Headlines:

1. ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP THROUGH FAMILY RELATIONSHIP: AN OVERVIEW – This article provides an update on acquisition of citizenship through family relationship in several countries.

2. FRANCE – A new law to control immigration entered into force on January 26, 2024. France also announced procedures related to the Olympic Games in Paris and other cities this summer, and France is on notice for failure to transpose a European Union directive relating to the European Blue Card.

3. UNITED KINGDOM – There are changes to travel to the European Union for British citizens starting this October, and the Migration Advisory Committee has reported that the Graduate visa route should stay.

4. SWITZERLAND – There have been developments toward easier access to the Swiss labor market for certain professions.

New Publications and Items of Interest – New Publications and Items of Interest

ABIL Member / Firm News – ABIL Member / Firm News

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ABIL Global Immigration Update – June 2024

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1. ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP THROUGH FAMILY RELATIONSHIP: AN OVERVIEW

This article provides an update on acquisition of citizenship through family relationship in several countries.

Canada

In Canada, citizenship may be conferred on an individual by birth—i.e., by being born in Canada (see Section 3(1) of the Canadian Citizenship Act). An individual may also be eligible for a grant of Canadian citizenship through naturalization following an adoption. In addition, an individual may have Canadian citizenship by descent; the Citizenship Act recognizes the possibility for certain individuals to pass Canadian citizenship to their children, if those individuals meet certain requirements set out in the Citizenship Act (see Section 3(1) of the Canadian Citizenship Act).

In 2009, following an amendment to the Citizenship Act (see Bill C-37, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act for more information), it was made impossible for Canadian citizens born abroad, whose children were also born abroad, to pass on Canadian citizenship to their children born abroad under Section 3(3)(a) of the Canadian Citizenship Act, also known as the “second-generation cut-off rule.”

The constitutionality of the second-generation cut-off rule was challenged in a case presented at the Ontario Superior Court, and on December 19, 2023, the Ontario Superior Court decision was released (see Bjorkquist et al. v. Attorney General of Canada, 2023 ONSC 7152). In the decision, Justice Jasmine T. Akbarali found that Section 3(3)(a) of the Citizenship Act was unconstitutional as it contravened Section 15 “equality rights” and Section 6 “right to mobility” under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (see Sections 6 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms), and gave the government of Canada six months to amend the provisions in the Citizenship Act affecting born-abroad Canadian citizens and their children born abroad.

On January 22, 2024, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, issued a statement declaring that the government of Canada would not appeal the decision rendered in the Bjorquist case.

In May 2024, the Government of Canada announced Bill C-71, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2024) which, if passed, could lead to important changes in the laws regulating whether or not a Canadian parent born abroad would be able to pass on Canadian citizenship to their children or descendants born abroad and, if so, under what conditions. More information is to follow.

Italy

Italian citizenship is based on the principle of jus sanguinis [right by blood]. This means that a child who is born to an Italian father or mother is also an Italian citizen, no matter where the child was born. People with an Italian ancestor may be eligible for citizenship depending on a number of factors, such as the date and place of birth of their parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents.

An individual can apply for Italian citizenship with no limit to the number of generations. However, since until 1861 there was no Italian State, it is not possible to talk of Italian citizenship before that year. Thus, with some exceptions, the oldest Italian ancestor from whom Italian citizenship can be derived must have been a person who acquired Italian citizenship in or after 1861.

Demonstrating that one is Italian via ancestry (i.e., having an Italian mother or father) is not necessarily sufficient to obtain citizenship. For example, until 1992 Italian law did not allow dual citizenship. Accordingly, citizenship was automatically lost if someone became a naturalized citizen of another country.

Also, under the 1912 Citizenship Law, only men were able to transfer their Italian lineage to children, while women could hold but not pass on citizenship to their descendants. In 2009, the Italian Supreme Court established, however, that it is unconstitutional to discriminate between women and men in citizenship matters. If someone has only female Italian lineage, depending on the circumstances, they may not be able to obtain citizenship at the Italian consulate and may need to file a court action in Italy.

Netherlands

The most common way of acquisition of Dutch nationality is by descent: any child born from at least one Dutch parent is a Dutch national by birth. For adults, there is no direct or immediate acquisition of Dutch nationality through family relationship, but there are some advantages.

Minors

For minors, the country where the birth takes place is not relevant for acquisition of Dutch citizenship; parenthood is decisive (i.e., the rule of jus sanguinis [right of blood] as opposed to jus soli [right of birthplace]). The parents do not need to be married, and a child of an unmarried Dutch mother and unknown father is also Dutch at birth. However, a child born out of wedlock from a Dutch father and a non-Dutch mother is not under all circumstances Dutch. An assessment would be needed to determine whether the child is Dutch and, if not, whether the child nevertheless could obtain Dutch citizenship in a facilitated manner.

If legal parenthood is established or effectuated at a later moment, e.g., by way of acknowledgement or adoption, the child will still be considered as having obtained Dutch citizenship by descent, i.e., by operation of law.

In case of acknowledgement, if this was done by the father after March 1, 2009, and the child had not yet turned 7, the child is automatically a Dutch citizen. Acknowledgement of a child aged 7 or above (but not yet 18) can also lead to acquisition by descent, on condition that the acknowledger prove biological parenthood by means of a DNA test and within 1 year after the acknowledgement. If the acknowledger is unable or unwilling to take a DNA test, the child can become a Dutch citizen through an option request, which is a facilitated way of acquisition, but the child is not Dutch by operation of law. In addition, the acknowledger must have cared for and brought up the child for at least three years without interruption.

In case of adoption, the adoption must meet the requirements of the rules of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) or Book 10 of the Dutch Civil Code. This only works if the legal and other family ties with the original parents have been definitively broken.

Adults

For adults, a family relationship with a Dutch national brings only indirect benefits in terms of nationality. Whereas the general waiting term for naturalization is five years of legal stay in the Netherlands, spouses of Dutch nationals can naturalize after three years of being together with the spouse, and this even applies if they are living outside of the Netherlands (with the exception of the country of the applicant’s nationality). Furthermore, the spouse or registered partner of a Dutch national is exempt from the requirement to renounce their original nationality.

Türkiye

Turkish Citizenship Law through family relations is governed by the Turkish Citizenship Act No. 5901 (Law). It governs requirements for both spouses and children of Turkish citizens.

The spouse of a Turkish citizen has certain benefits when applying for Turkish citizenship. Under Article 16 of the Law, foreigners who have been married to a Turkish citizen for at least three years may apply to acquire Turkish citizenship if they:

• Live in marital union;
• Avoid acts not compatible with marriage unity; and
• Do not pose a threat to national security and public order.

The main benefit of applying as a spouse of a citizen compared to other categories of citizenship is that the applicant does not need to meet certain Turkish residency, physical presence, or continuity requirements.

A child (under 18) born abroad to a Turkish mother or father may acquire Turkish citizenship but must take certain steps to formalize this. The following individuals can acquire citizenship from a parent under articles 6 and 7 of the Law:

• A child born to a married Turkish father or mother, whether born in Türkiye or abroad (article 7 of the Law).
• A child born in Turkey or abroad to unmarried parents under these circumstances:
  • Unmarried Turkish mother and foreign father: child is a citizen at birth.
  • Unmarried Turkish father and foreign mother: child acquires citizenship after a procedure to determine descent.
• A child under 18, adopted by a Turkish citizen, from the date of adoption if he or she does not pose a threat to national security or the public order (article 17 of the Law).

An applicant who is 18 or over, and whose mother and/or father is a Turkish citizen but who was not registered with a civil registry office before he or she turned 18, may be registered as a Turkish citizen if it is decided by the Ministry upon application and examination.

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2. FRANCE

A new law to control immigration entered into force on January 26, 2024. France also announced procedures related to the Olympic Games in Paris and other cities this summer, and France is on notice for failure to transpose a European Union directive relating to the European Blue Card.

The new law’s legislative journey and the media debate around it have been very intense over several months. Important measures like massive regularization of undocumented workers in short-staffed professions have finally been rejected by the Senate.

The legislative process has been lively: after the adoption by the Senate of a text presenting several setbacks for foreigners’ rights, a motion for prior rejection was adopted by the National Assembly. Finally, Deputies from the majority, the right wing, and the far right wing agreed on the final text, including several measures already identified as unconstitutional.

The Constitutional Council, in its decision of January 25, censored 35 articles of the law. The Constitutional Council has deemed the following measures unconstitutional:

• Migration quotas. The law planned the establishment of “quotas” to cap for the next three years the number of foreigners admitted to the country. Because this measure was considered unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council, quotas will not be implemented.
• Family reunification. The conditions for family reunification will remain the same. The extension of the duration of residence in France for more than 24 months has been deemed unconstitutional as well as the other new measures regarding family reunification.

