Sep 14, 2017
SEE UPDATED POST (October 18, 2017) Background In fiscal year 2019, the annual Diversity Visa (DV) Program (Commonly known as “Green Card Lottery” or “DV Lottery Program”) will make available 50,000 immigrant visas (permanent resident visas) to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The permanent residence visas (also known as “green cards”) are made available to persons who meet the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. The DV visas are distributed among
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Sep 7, 2017
On September 5, 2017, President Trump’s Administration announced rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program implemented in 2012 by President Obama. Through the DACA program, certain young people who entered the United States before the age of 16 were granted temporary reprieve from deportation (known as deferred action) as well as work authorization and the possibility of advance parole (which if granted allows them to return to the United States after traveling abroad). Since 2012, almost 800,000
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Sep 6, 2017
On August 28, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it will expand in-person interviews of foreign nationals applying for permanent residency in the United States. Currently, individuals seeking green cards through their relationships with family members by filing an I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, and an I-485, Application to Adjust Status, are required to attend in-person interviews at local USCIS offices. Applicants seeking employment-based green cards through the filing of an I-140, Immigrant Petition
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Aug 11, 2017
On August 11, Melanie Gurley Keeney was the featured guest speaker at the Naturalization Ceremony honoring and welcoming U.S. new citizens. There ceremony was held in the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse with U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White presiding. Melanie Gurley Keeney, a founding Shareholder of Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt, P.C., practices in the areas of Employment, Immigration, and Education law. Melanie represents institutions of higher education, corporations and individuals in immigration law matters, including
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Jun 27, 2017
On June 26, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court partially reinstated President Trump’s 90-day travel ban for citizens and nationals of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Specifically, the Supreme Court reinstated the travel ban for foreign nationals of the designated countries who “lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.” The Government is, however, still enjoined from enforcing its travel ban against foreign nationals who have “a credible claim of a
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Jun 15, 2017
The U.S. State Department recently issued guidance to its diplomatic and consular posts abroad relating to implementation of Executive Order 13780, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” This guidance directs U.S. embassies and consulates to begin implementing heightened screening for certain visa applicants. Each post is directed to develop a list of criteria to identify sets of applicant populations that warrant increased scrutiny. Because the Department’s directives call for individualized review
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Mar 13, 2017
Tueth Keeney attorneys Melanie Gurley Keeney and Mollie E. Hennessee, joined by attorneys from other member firms of the Employment Law Alliance (“ELA”), recently participated in preparing and filing amicus briefs in federal cases pending before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court of Hawaii, challenging the Executive Orders issued by President Trump on January 27, 2017 and March 6, 2017. Tueth Keeney and other ELA-member law firms weighed in on the negative effect that these
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Mar 8, 2017
On Monday, March 6, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order replacing the previously”‘issued Executive Order that banned the entry of citizens and nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program indefinitely for Syrians and for a period of 120 days for everyone else, and directed various other changes or reviews of the nation’s immigration system. The new Executive Order contains similar provisions, but includes some clarifications and exclusions not contained in
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Feb 1, 2017
On Friday, January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order, titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.”
90-Day Travel Ban for Nationals of Certain Countries
Most notably, the Executive Order imposes a 90-day suspension on entry into the United States for all citizens and nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The plain language of the travel ban encompasses nonimmigrants and immigrants alike, meaning even green card holders and
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Jan 26, 2017
REMINDER: Required Use of New Form I-9 Began January 22, 2017
The Trump administration has emphasized the need for compliance in the immigration arena. Employers should focus energy on I-9 compliance to meet the obligations set forth in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (“IRCA”) to address the likelihood of increased worksite enforcement. Employers were required to begin using the new version of the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form on January 22, 2017. This
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Melanie Gurley Keeney