over the past several years, experts have called for the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to harmonize their regulatory standards in order to minimize duplicative or contradictory regulatory reporting requirements.[1] Not doing so has led to market participants creating “two different reporting systems and/or processes – one for the CFTC and one for the SEC” despite both require the reporting of similar data.[2] The obstacles posed to cross-jurisdictional transparency in following the regulatory rules and the

October 28, 2020
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