With regard to aspects relating more to private life, the following measures deemed unconstitutional have been excluded:

• Tightening of the conditions to be met by a foreigner married to a French national to be issued with a temporary residence permit bearing the title “private and family life” for a period of one year;
• Tightening of the conditions for issuing a residence permit for reasons of study; and
• Full right issuance of a long-stay visa to British nationals who own a secondary home in France.

Legislative Changes

Measures under this new law that directly impact professional immigration include:

Talent Passport Residence Permits

“Talent Passport” residence permits change their name to “Talent” residence permits, in a simplification effort.

The following three Talent Passport residence permits all merge to a single “Talent—Qualified employee” residence permit: (1) Talent—Passport Qualified employee, (2) Talent Passport employee of an innovative company, and (3) Talent Passport intra-company. This simplification does not modify the initial conditions required for each status, but the minimum salary thresholds could change since the article refers to “a salary threshold set by decree in the Council of State,” which has not yet been published.

The following three Talent Passport residence permits will all merge into a single “Talent—Project Bearer” residence permit: (1) Talent Passport—Business Creation, (2) Talent Passport innovative economic project, and (3) Talent Passport economic investment.

The new law also creates a “Talent—medical and pharmacy professions” residence permit for doctors, midwives, dental surgeons, and pharmacists.

Regularization of Undocumented Workers in Short-Staffed Professions

The law gives prefects discretion to regularize an undocumented worker who has lived in France for at least three years; worked at least 12 months, consecutive or not, over the last 24 months; and has a job in a short-staffed profession in a specific area. This will allow the issuance of a residence permit bearing the title “temporary worker” or “employee” for a period of one year. The worker can apply without the employer’s approval.

Olympic Games 2024

The Olympic Games will take place in Paris and other cities (Marseille, Toulouse, Lille) from July 26 to August 11, 2024. The Paralympic Games will take place from August 28 to September 8, 2024.

Among measures for foreigners is the possibility for foreign students to participate in private security activities. The work time performed in these activities will not be considered in the calculation of the ancillary work time allowed for foreign students, which is 60 percent of the annual work time (i.e., around 964 hours per year).

Also, according to the French Ministry and consulates in the United States, a simplified process has been implemented for travelers for whom an accreditation request is submitted to the Olympic or Paralympic Committee, such as members of the Olympic and Paralympic Committees, athletes, accompanying persons, media, and official guests.

They can appear in any visa center to apply for a visa without an appointment; a time slot is dedicated to them every morning. They only need to provide their passport, proof of accreditation, and photos. Fingerprinting takes place as well. There are no visa fees to be paid and no visa form to be filled out before submission of the application.

Absence of Transposition of EU Blue Card Directive

On January 25, 2024, the European Commission announced adoption of a set of decisions concerning delays in the transposition of European Union (EU) Directives. France is on notice for failure to transpose the directive of October 20, 2021, relating to the European Blue Card.

States had until November 18, 2023, to adapt their internal laws to EU Directives. In France, the law of January 26, 2024 (which includes several articles related to the work of foreigners) did not include any modification of the Foreigners Code (CESEDA) for European Blue Card status.

French authorities had two months to respond and complete the transposition. Failing this, the Commission could issue a reasoned opinion and, in the absence of a response, bring the matter before the EU Court of Justice. As of May 26, 2024, there was no update regarding the transposition of the EU Blue Card Directive into French law, and the Commission had not yet issued its opinion.

The Foreigners Code (CESEDA) includes several provisions relating to the multi-year “talent, European blue card” residence card, but those are not in line with the Directive: the possibility for the foreigner to present an employment contract or a job offer of at least six months (currently 12 months); duration of the residence permit set at a minimum of 24 months (currently one year); and possible mobility to another Member State after 12 months of legal residence in the first Member State (instead of 18).

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3. UNITED KINGDOM

There are changes to travel to the European Union for British citizens starting this October, and the Migration Advisory Committee has reported that the Graduate visa route should stay.

Changes to Travel to the EU for British Citizens Starting This October

The European Union’s (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) is a new digital border system that had been intended to start in 2022. Reports suggest that it will now start on October 6, 2024. The EES official website says the start date is “TBC,” but the media reports that it will start on October 6 subject to member states confirming they are ready.

The EES will apply to British citizens and other non-EU citizens (such as U.S., Canadian, and Australian nationals) who do not require a prior visitor visa to travel to Europe as well as to holders of short-stay visas. It will apply when they travel to the EU (except from Cyprus and Ireland where manual passport border checks will continue), the European Economic Area (EEA) (Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland), and Switzerland. There will be two main implications when the EES starts in October for those affected:

• Photo and fingerprints. A digital photo and fingerprints must be provided at port when a traveler arrives in the EU/EEA/Switzerland for the first time. Travelers need not be alarmed by this but should expect a delay when passing through immigration control. Once the photo and fingerprints have been provided, on future trips the traveler should have a quicker and easier journey because automated “self-service systems” at border control areas will mean manual passport stamping is no longer required; and
• Electronic monitoring. The EES will electronically monitor whether the traveler stays more than 90 days in any 180-day period within the EU/EEA/Switzerland area. Once implemented, travelers in the European area will need to be more wary than ever about overstaying the 90 days. Where the maximum stay is exceeded, this can lead to entry bans for the whole of the EU/EEA/Switzerland. Equally, when making a journey, it is expected that border control officers will have information about the number of permitted days remaining for each traveler, who will only be allowed entry for the remaining days.

The European Travel Information and Authorisation System

The EES is separate from the upcoming European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which is expected to start in mid-2025 (the exact start date is unknown). It will apply to non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who are able to enter the EU visa-free—including British citizens. The ETIAS will mean that affected travelers will need to apply for pre-travel authorization, in much the same way as required by the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization and the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme.

Government’s Independent Advisory Body Reports That Graduate Visa Route Should Stay

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has for many years advised the government on UK immigration policy. On March 11, 2024, the government asked the MAC to review the Graduate visa route, including in terms of “[a]ny evidence of abuse of the route including the route not being fit for purpose.”

The MAC has now released its report and said, “After reviewing the evidence, our conclusion is clear. The Graduate route has broadly achieved, and continues to achieve, the objectives set by this government. We therefore recommend that the route remains in place in its current form.”

This is good news for students and employers. The Graduate route provides a two-year work visa for those who complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree at a United Kingdom university, or a three-year visa if they complete a PhD. It serves as a useful “bridge” for employers to recruit graduates and then consider whether they will sponsor them under the Skilled Worker route.

That said, it remains to be seen whether the government will follow the advice of the MAC or follow through on restricting the route by, for example, limiting the visa to six months and perhaps making it only for graduates in certain subjects, if not deleting it altogether.

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4. SWITZERLAND

There have been developments toward easier access to the Swiss labor market for certain professions.

Efforts to provide easier access to the Swiss labor market for certain professions include the default for non-European Union (EU)/European Free Trade Association (EFTA) nationals: a Swiss labor market test requirement.

By giving priority to the domestic labor market, the aim is to increase local workers’ chances of finding a job and to limit the entry of new foreign workers to meet the requirements of the labor market. With its two-tier structure, the system works in favor of domestic workers and workers from EU/EFTA states who can invoke the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between the EU/EFTA countries and Switzerland and are entitled to admission to the Swiss labor market.

In addition to Swiss nationals, domestic persons include those who are foreign nationals seeking employment who already live in Switzerland and are authorized to take up gainful employment. The admission of third-country nationals is therefore only possible if, in addition to the domestic and local labor force, there are no suitable workers from the EU/EFTA area for the Swiss labor market.

Occupations With a Pronounced Shortage of Skilled Labor

Within the last year, the following possible exemptions from the labor market test requirement have been added for consideration by labor market and migration authorities:

In occupations that are demonstrably affected by a pronounced structural shortage of skilled labor, it can be assumed that the domestic potential has been exhausted. If the demand for skilled labor in a particular occupation exceeds the supply under the given working conditions, a shortage of skilled labor can be assumed. However, skills shortages are not absolute, but they can vary in severity. The focus is on structural imbalances, which—in contrast to cyclical fluctuations between supply and demand for skilled labor—exist over a longer period of time.

These are often skilled workers who are not, or only insufficiently, available in the EU/EFTA area. For applications for residence for employment in occupations that are demonstrably affected by a pronounced shortage of skilled labor, the legally stipulated provision of proof of priority in enforcement can be facilitated.

In such cases, the authorities responsible for the preliminary labor market decision may refrain from demanding concrete search efforts. By plausibly demonstrating in an application that there is a shortage occupation in the specific case, the applicant company can fulfil the obligation to provide evidence. In this case, the competent cantonal authority can make the judgement that the domestic potential has been exhausted and that the priority principle is therefore fulfilled.

