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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Trump’s New Final Rule for the H-1B Visa and How It Helps Stifle Work-Based Immigration

Immigration Work-Based visa H-1b Changes Employment
Oct16

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri A recurring talking point from the Trump Administration has been that “illegal immigration” allegedly steal jobs from American workers.[1] He has consistently tried to link illegal immigration (however tenuously) to detrimental changes in the U.S. by pointing to the performance of the U.S. economy and the job market.[2] In the early days of his campaign, he was very clear that, in his view as well as that of his supporters, immigrants were “taking our jobs…our manufacturing jobs…[and] our money.”[3]   Since taking office in 2017,

October 16, 2020
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EB-5 To The Rescue

EB-5 TO THE RESCUE by Taher Kameli
Oct09

Written by Taher Kameli America needs help, here comes EB5? The “EB-5 Program” refers to employment-based immigration under section 203(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (codified as 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)).  The EB-5 Program has been in existence since the 1980’s, and until recently, long-term stakeholders in the community thought that they had seen it all. But with the pandemic continuing to impact every sector of the U.S. and global economy, industry experts are now required to speculate as to how the EB-5 Program will be impacted.   Based on this introduction, one would expect the next couple paragraphs to

October 9, 2020
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Immigrant Surveillance – The DHS’ Proposal to Expand Biometric Collection to Limit Immigration

Limit Immigration DHS Propose to Expand Biometric Collection
Oct05

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri Mass surveillance and crackdown on immigration are not new phenomena in the United States and both have metastasized considerably over the last two decades in the wake of the war on terror and the broader debate over immigration to the US. Issues involving National Security Agency (NSA) spying of private telecommunications, use of older social media to place suspicion individuals and disproportionate targeting of certain minority groups have been hot button topics due in part to revelations by whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Glenn Greenwald. Immigration in particular

October 5, 2020
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President Trump’s Executive Order Suspending Immigration for 60 Days

Trump Suspends Immigration for 60 Days
May01

Witten by Bita Lak On April 22, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order temporarily suspending the entry of immigrants whose presence would be detrimental to the interests of the United States for an initial period of 60 days. This suspension may be extended depending on the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.   Due to the high rate of unemployment during the pandemic and ongoing economic uncertainty, President Trump’s reasoning provided in the order is to protect American jobs.  On this basis, the issuance of immigrant visas for certain family-based cases and employment-based cases are suspended as of April 23, 2020. 

May 1, 2020
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Non-Citizen Public Charge Ground for Inadmissibility

Non-Citizen Public Charge Ground for Inadmissibility
Apr28

Written by: Bita Lak The purpose of this article is to overview the grounds for inadmissibility with a focus on public charge. A non-citizen who wishes to come to the United States needs to satisfy the requirements for immigrant or non-immigrant classifications. Satisfying the requirements of these classifications do not guarantee admission to the United States. Some applicants may face grounds for inadmissibility upon arrival and could not be admitted to the United States.  Some non-citizens who already reside in the United States can also be considered inadmissible if they evaded inspection by a U.S. immigration official when they entered

April 28, 2020
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Student visa holders and the effect of COVID-19

Student Visa (F1) Holders and Affect of COVID-19
Apr20

Written by Taher Kameli The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide concern. Many businesses and individual lives have been affected by the spread of this virus. International students under F1 visa and non-immigrant visa workers, such as H-1B visa holders, are not exceptions to this situation. As of April 12, 2020, there were 554,849 total cases of coronavirus and 21,942 total deaths in the United States according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. This pandemic affects current and prospective F1 students. Currently, most universities and colleges

April 20, 2020
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Solutions for H-1B Workers who lost jobs during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Solutions for H-1B Workers Who Lost Jobs during the Pandemic
Apr11

Written by Taher Kameli To control the spreading of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) in the United States, the implementation of travel restrictions and social distancing has resulted in a serious economic downturn: drop in sales, closure of businesses, and loss of jobs. Since the declaration of a national emergency, millions have lost their jobs and incomes.  This includes  many H-1B workers who now are facing an additional layer of uncertainty – their legal status to work and remain in the United States.  This post will briefly explore the difficulty in maintaining proper H-1B status

April 11, 2020
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2 Federal Courts Issue Decisions to Block Use of Pentagon Funds for President Trump’s Border Wall

BLOCK-PENTAGON-FUNDS-FOR-BORDER-WALl by Taher Kameli
Jan10

Written by: Taher Kameli While President Trump has announced many anti-immigration policies as President, probably his most well-known anti-immigration policy is to construct a wall at the United States southern border.  Yet, despite President Trump’s frequent calls for a border wall, various Federal courts have opposed certain actions by the Trump administration designed to help build the border wall. As further evidence of the statement in the preceding sentence, 2 Federal courts have recently issued decisions to block the use of Pentagon funds for President Trump’s border wall. On December 10, in the case of

January 10, 2020
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Ninth Circuit Supports Lifting Injunctions Against Trump Administration’s “Public Charge” Rule

Anti-immigration Policies Enforced by Trump Administration
Jan04

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. In many cases, the only obstacle to the various efforts by the Trump administration to enforce anti-immigration policies has been the Federal judiciary.  However, Federal courts certainly have not ruled in favor of immigrant rights in each case. As an example of a recent Federal court decision in favor of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies, the Ninth Circuit supports lifting injunctions against the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule. Announced in August and due to take effect on October 15, the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule would amend U.S. Department of

January 4, 2020
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