Belliveau v. Barco, Inc.

Belliveau v. Barco Inc.

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri On January 28, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals re-interpreted the parameters of fiduciary duty and the breach thereof in relation to third party sublicensing and clarified what was necessary for a fiduciary duty to exist.[1] In the case of Belliveau v. Barco, Inc., the Fifth Circuit ruled that the defendant in this case did not owe a fiduciary duty to the plaintiff as there was no formal fiduciary relationship between Plaintiff and the Defendant’s in-house counsel despite Plaintiff’s claims of in-house counsel allegedly agreeing to act at his discretion on matters

The USCIS Rescinds Stringent Professional and Educational Requirements for H-1B Petition Adjudications in Response to Ninth Circuit Challenge

USCIS Rescinds Stringent Requirements for H-1B Petition

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri On February 3, 2021, in what is sure to be welcome news for H-1B applicants, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services rescinded the 2017 Policy Memorandum PM–602-0142 that it previously issued under the Trump administration.[1] Under the 2017 Policy Memorandum, the USCIS discarded the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) classification of occupations covered by the H-1B program, specifically rejecting the DOL’s requirement that positions within that particular classification of H-1B occupations required only bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field for entry.[2]   The USCIS also disagreed with

USCIS H-1B Lottery Process Will Remain Unchanged for the Following Year

USCIS H-1B Lottery Process Will Remain Unchanged this Year

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri In what is sure to be welcome news for H-1B visa applicants, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ) announced that the H-1B electronic registration and lottery process for this year would be identical to that of last year, as opposed to the Trump administration’s proposal to make the lottery of H-1B visas dependent on wage levels for H-1B positions.[1] Under the Modification of Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions rule (Modification Rule), H-1B application cases would have been prioritized according to the wage level

How Confronting The Past Can Change Our Future

How Confronting The Past Can Change Our Future by Taher Kameli

Written by Taher Kameli On Wednesday, January 20, 2021,  the U. S. witness the change when former Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. It was the culmination of a vicious presidential campaign that effectively served as a referendum on the performance of Donald Trump.[1] A campaign that saw Trump’s most fervent supporters come out in record numbers to keep him in the White House, as well as new voters too.[2]   After, a volatile election the result was not even known for almost a

Evolve Federal Credit Union v. Barragan-Flores

Loan Cross-Collateralization FCU v. Barragan-Flores

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri The practice of cross-collateralization involves using an asset as collateral for another loan in addition to an earlier loan.[1] In the event that a debtor cannot make repayments on either loan on time, lenders can force the liquidation of the asset and use the proceeds to repay the debt on the loan.[2] This practice is used in “various forms of financing, from mortgages to credit cards.”[3] Should the debtor be unable to make timely payments on either of the loans, the debtor can establish a bankruptcy plan

Trump administration intends to end use of in-person interpreters at certain immigration hearings

Trump Administration Intends to End In-Person Interpreters

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri  At one time, the famous words associated with the Statue of Liberty – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” – truly exemplified the attitude of the US government toward immigration.  However, under the Trump administration, these words would appear to describe the immigration policies of another country, as the Trump administration takes action on a regular basis to restrict the rights of immigrants. This point was evidenced again by the news that the Trump

3 Federal Courts Issue Injunctions Against Trump Administration’s final “Public Charge” Rule

Federal Courts Issue Injunctions Against “Public Charge”

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. U.S. immigration policy since Donald Trump became President in January 2017 has generally followed a consistent path – the Trump administration will issue a controversial anti-immigration policy, litigation will be filed against the policy, and no one knows for certain if the policy will take effect until the litigation is resolved.  Such is the case concerning the Trump administration’s final “public charge” rule, announced in August and due to take effect on October 15. However, on October 11, 3 Federal courts issued injunctions against the Trump administration’s final “public charge” rule.

Federal Court in Texas Issues Ruling Against President Trump’s Funding of Border Wall

Texas Issues Ruling Against Trump’s Funding of Border Wall

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. When the Federal judiciary has blocked anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration, it has most commonly been Federal judges in California (U.S. District Courts in California, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California) that have issued these rulings.  As California is viewed as a “liberal-leaning, Blue state”, such results are not surprising. However, even Federal judges from “conservative-leaning, Red states”, such as Texas, can issue decisions that are adverse to the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration. As one example of such a decision, a Federal

Trump Administration is Considering Significant Increase in Fees to Appeal Immigration Cases

Trump is Increasing Fees to Appeal Immigration Cases

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. It would not be a surprise to see that the Trump administration has simply decided to ban all immigration to the United States.  While such is not yet actually the case, it seems that, with its continuing policies that are adverse to immigrant rights, the Trump administration is moving in that direction.  As another potential example of the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration, the Trump administration is considering a significant increase in the fees to appeal immigration cases. As reported by buzzfeednews.com on September 17, the Trump administration (from

Supreme Court Allows President Trump to Access Certain Department of Defense Funds to Build Border Wall

Supreme Court Allows Trump to Access Funds to Build Wall

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. While the Federal judiciary often has been viewed as the best hope to protect immigrant rights against the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration, concern has been expressed about whether the Supreme Court can in fact serve in this role.  The argument is that the recent appointments of Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court by President Trump will give the Supreme Court a conservative bent that will cause it to support the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration.  As one decision that appears to support this

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