Taking into account the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) indicators and empirical values from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), the following occupational fields may fall under the facilitation of enforcement with regard to the obligation to provide evidence:

• Executives (management positions) in research and development; health care; education; information and communication technology; management consultancy; finance and insurance; the mechanical, electrical, and metal industry; and the production of chemical and pharmaceutical products and food products;
• Business administration specialists in management and organizational analysis;
• Engineering professionals (process and production engineers; civil engineers; engineers in electrical engineering, electronics, and telecommunications), natural scientists, mathematicians and engineers and specialists in information and communication technology (IT engineers, system analysts, software developers, application programmers, database and network specialists);
• Certain healthcare professionals: Medical specialists, medical assistants, physiotherapists, qualified nurses (with specialization), other medical specialization, other medical-technical specialists (e.g., medical-technical radiology assistants); and
• University and college teachers.

If the facts of the case are critical, or if the competent cantonal authority sees a reason to do so, it can request suitable special evidence (e.g., advertisement of the vacant position on the public unemployment system site or in the EU/EFTA area or reference to the skilled labor situation in the EU/EFTA area). The reasons for this could include the cantonal labor market situation, regional economic priorities, or macroeconomic interests.

The above is not a blanket exemption from the labor market test requirement but gives authorities discretion to grant work permit approvals without labor market testing for these types of employment. Individual case evaluation thus remains as vital as ever.

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5. New Publications and Items of Interest

Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers:

• ABIL is available on X (formerly Twitter): @ABILImmigration
• Recent ABIL member blogs are at http://www.abilblog.com/

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ABIL Member / Firm News

Several ABIL member firms were named in Canadian Lawyer‘s top 10 immigration boutiques for 2024-25, including Gomberg Dalfen S.E.N.C. and Corporate Immigration Law Firm (CILA). Canada’s best immigration law firms were selected from a pool of 47 nominees, include boutiques of varying sizes. Barbara Jo Caruso, CILA co-president and founding partner, said, “In Canadian Lawyer‘s announcement of who’s who and who is succeeding, there’ll be a common thread that these people haven’t gotten there on their own. Regardless of where you’re practicing immigration law, to succeed, immigration lawyers need a community to bounce ideas off of to keep abreast of all the changes.”

Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP, has published several new blog posts: Considerations for Early-Career Scholars and EB-1B Outstanding Researcher/Professor Petitions, Digital Nomad Visa Programs: An APAC Update, and Visa Reconsideration and Fee Waiver for Applicants Impacted by Presidential Proclamation 9645.

Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP, has published The Immigration Considerations to Attract and Retain Remote Staff Working Abroad. In the article, Klasko attorneys Tim D’Arduini, Jordan Gonzalez, and Sarah Holler outline the numerous considerations employers must consider when putting together a global remote work policy, from visas and work authorization to tax and labor law considerations.

Klasko Immigration Law Partners welcomed Jessica DeNisi as its newest partner. Ms. DeNisi rejoined Klasko Immigration to co-lead the EB-5 Regional Center and Developer Practice from the firm’s Washington, DC, office, contributing significantly to the firm’s continued growth in this area.

Klasko Immigration Law Partners welcomed Brian Green to its esteemed Immigration Litigation Practice Team. Brian joined the firm as Of Counsel and will play a key role in supporting clients through strategic litigation who are facing delays and improper denials. Brian brings over a decade of experience in successfully litigating more than 1,000 immigration cases. His extensive expertise includes navigating complex legal challenges and advocating for clients’ rights in diverse immigration matters. He is admitted to practice before 30 district courts, all circuit courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court. He is currently Vice Chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s National Benefits Litigation Committee and regularly presents on addressing immigration problems through litigation at CLE conferences across the country.

Charles Kuck was interviewed on NewsNation about border issues. He corrected some facts and put the blame for a broken immigration system on Congress.

Mr. Kuck was quoted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in In Atlanta, Long Lines of Migrants Reflect Surge at Border. Commenting on long lines at Atlanta’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, Mr. Kuck said, “I haven’t seen this in 25 years.”

The IMMpact Litigation team (Kuck Baxter, Joseph & Hall, Bless Litigation, and Siskind Susser), along with Motley Rice, reported a major victory. On the eve of class certification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agreed to refund 100 percent of the I-765 filing fees for 100,000+ Ukrainian parolees covered by IMMpact’s Volkova lawsuit. See the press release and web link for Ukrainian clients to request a refund check. For further information or updates on the lawsuit, email Greg Siskind at [email protected].

Cyrus Mehta has authored a new blog post: Who Are the Undocumented Immigrants That Would Become Targets of Trump’s Deportation Army If He Got Reelected?

Mr. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box have authored several new blog posts: Ethical Obligations of the Public Official Lawyer Who Falsely Undermines the Criminal Justice System After Trump’s Conviction, Saving the Labor Certification for the Backlogged Beneficiary Even After the Job Has Changed, The Much Neglected Schedule A, Group II Green Card Option Gets a Boost After USCIS Broadens the Sciences and Arts Definition, and To What Extent Can Walmart’s Successful Blocking of an Administrative Law Judge in the Executive Office for Immigration Review Extend to Immigration Judges?

David Isaacson, of Cyrus D. Mehta & Associates, PLLC, has authored several new blog posts: Harrow v. Department of Defense and What it Means for Immigration Cases: The 30-Day Time Limit for Filing a Petition for Review Is Still Very Important, But Probably Not Jurisdictional Anymore and Lock Up Falsely Arrested Adjustment Applicants and Teenage Shoplifters or Be Sued: the House’s “Laken Riley Act.”

Mr. Mehta and Stephen Yale-Loehr were quoted by Bloomberg News in SpaceX, Walmart Court Wins Imperil DOJ’s Immigration Bias Probes. The article noted that Justice Department efforts to prevent businesses from discriminating against work-authorized immigrants are in jeopardy after two courts sided with Walmart Inc. and SpaceX in declaring a little-known adjudication process unconstitutional. “We’re in a brave new world when it comes to anti-discrimination cases because of the Walmart and SpaceX decisions, and it’s going to take a while for this issue to get sorted out,” said Mr. Yale-Loehr. Mr. Mehta added, “I would advise my employer clients who would be facing scrutiny to definitely file a lawsuit on these lines, if they were so inclined. I think it does embolden employers.”

Greg Siskind of Siskind Susser PC was quoted by Forbes in Attorney: Biden Officials Should Protect Russian Fulbright Scholars. The article discusses the potential impact on approximately 150 Russian Fulbright scholars and recent alumni in the United States of the Russian government’s declaration that the Institute of International Education, an implementing partner for the Fulbright Program, is an “undesirable organization.” Mr. Siskind explained that if they return to Russia, “Fulbright participants are now subject to suspicion in a country that has a sorry track record for jailing people who disagree with the government.” He discussed various options for Fulbright scholars in the United States.

WR Immigration published a new blog post: My I-526E for an Investment in a Rural Project Has Been Approved in 3-4 Months—Now What?

Mr. Yale-Loehr and another professor at Cornell Law School have secured a $1.5 million grant from Bay Area humanitarian foundation Crankstart to fund Path2Papers, an innovative nonprofit that provides legal assistance to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and DACA-eligible individuals. Based at Cornell Law, Path2Papers offers legal consultations and guidance to DACA-eligible San Francisco Bay-area residents and Cornell students, the Cornell Daily Sun explained. “Path2Papers’ ties to Cornell extend even further. The programs legal team is composed of five lawyers, three of whom are Cornell alumni. It will also be the focus of Cornell Law’s 1L Immigration Law and Advocacy Clinic.” Mr. Yale-Loehr said that DACA’s precarity highlights the importance of Path2Papers’ work. “The DACA program could be terminated by the courts or [a] new administration, [and] many DACA recipients don’t know if they’ll have legal residency options.” Path2Papers has already yielded results, the Daily Sun noted. “Since the program’s launch in January, over 130 DACA or DACA-eligible individuals and employers have registered for a consultation, 50 percent of whom—the Path2Papers’ team has found—are potentially eligible for a work-related visa or green card.”

Mr. Yale-Loehr authored an op-ed, Commentary: A Match Made in New York: Job Openings and Immigrants, published by the Albany, NY Times Union. The article discusses New York’s population outmigration and plethora of job openings and recommends ways to remove obstacles so immigrants can fill them.

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Univision in Biden’s New Asylum Rule Submitted for Public Comment: These are the Keys. The article (in Spanish, with English translation available) discusses a new proposed rule to allow asylum officers to consider the possible applicability of certain asylum prohibitions and legal withholding of removal during certain credible fear assessments. The measure will be “challenged in courts of law,” Mr. Yale-Loehr said, noting that it is “much more limited than previous ideas that were proposed, such as an executive action that prevents certain people from even entering the United States.” He said the prohibitions authorized during the initial credible fear evaluation stage “will be the subject of a judicial dispute.”

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Voice of America in Biden Proposal Would Target Some Migrants for Quicker Denial of Asylum. He said the Biden administration is between “a rock and a hard place” and that “the public is demanding immigration changes. The Biden administration seems damned if it tries to do anything to resolve the border crisis and damned if it doesn’t.”

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Marketplace Morning Report in Biden Administration Rule Will Give DACA Recipients Access to Federal Health Insurance for the First Time. He noted that there are about 600,000 DACA recipients living in the United States now. “The new rule estimates that about 100,000 of them are currently uninsured and can qualify for this kind of health insurance through the Affordable Care Act because of the relatively low incomes they are earning.”

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle in Trump Wants Local Police to Enforce Immigration Law. California Forbids It (available by subscription). The article discusses California law SB54, which restricts police officers’ ability to enforce immigration laws. During his presidency, the article explains, Mr. Trump “sought to withhold federal law enforcement grants from cities including San Francisco that had passed so-called sanctuary laws prohibiting police from aiding immigration enforcement.” San Francisco sued and won at the federal district and appellate court levels. The Biden administration ended the Trump administration’s efforts to take the case to the Supreme Court. Mr. Yale-Loehr said that if Mr. Trump were to try the same thing during a second administration, it would likely end up in litigation again. “Courts would have to make a final decision as to whether he could deny funding to those jurisdictions,” he said, noting that in general, it would be harder for Trump to deputize local police for immigration enforcement in places like California that have passed sanctuary laws.

Mr. Yale-Loehr and others have started a new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) project at Cornell Law School. The nonprofit Path2Papers project, supported by a $1.5 million grant, helps DACA recipients in the San Francisco Bay area pursue work visas and other pathways to legal permanent residence. According to a press release, Path2Papers is one of the only programs in the United States “that combines experience in employer representation with expertise in evaluating employment-based immigration options for DACA recipients.”

The following ABIL members and attorneys were listed in Who’s Who Legal Corporate Immigration for 2024:

AUSTRALIA

Arnold Conway

Phillip Yip

BELGIUM

Bernard Caris

CANADA

Barbara Jo Caruso

Seth Dalfen

Avi Gomberg

Geneviève Hénault

COLOMBIA

Rodrigo Tannus Serrano

FRANCE

Karl Waheed

GERMANY

Gunther Mävers

ITALY

Marco Mazzeschi

Marco Sarracino

NETHERLANDS

Sander Groen

Jelle Kroes

Pieter Krop

Inge te Pas

SPAIN

Ana Garicano

Iñigo Sagardoy

SWITZERLAND

Nina Perch-Nielsen

TURKEY

Maria Celebi

UNITED KINGDOM

Sophie Barrett-Brown

Natasha Chell

Ilda de Sousa

Laura Devine

Elspeth Guild

Christi Hufford Jackson

Marcia Longdon

Katie Newbury

Nicolas Rollason

Francesca Sciberras

Kim Vowden

UNITED STATES

California

Allison-Claire Acker

Fausta Albi

Joseph Barnett

Diana Vellos Coker

Avi Friedman

David Fullmer

Angelo Paparelli

Kimberley Best Robidoux

Cliff Rosenthal

Bernard Wolfsdorf

Richard Yemm

Lisa Yu

Vivian Zhu (Future Leader – Partner)

Colorado

Kirby Gamblin Joseph

Florida

Ira Kurzban

John Patrick Pratt

Joel Stewart

Helena Tetzeli

Georgia

Dustin Baxter

Danielle Claffey

Charles Kuck

Illinois

Bryan Funai

Marketa Lindt

Timothy Payne

Robert White

Massachusetts

Magaly Cheng (Future Leader – Non-Partner)

Vincent Lau

Eric Lockwood (Future Leader – Non-Partner)

Michigan

Rami Fakhoury

Audrey Lustgarten

Minnesota

Loan Huynh

North Carolina

Steven Garfinkel

William Hummel

Hannah Little

Colleen Molner (Future Leader – Partner)

New York

Naveen Rahman Bhora

Hilary Fraser

Cyrus Mehta

Kristal Ozmun

Stephen Yale-Loehr

Oregon

Dagmar Butte

Pennsylvania

Elise Fialkowski

1. Ronald Klasko

Michele Madera

William Stock

Tennessee

Adam Cohen (Future Leader – Non-Partner)

Ari Sauer

Gregory Siskind

Jason Susser

Lynn Susser

Elissa Taub

Texas

Delisa Bressler

Ryan Chargois

Helene Dang

Sandra Dorsthorst

Corina Farias (Future Leader – Partner)

Charles Foster

Todd Fowler

Avalyn Castillo Langemeier

Judy Lee

Robert Loughran

John Meyer

Dorothee Mitchell (Future Leader – Partner)

José Pérez

Nestor Rosin

Virginia

Vic Goel

Youngwook (Christian) Park (Future Leader – Non-Partner)

Washington, DC

Jim Alexander

John Nahajzer

United Kingdom (practicing U.S. immigration law)

Janice Flynn

Kehrela Hodkinson

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In this issue:

1. FRAUDULENT MARRIAGE: AN OVERVIEW – This article provides an overview of the consequences of fraudulent marriage in Canada and Italy.

2. CANADA – Housing shortages have led to political pressures and a new law and regulations that could have a chilling effect on the ability of employers to attract foreign talent.

3. EUROPEAN UNION, BELGIUM – The EU Entry-Exit System has been postponed once again. The right to apply for a “fast track” single permit in Belgium has been extended to several new categories. There are new rules for trainees and volunteers.

4. ITALY – There are uneven processing delays for passports. This article also summarizes the elective residence visa and income requirements.

5. TüRKIYE – This article discusses anticipated changes to the processing of montaj-AMS visas for Türkiye.

6. UNITED KINGDOM – There have been various developments.

7. New Publications and Items of Interest – New Publications and Items of Interest

8. ABIL Member / Firm News – ABIL Member / Firm News

Download:

ABIL Global Immigration Update – June 2023

1. FRAUDULENT MARRIAGE: AN OVERVIEW

This article provides an overview of the consequences of fraudulent marriage in Canada and Italy.

Canada

In Canadian immigration law, fraudulent or false marriages are governed by Subsection 4(1) of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). According to Subsection 4(1), an officer may find that a marriage, common-law union, or conjugal partnership (see Definitions for common-law partner and conjugal partner) is fraudulent if the officer finds that (i) the individuals entered a marriage, common-law union, or conjugal partnership primarily for the purpose of gaining status in Canada or (ii) the relationship is not genuine. Subsection 4(1) of the IRPR therefore outlines two assessments targeting two different periods of time: Paragraph 4(1)(a) examines the individuals’ intent or purpose at the moment of entering the marriage, union, or relationship while Paragraph 4(1)(b) assesses the genuineness of the relationship at present time.

The case law shows that determinations under Subsection 4(1) of the IRPR should be grounded in an analysis that is holistic and based on the totality of the facts and evidence (see, e.g., Laifatt v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 365; Abdi v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 475). The case law also seems to emphasize the importance of officers giving individuals a meaningful opportunity to respond and, thus, to be “heard” during the assessment and processing of their applications (see, e.g., Likhi v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FCC 171; Johnson v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2017 FC 550).

In Canada, a spouse or common-law partner accompanying a temporary foreign skilled worker may be eligible to apply for an open Work Permit (see eligibility criteria for spousal open Work Permits as of January 30, 2023). During the assessment and processing of a spousal open Work Permit application, officers may issue a request for additional information to attest the genuineness of the marriage. Practice suggests that, in particular, a request for additional information may be issued in the context of a recent marriage. Examples of additional information that could be provided include photos of the marriage, photos of the couple at different points in time since the start of the relationship, proof of regular and continued communication, proof of joint accounts such as a joint bank account, and any evidence that the couple shared information about their relationship on social media or through means of electronic communications.

If an officer finds that a marriage or common-law union is false or fraudulent, both the open Work Permit application of the accompanying spouse or common-law partner and the Work Permit application of the principal applicant-temporary foreign skilled worker may be refused, and both the primary applicant and the accompanying spouse or common-law partner may be subject to a five-year ban on entering Canada (see, e.g., Gill v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2022 FCC 648). Similar consequences could apply in a case where an officer finds that a marriage is fraudulent and where the principal applicant already received a Work Permit and began working inside Canada, and the accompanying spouse or common-law partner applied for a spousal open Work Permit at a later time.

Italy

Italy does not have specific provisions to curb or criminalize “marriages of convenience.” Article 123 of the Italian Civil Code sets forth that a marriage is null and void when the spouses do not fulfill their obligations or exercise the rights connected to the marriage. Marriages of convenience are likely to constitute crimes of false declaration before a public official (art. 495 Criminal Code) and aiding and abetting unauthorized immigration (art. 12 Decree 286/1998).

A family reunification request can be denied when it is proven that the sole purpose for the marriage was to allow the person to enter and reside in the territory of the State (art. 29/9 Decree 286/1998). Similarly, the application for a residence permit or its renewal is rejected, or the residence permit is revoked, when it is proven that the marriage was celebrated only to allow the non-European Union (EU) spouse to reside in Italy (art. 30/1bis Decree 286/1998). The residence permit is immediately revoked when it is established that the marriage was not followed by “actual cohabitation,” with an exception made in cases where children were born from the marriage (art. 30/1bis Decree 286/1998).

The Court of Cassation added that the validity of a residence permit is subject to the existence not only of the permanent cohabitation of the spouses but also of the non-EU spouse residing in Italy (n. 25027/2005). On other occasions, however, the Court has adopted a more flexible approach, justifying the situation of a spouse who, for example, lives abroad for work reasons (n. 13165/2005).

In Italy, the family permit allows work without a work permit. Therefore, if the family permit is denied or revoked, the applicant cannot work in Italy based on family member status.

https://medium.com/studiomazzeschi/italian-citizenship-and-marriages-of-convenience-three-husbands-are-not-enough-3c9ec1c6ac3b

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2. CANADA

Housing shortages have led to political pressures and a new law and regulations that could have a chilling effect on the ability of employers to attract foreign talent.

Foreign workers in Canada face significant challenges due to competing labor and housing shortages. The shortage of workers has triggered the housing shortage given the lack of workers in construction and supporting trades, as well as a shortage of construction materials.

Although Canada has been welcoming record-breaking and ever-growing numbers of immigrants (2022 saw 431,000 new permanent residents, and 2021 saw 405,000), Canadians fear that newcomers will take their homes, which fuels their resentment and fear of newcomers.

The federal government could have addressed the housing shortage with sound immigration policy—specifically, to regularize those workers without status in Canada who were already working in construction trades, and to facilitate the selection of construction trade workers as temporary workers and new immigrants. Current immigration policy favors applicants with post-secondary education and strong English or French language skills, which most construction trade workers lack. Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada (IRCC) might also have considered reducing the number of foreign students admitted to Canada as this category of temporary residents has ballooned since 2015, and many will not have a path to permanent residence in any event. The federal government seems to lack the political will to address many issues related to the foreign student program, likely because the foreign student industry is big business.

Instead, the government of Canada passed the Prohibition On the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act (the Act), a new law supposedly to help make more homes affordable for people living in Canada. This law has a serious negative implication for newcomers to Canada, in addition to impeding the ability to attract talent to Canada to address labor shortages. The Act came into force on January 1, 2023, and prevents non-Canadians (those who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents of Canada) from buying residential property in Canada for two years, including preventing non-Canadians from using corporate structures to avoid the prohibition. The Act defines residential property as buildings with three homes or fewer, as well as parts of buildings like a semi-detached house or a condominium unit. The law does not prohibit the purchase of larger buildings with multiple units. The Act includes a $10,000 fine for any non-Canadian or anyone who knowingly assists a non-Canadian and is convicted of violating the Act. Further, if a court finds that a non-Canadian has done this, they may order the sale of the house.

A ban targeting foreign home buyers will not necessarily prevent speculation in real estate markets, especially since nonresidents only make up 2.2 percent of residential property owners in Ontario and 3.1 percent in British Columbia. Newcomers have to live somewhere, so if they are prohibited from buying a home, they will rent a house or apartment and potentially take up valuable living space for Canadians who may not be able to afford to buy and must rent. Rents in Canada have increased by 10 percent on average across Canada in the last year.

Clearly the prohibition could have a chilling effect on the ability of Canadian businesses to attract foreign talent, especially when combined with provincial legislation that taxes the purchase of residential properties by foreign nationals. In Ontario, that tax is 25 percent of the value of the property, although the foreign national can apply for a tax rebate if they become a permanent resident within four years of making the purchase. The regulations under the Act set out specific exemptions, including properties in very rural locations, but unfortunately few foreign workers and immigrants settle in rural areas. Initially, when enacted on January 1, 2023, foreign workers who held a work permit or were authorized to work under section 186 of the Immigration Refugees Protection Regulations, and had worked in Canada a minimum of three years within the four years preceding the year in which the purchase was made, filed income tax returns, and had not purchased more than one residential property, were exempted.

Amendments to the regulations allow more flexibility in certain circumstances. Work permit holders can now purchase residential property, for example, as long as they have 183 days or more of validity remaining on their work permit at the time of purchase and have not purchased more than one residential property. The initial requirements for tax filings and previous work experience in Canada were repealed. They are still subject to any applicable provincial tax.

For many foreign nationals living in Canada temporarily, becoming a permanent resident of Canada is a priority. Without permanent resident status, they may still be subject to the Act and/or provincial taxes. Typically, most foreign nationals do not qualify for permanent residence until they have worked in Canada for a Canadian company for at least one year. Further, there is no ability to apply for permanent residence at will; instead, applicants must be invited to apply for permanent residence by IRCC. Consequently, there is a great deal of uncertainty around qualifying and when to apply for permanent residence, which makes it difficult to provide newcomers with any assurance about their eligibility to buy residential property in Canada without restrictions. Foreign workers should seek legal advice from a Canadian lawyer about their eligibility for permanent residence soon after they arrive in Canada.

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3. EUROPEAN UNION, BELGIUM

The EU Entry-Exit System has been postponed once again. The right to apply for a “fast track” single permit in Belgium has been extended to several new categories. There are new rules for trainees and volunteers.

EU Entry Exit System (EES) Postponed to End of 2023

The European Union (EU) Entry Exit System (EES), which was initially intended to become operative in 2022 and later in May 2023, is now due to be implemented by the end of 2023. EES is a large-scale IT system to enable the electronic recording of entries and exits of third-country nationals (TCNs) to and from the Schengen Area. The system will replace the current practice of manual stamping of passports.

Right to Apply for “Fast-Track” Single Permit in Belgium Extended to New Categories

As a general rule, third-country (non-European Economic Area [i.e., outside EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway] and non-Swiss) nationals who want to work in Belgium for longer than 90 days need a single permit. “Fast-track” single permit applications can be filed while a third-country national resides in Belgium. Fast-track applications are those for which no resident labor test is required. Previous restrictive legislation reserved the right to apply in Belgium to a few categories only (short-term foreign nationals, long-term students, long-term researchers).

A new act now allows several other categories of foreigners to apply for a fast-track single permit while residing in Belgium, including family members of single permit holders and foreign nationals with temporary protection status (in practice, Ukrainian nationals). Ukrainian nationals with temporary protection status in Belgium were already entitled to work on the basis of their status, but they can now switch to employee status in-country: their employer can apply for a single permit while the Ukrainian national resides in Belgium.

New Rules for Trainees and Volunteers

New rules for trainees and volunteers became effective January 1, 2023, under Directive (EU) 2016/801 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016, on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of research, studies, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemes or educational projects, and au pairing.

Trainees

Some third-country trainees can invoke a single permit exemption. For example, students who follow a mandatory internship in Belgium as part of their studies in Belgium, Switzerland, or an EEA country are exempt. If no exemption can be invoked, a single permit for long-term employment in Belgium will be required.

Important regulatory changes include:

• The 18-to-30 age range requirement no longer applies;
• A trainee need only pursue a course of study leading to higher education rather than holding a higher education degree;
• Sufficient means of subsistence are still required, but the guaranteed minimum wage is no longer mentioned as a threshold amount. The integration/benefit income for a single person (at present 1,214.13 euros/month) appears to be the threshold. The payments that will be made to the trainee can be taken into account, as well as the fact that the host entity guarantees sufficient means of subsistence for the trainee.

Work authorizations are issued by the region of employment in Belgium: Brussels, Flanders, and Wallonia. The location of employment determines the applicable rules. The maximum duration of the single permit depends on the duration of the underlying work authorization but cannot exceed six months; renewal up to 12 months may be possible, depending on the location of employment.

Volunteers

Volunteer work can now serve as a legal basis for work-related migration to Belgium. The maximum duration of the single permit depends on the duration of the underlying work authorization but cannot exceed 12 months. The location of employment determines the applicable rules.

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4. ITALY

There are uneven processing delays for passports. This article also summarizes the elective residence visa and income requirements.

Italy Passport Delays

After Brexit and COVID-19, requests for passports have blown up, and the Italian government has been facing issues with processing time. However, the situation is not the same in every city. In many cities (for example, Milan), it is possible to obtain an appointment to request a passport only after 8 to 9 months. In some other cities, the situation may be much better. Genova and Padova have encountered problems with applicants not even being able to obtain an appointment.

According to the authorities, these delays are due to various factors, including the boom in requests for travel documents after the lockdown and Brexit, the lack of staff in passport offices (a section of the police office), and the Mint’s issues with passport books.

Elective Residence Visa and Income Requirements

The elective residence visa (residenza elettiva) is regulated by inter-ministerial decree 850/2011, attachment A, paragraph 13. To obtain such a visa, the applicant must demonstrate wide and autonomous economic resources that are regular and stable, and likely to remain steady in the future.

Such resources:

• Must come from ownership of conspicuous revenues;
• Must come from ownership of properties; or
• Must come from ownership of stable economic-commercial activities; and
• Other sources different from subordinate work must not be lower than about EUR 2580 per person per month.

Is the minimum required amount of about EUR 2580 per person per month enough?

The required monthly income is not enough per se but is evaluated in the context of the general situation. It is considered the minimum economic requirement to start with. This type of elective residence visa is aimed at people with a high availability of assets and economic resources.

What are the other key requirements?

Another key requirement is owning property or a lease contract for an apartment or a house in Italy, and demonstrating the intention to relocate there permanently. Declarations of hospitality from third parties, Airbnb, serviced apartments, or boats are not considered sufficient.

How does the applicant demonstrate the revenues? Is work performed outside Italy taken into consideration?

The revenues are to be demonstrated not only by showing the last 12 months’ bank statements, duly stamped and signed by the bank (or with a QR code) but also by providing tax returns. The consulate wants to confirm that the economic resources are not derived from work and thus are available independently from the actual and daily work activity. Resources deriving from work, either subordinate or autonomous, even if performed and taxed outside Italy, cannot be taken into account.

How are revenues generated from properties assessed?

Revenues generated from ownership of properties must be demonstrated by long-term lease agreements, signed well in advance, and likely to remain steady in the future. In any case, the sole revenues generated from properties are by no means enough for a positive evaluation.

Details:

Mazzeschi Magazine, May 2023. https://www.mazzeschi.it/news/mazzeschi-magazine-italian-immigration-and-citizenship-may-2023-vol-26/

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5. TüRKIYE

This article discusses anticipated changes to the processing of montaj-AMS visas for Türkiye.

Montaj-AMS Visa Highlights

An Assembly and Maintenance Service (AMS, or montaj) visa is a very practical work authorization category for technical workers coming to Türkiye for short-term work. Under Turkish immigration regulations, an employee of a foreign company may engage in assembly and maintenance service work for the benefit of a receiving Turkish entity without the need for a work permit for up to 90 days per year.

Appropriate employees include technicians or other technical workers. This category is not suitable for executives or non-technical managers. Employees holding this type of visa must continue being paid outside Türkiye by the foreign entity that sent them. The visa allows the employees to work only in the locale(s) and for the Turkish company that issued the support letter for the visa. If multiple clients or worksites are anticipated, the host letters must reflect this and be issued from each host.

An AMS visa may apply to many categories of “products,” including assembly, maintenance, and service (or training) for software, computer hardware, complex machinery, energy equipment, and construction and manufacturing equipment. However, in practice there is significant variation in interpretation at different consular posts. Many non-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) posts have quite strict interpretations of the business circumstances that qualify to issue this visa. Often the interpretation of the “product” being provided to the Turkish host company may come directly from the foreign employer of the visa applicant. In these cases, extensive additional corporate documents may be needed.

An AMS visa can be issued for a maximum validity of 12 months with a duration of stay of 90 days. The consular posts most often issue 6- or 12-month validity multiple entry AMS visas, although some posts may not grant multiple entry visas or grant visas for a validity of less than 12 months as a matter of discretion. Particularly, many non-OECD-located Turkish consular posts in practice tend to issue single-entry AMS visas with 30-, 60-, or 90-day durations of stay.

Proposed Changes

In September 2022, the Ministry of Labour (MoL) created an application link on its website in preparation for online adjudication of these exemptions under the Law on International Workforce No. 6735 (and subsequent regulations). As announced on September 30, 2022, AMS and other activities listed in the statute as exempt from a work permit requirement may apply for that exemption via the new online system, which is then used to obtain an AMS visa at the consulate or a work permit exemption domestically in certain conditions. Applicants abroad requesting an exemption via the Turkish consular post must use the online system after appearing at the consular post. If the application is accepted, the consular post issues a reference number, which the applicant uses to complete the online application. Applicants in Türkiye on valid residence permits may file their exemption applications using the online system with information requested regarding their residence permits.

The online exemption system is not yet being used extensively for visa applicants because many consular posts are not yet familiar with the system. The online system appears to be a way for the MoL to have more authority in designating which applicants should be eligible for an exemption, regardless of the location of the consular post.

The new work permit exemption online system lists many statutory exemption activities that have been recognized by the MoL, even before the current version of the law. The list of qualifying activities includes certain internships and certain activities in the arts, sciences, media, tourism, education, and sports sectors, each with defined maximum periods of time. The statute also specifies the maximum validity for each qualifying activity. For instance, student internships have maximum ranges of 4 to 12 months. Tour operators are restricted to a period of 8 months. AMS-montaj activities remain limited to 90 days.

For a complete list of work permit exemption categories, see the following MoL webpage: https://www.csgb.gov.tr/media/89896/ingilizce-tablo.pdf

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6. UNITED KINGDOM

There have been various developments.

Sponsor Guidance Updated on Hybrid and Remote Work

New Home Office guidance provides an update on sponsoring workers on a remote or hybrid basis. Although the Home Office created guidance to cover pandemic work-from-home situations, it had not kept pace with the post-pandemic shift to flexible working patterns. The much overdue updated guidance sets out the circumstances in which sponsors must report when a sponsored worker is working from home permanently or in a “regular and planned” hybrid working pattern. Specifically, sponsors must report the following changes in a sponsored worker’s normal work location:

• The worker is, or will be, working remotely from home on a permanent or full-time basis (with little or no requirement to physically attend a workplace); or
• The worker has moved, or will be moving, to a hybrid working pattern.

A hybrid working pattern is defined as “where the worker will work remotely on a regular and planned basis from their home or another address, such as a work hub space, that is not a client site or an address listed on your licence, in addition to regularly attending one or more of your offices or branches, or a client site.”

The guidance also confirms that sponsors do not need to report day-to-day changes in work location (for example, if a worker occasionally works at a different branch or site, or from home). Sponsors need only tell the Home Office about changes to regular working patterns.

So what reporting duties do sponsors now have?

An increasing number of businesses are transitioning to an “officeless operation,” which presents unique challenges for recording employee work locations on the certificate of sponsorship. The employee’s work location could potentially be their home address or any other remote location that qualifies as a “work location.” Similarly, if an employee is working remotely on a permanent basis with little obligation to attend the workplace, this must be reported.

New UK Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme

The UK’s upcoming Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme will require some people to apply in advance for digital permission to travel to the UK. A comprehensive Q&A for employers can be shared with employers’ global HR and mobility professionals.

Tech Nation Formally Acquired by Founders Forum

Tech Nation announced that Founders Forum Group (FF Group) has formally acquired Tech Nation. This is good news for digital tech Global Talent visa applicants. Tech Nation also confirmed that under the FF Group umbrella, it will continue to endorse Global Talent applications as normal until the Home Office finds a new endorsing body. This means that those with exceptional talent/promise in the digital tech space will continue to apply to Tech Nation for endorsement and then separately apply to the Home Office for the visa. This has also been confirmed by the Home Office.

Endorsing Bodies Revealed for Innovator Founder Route

The Home Office has provided a list of the bodies that can endorse Innovator Founder applications where an applicant has an innovative, viable, and scalable business proposal. These include Envestors Limited, UK Endorsing Services, Innovator International, and The Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP). The Innovator Founders category replaced the Start-up and Innovator routes in April 2023.

UKVI Outsourced Partners Increase Fees

For the processing of non-digital visa applications where attendance at an appointment is necessary, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) uses outsourced visa partners. When an application is submitted at an appointment in the UK, Sopra Steria runs the appointments. As of May 1, 2023, Sopra Steria’s fees have increased by 3.12%. One of UKVI’s outsourced partners for applications submitted outside the UK is VFS. VFS’s fees in the United States have increased: gold and silver package fees have increased to $2,090 and $925, respectively, and the roundtrip courier fee has increased from $75 to $80.

Delay in EU’s Entry/Exit System

The European Union’s (EU’s) Entry/Exit System will electronically monitor whether non-EU citizens (including British citizens) are going over 90 days in any 180-day period in the EU/European Economic Area (EEA)/Switzerland (except for Cyprus and Ireland). The scheme was due to launch this year but has been delayed to 2024. Once implemented, travelers in the EU area will need to be more wary than ever of overstaying the 90 days. If the maximum stay is exceeded, it can lead to a ban on entry to the whole of the EU/EEA/Switzerland (except for Cyprus and Ireland).

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7. New Publications and Items of Interest

New webinar. In May, Kingsley Napley held a webinar with the Home Office on the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) upcoming ETA scheme. The ETA scheme will require some people to apply in advance for digital permission to travel to the UK. Some of the key takeaways from the webinar are included in Kingsley Napley’s comprehensive Q&A for employers to share with their global human resources and mobility professionals.

Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers: https://www.abil.com/

ABIL is also available on Twitter: https://twitter.com/abilimmigration

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8. ABIL Member / Firm News

Charles Foster was awarded the title of “Dean Emeritus” by the Executive Committee of the Consular Corps of Houston for his services as interim and acting Dean of the Consular Corps of Houston in recent years. He is also the Honorary Consul-General of the Kingdom of Thailand. Mr. Foster is the chairman of Foster LLP. His law practice focuses primarily on representing multinational companies and foreign investors in U.S. immigration law matters.

Kingsley Napley‘s recent blog sets out the details of the new UK Home Office guidance on sponsoring workers on a remote or hybrid basis. Although the Home Office created guidance to cover the situation where someone was working from home due to COVID-19, it had not kept pace with the post-pandemic shift to flexible working patterns. https://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/insights/blogs/immigration-law-blog/home-office-finally-updates-its-guidance-on-sponsored-remote-working

Kingsley Napley won the bronze award for best immigration practice from the Citywealth Magic Circle Awards 2023. Read more about it here.

Charles Kuck (bio: https://www.abil.com/abil-lawyers/charles-kuck/) has authored a new blog post: “The Unintended Consequences of USCIS’ New ‘Family Reunification Program.’ ” https://www.immigration.net/2023/05/17/the-unintended-consequences-of-usciss-new-family-reunification-program/

Mr. Kuck was quoted by Atlanta News First in “Georgia Immigration Attorney Discusses Impacts of Title 42 Expiring.” He discussed the processes in place for migrants arriving at the southern border, including being detained “for a hearing generally in a phone booth at a detention center,” removal if they cannot prove a credible fear of persecution if returned to their home countries, or asylum processing if they can prove a credible fear. “After they have filed their asylum application, they can file for a work permit…when that work permit comes, typically [for] about six months they can work. Which means that for these open jobs, employers here in Georgia [will] now have workers to do those jobs,” he said. At the next court date, Mr. Kuck said, migrants “are required to bring evidence and if you don’t have evidence other than a suspicious story, you’re not going to win asylum.” https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/05/10/georgia-immigration-attorney-discusses-impacts-title-42-expiring/

Mr. Kuck was quoted by 11Alive in “Title 42 Ending, Georgia Getting Ready for Expected Increase in Migrants Across Southern Border.” He said, “What will happen? You will see videos of lots of people coming to the border, thousands of them, because they’ve been lining up in Mexico for weeks in anticipation of the much built-up end of Title 42. And we will see a massive surge because the one thing that nobody is talking about is—why are there so many people at the border all of a sudden? And it’s because we have unprecedented levels of refugee crises in Latin America that we’ve never seen in our history. So, the migrants are not generally Mexicans coming in. These are from Central and South America, where crises in their own countries are compelling them to come forward.” He said that without Title 42 restrictions, “people will again start to be deported to their home countries. They’re going to deport you back to Peru, or they’re going to deport you back to Colombia. This enables that process. And that’s the message that needs to be delivered to those countries. Desiring a better life is not asylum. You will not be allowed to stay in the U.S. if just wanting a better life is why you’re coming to America.” https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/georgia-prepares-for-additional-migrants/85-9f0e3835-e53f-486e-8398-edc2b19bdd8b

Mr. Kuck was quoted by Bloomberg in ” ‘I Expected to Work in an Office’: Engineers Recruited by Carmakers End Up on the Assembly Line.” Mr. Kuck said that legally hiring foreign line workers is difficult at best because “there is not a manual labor visa to do those kinds of jobs.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-25/engineers-from-mexico-on-assembly-lines-instead-of-us-south-car-industry#xj4y7vzkg?leadSource=uverify%20wall

Mr. Kuck was quoted by The New Republic‘s “Soapbox” in “You Know Who Won’t Miss Susan Rice? Immigration Advocates.” The article says that migrant advocates hope that the departure of Susan Rice, the Biden administration’s chief domestic policy adviser, will lead the Biden administration down a new and more humane path. The article quotes Mr. Kuck’s tweet: “I cannot think of happier news for those interested in fixing the immigration nightmare. Getting rid of Susan Rice is step one!” https://newrepublic.com/article/172164/susan-rice-departure-immigration-reset

Mr. Kuck authored a new blog post: “The Farcical H-1B Lottery for FY 2024.”

Cyrus Mehta (bio: https://www.abil.com/abil-lawyers/cyrus-d-mehta/) authored a new blog post: “Remembering Mark Von Sternberg Through Matter of Recinas.” http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2023/05/remembering-mark-von-stenberg-through-matter-of-recinas.html

Mr. Mehta and Jessica Paszko co-authored a new blog post: “Termination in the Twilight Zone When the I-485 Application Has Been Pending for Less Than 180 Days.” http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2023/05/termination-in-the-twilight-zone-when-the-i-485-application-has-been-pending-for-less-than-180-days.html

Mr. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box have co-authored several blog posts:

• “Although Section H.10-B Has Disappeared in the New ETA-9089, Will Its Ghost Continue to Haunt Us?,” http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2023/06/although-section-h-10-b-has-disappeared-in-the-new-eta-9089-will-its-ghost-continue-to-haunt-us.html
• “Kellogg Has Reared its Ugly Head in the New Labor Certification Fork: How Do We Deal With Alternate Requirements?,” http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2023/05/kellogg-has-reared-its-ugly-head-in-the-new-labor-certification-form-how-do-we-deal-with-alternate-requirements.html;
• “Answering Tricky Questions on the Revised Labor Certification Form on Dual Representation and Familial Relationships,” http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2023/05/answering-tricky-questions-on-the-revised-labor-certification-form-on-dual-representation-and-familial-relationships.html;
• “Ethical Considerations When the Removal Case is Dismissed,” http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2023/04/ethical-considerations-when-the-removal-case-is-dismissed.html;
• “Second Circuit Upholds Trump Era Interpretation on Administrative Closure Even Though Biden Has Changed It. Does This Leave Open Possibility that Biden Era Interpretation May Also Be Upheld if Future Administration Changes It?,” ;
• “Dealing with Section H.10-B Labor Certification Denials,” http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2023/03/dealing-with-section-h-10-b-labor-certification-denials.html

Angelo Paparelli (bio: https://www.abil.com/abil-lawyers/angelo-paparelli/) became a partner at Vialto Law on June 1, 2023. Vialto notes that Angelo’s career has brought him many accolades, including a 1st ranking among Chambers USA Band 1 Lawyers and a three-time award as the World’s Leading Corporate Immigration Lawyer in annual peer rankings of the International Who’s Who of Corporate Lawyers. Mr. Paparelli received the Edith Lowenstein Award for Advancing the Practice of Immigration Law and is the first management-side immigration lawyer ever inducted into the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He is frequently quoted on immigration law issues in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Immigration Law360, and other leading publications. He has advised some of the largest companies in the world, helping to solve complex immigration issues and craft program-wide immigration strategies. His reputation has made him a trusted advisor to senior policymakers

Bernard Wolfsdorf (bio: https://www.abil.com/abil-lawyers/bernard-wolfsdorf/) and Naveen Bhora co-authored a new blog post: “DV Green Card Lottery Results Out. Hoorah!” https://wolfsdorf.com/dv-green-card-lottery-results-out/

WR Immigration published a new blog post: “Critical Requirements for New Office L-1 Managerial or Executive Petition.” https://wolfsdorf.com/critical-requirements-for-new-office-l-1-managerial-or-executive-petition/

WR Immigration presented a webinar, “Alternatives to the H-1B Lottery.” Charina Garcia and Audrey Lustgarten discussed what to do when considering global alternatives, including alternative U.S. options, a review of immigration options to confirm eligibility, non-immigration factors, and more. https://wolfsdorf.com/webinar-alternatives-to-the-h-1b-lottery/

WR Immigration presented a webinar on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) announcement of a new process to protect undocumented whistleblowers. WR Immigration and Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP discussed what employers need to know. Attorneys shared their insights on what employers can expect in the months ahead, including likely claims and how employers can prepare in light of the new DHS policy. https://wolfsdorf.com/us-department-of-homeland-security-announces-new-process-to-protect-undocumented-whistleblowers/ (article)

Stephen Yale-Loehr (bio: https://www.abil.com/abil-lawyers/stephen-yale-loehr/) was quoted by CBS News in “Trump Vows to End Birthright Citizenship for Children of Undocumented Immigrants If He Wins in 2024.” Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “Any executive action that a president might try to end birthright citizenship would be challenged in court and would be likely struck down as unconstitutional.” He noted, however, that “it’s pretty clear that, for political purposes, he thinks that this kind of announcement will appeal to his base. It shows that he has anti-immigration credentials. And most of his voters don’t know or don’t care about whether such an executive order would be legal.” https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/trump-birthright-citizenship-children-unauthorized-immigrants/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h

Mr. Yale-Loehr coauthored an op-ed in The Hill with Jacob Hamburger, an incoming visiting assistant professor at Cornell Law School. The op-ed, “To Address the Migration Crisis, State Governments Should Hire the Migrants,” concerns the controversy over the migrant influx in New York City and other large cities. The op-ed suggests that states can and should employ recent migrant arrivals without violating federal immigration law. Mr. Yale-Loehr and Mr. Hamburger propose that states create a new Migrant Empowerment Corps, modeled after the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps. https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/4030557-to-address-the-migration-crisis-state-governments-should-hire-the-migrants/

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by New York Daily News in “Texas Judge Hears Arguments in Challenge to Revised DACA Policy.” He predicted that if the Texas case makes it to the Supreme Court, the court would not issue a final ruling before June 2025: “Litigation takes time. No one should worry that the DACA program is going to end tomorrow.” https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/us-elections-government/ny-daca-challenge-texas-judge-hears-arguments-20230602-t7bo6xbinzbgxiw5vpse2ed6ue-story.html

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted in a Weill Cornell Medicine press release about recent commentary in a medical journal that he coauthored calling for equal access to health care for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2023/06/commentary-calls-for-equal-access-to-healthcare-for-daca-recipients-and-all-immigrants (a slightly different version was published in Mirage News: https://www.miragenews.com/commentary-urges-equal-healthcare-access-for-1019415/

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Univision in “Biden Government Defends Family Separations at the Border in Court During Trump.” Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “The forced separation of families during the Trump administration violated the due process rights of families. Many of them are now suing the United States government for damages. The forced separation also set a bad precedent, both for future presidents and for the leaders of other countries who might try the same thing.” https://www.univision.com/noticias/inmigracion/gobierno-biden-defiende-tribunales-separaciones-forzadas-trump-frontera (Spanish)

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by the Washington Post in “Tim Scott Hypes ‘Terrorist Watch List’ Border Crossings.” Commenting on remarks by Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott that “hundreds of people” have been crossing the southern border into the United States, Mr. Yale-Loehr said that the phrase “crossing our borders” was an exaggeration. “They were caught at the border, either at a port of entry or between a port of entry. So perhaps ‘caught attempting to cross the border’ would be more accurate.” He also noted that not everyone on the watch list is a terrorist. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/24/tim-scott-hypes-terrorist-watch-list-border-crossings/ (available by subscription)

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by CNY Central in ” ‘We Welcome Immigrants,’ Cornell Professor Says Influx of Migrants Could Improve Economy.” Among other things, Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “I would say we welcome immigrants, we want them to come properly, we want them to come legally. I would co-sign Governor Hochul’s letter to the federal immigration agency urging them to decide these work permit applications [more quickly], and I would also urge New York State to appropriate more money to help counties on immigration generally.” He said that “the people need to think about the fact that these migrants are actually going to help the economies of upstate New York or wherever else. “We have a job shortage in New York State, and there are many jobs these migrants can do…we should be welcoming them with open arms.” Video and article: https://cnycentral.com/news/local/we-welcome-immigrants-cornell-professor-says-influx-of-migrants-could-improve-economy

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by the Associated Press in “Video Prompts False Claims That Soldier Allowed Migrants to Cross Border Illegally.” Mr. Yale-Loehr dismissed as “ludicrous” claims that soldiers’ actions that were videotaped in Eagle Pass, Texas, and widely circulated violated 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324 and 1327. He said § 1327 is a “rarely used provision” prohibiting people from aiding certain criminal and subversive foreign nationals from entering the country, and § 1324, the other statute mentioned in comments posted on the video, penalizes people who “harbor” undocumented migrants. Mr. Yale-Loehr suggested the bus people were boarding was likely destined for the nearest Border Patrol station where the migrants would be screened, processed, and detained, as is the agency’s protocol. They aren’t simply being let free as claimed, he noted. “The video doesn’t show any effort to harbor or hide undocumented migrants. Claims that federal officials are simply letting migrants enter the U.S. illegally are unfounded.” https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-immigration-border-texas-title-42-919121412226

Mr. Yale-Loehr was interviewed by several media outlets about immigration policy changes:

• “Immigration Expert Expects New Asylum Policy to be Challenged in Court,” Scripps News. Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “If you do enter the United States illegally, you will be presumed ineligible for asylum [under the new post-Title 42 Biden administration asylum rule] with certain limited exceptions. They want people instead to use this new CBP One app to schedule asylum interviews and then have the interviews at the ports of entry. So, they’re hoping that by the combination of parole, the refugee processing centers, and the CBP One app, people will do things legally. And this new rule then penalizes those who try to enter the United States illegally.” He also said “[w]e need to have an approach that realizes that we can only manage the border. We can’t ever stop all illegal immigration, but we also need to have Congress enact more work visas so the people who do want to come to the United States temporarily can do so legally and won’t be tempted to enter illegally.” https://www.10news.com/news/national/immigration-expert-expects-new-asylum-policy-to-be-challenged-in-court
• “Migrant Crisis Explained: Where Do We Go From Here?,” Fox 5 NY News. Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “Our immigration system has not changed, but the world has changed.” He noted that there is no quick fix to asylum backlogs and border issues. “Yes, we do need to try to manage our border. The second prong would be to provide more work visas for people who do want to come and work so they can do so legally … And the third prong is to legalize the estimated 10 million people in the United States who lack authorization right now.” https://www.fox5ny.com/news/migrant-crisis-explained-where-do-we-go-from-here
• A video of Mr. Yale-Loehr’s remarks is available at https://www.10news.com/news/national/immigration-expert-expects-new-asylum-policy-to-be-challenged-in-court

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted in several media outlets about the end of Title 42:

• United Press International, “White House, States, Congress Look for Immigration Solutions as Title 42 Ends.” Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “Too many people will want to enter, and there won’t be enough Border Patrol agents to prevent a surge of illegal entries.” He said that just and comprehensive immigration reform, which is unlikely in the current sharply divided Congress, would include more work visas “so that people who want to work temporarily in the U.S. could enter legally rather than illegally.” He also said he believes that the estimated 10 million undocumented people in the United States should be legalized “so that they can come out of the shadows.” And, finally, he said effective border security must be realized: “It is like three legs of a stool: All three legs are necessary for effective reform.” https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/05/11/title-42-immigration/6881683740849/
• Brazilian Mail (Correio Braziliense), “Biden Decides to Limit Access to Asylum at the Border With Mexico.” Mr. Yale-Loehr explained that as part of the end of Title 42, the Biden administration is implementing a new rule under which anyone who enters the United States without authorization will be considered ineligible for asylum. “The authorities want people to use the new app, called CBP One, for scheduling asylum interviews at ports of entry. It’s a way to legally apply for asylum,” he said. Mr. Yale-Loehr predicted “chaos and confusion at the border at first.” https://www.correiobraziliense.com.br/mundo/2023/05/5093570-biden-decide-limitar-acesso-a-asilo-na-fronteira-com-o-mexico.html (in Portuguese with English translation available)

Mr. Yale-Loehr and Jacob Hamburger co-authored an op-ed in Slate, “Biden Will Never Get Us Out of the Trump Era Like This.” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/05/biden-immigration-asylum-border-title-forty-two-covid.html

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by BollyInside in “Miami’s Real Estate Community Concerned About Negative Effects of DeSantis-Supported Bills: ‘This Will Be Painful.’ ” Limiting the buying power of foreign nationals from several nations in the United States “could be a real blow to [the EB-5 immigrant investor] program,” he said. https://www.bollyinside.com/news/real-estate/miamis-real-estate-community-concerned-about-negative-effects-of-desantis-supported-bills-this-will-be-painful/

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Courthouse News Service in “Title 42 Ends Next Week, Leaving Questions About the Future of U.S. Immigration Policy.” Commenting on the imminent end of Title 42, Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “Certainly it will prevent some people from applying for asylum. It would restrict asylum seekers in major ways. There are a lot of unknowns.” He said that he expects legal challenges to the new proposed rules if they are implemented, especially the rule denying people asylum claims if they cross the border before being granted permission. Legal challenges could come from border states like Texas, or Congress may take action, he noted. https://www.courthousenews.com/title-42-will-end-next-week-leaving-questions-about-the-future-of-us-immigration-policy/

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by CBS News in “Biden Administration Asks Judge to Limit DACA Ruling If He Finds ‘Dreamer’ Protections Unlawful.” Mr. Yale-Loehr said the government’s latest filing in litigation by Texas challenging the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was an attempt by the Biden administration to “minimize” the scope of the judge’s ruling. “Based on his past rulings, Judge Hanen is likely to rule that the DACA program is unlawful.” He said the judge could agree to pause his ruling pending an appeal. The Biden administration, he noted, would likely appeal a ruling against DACA to the 5th Circuit and ultimately the Supreme Court. “The bottom line is that this still has a long way to go before there’s a final resolution. I think the earliest that we may get a final decision by the Supreme Court would be June of 2024, and even that may be premature.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/daca-ruling-judge-texas-justice-department-dreamers/

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by the Cornellians Magazine in an article about the interdisciplinary Cornell Migrations Initiative, “With ‘Migrations,’ Big Red Scholars Navigate a World in Motion.” Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “We have more migration across the world today than we ever have in the past, and it’s going to continue. We need to understand how all these different kinds of migration affect and relate to each other—that’s why it’s so important to study this from an interdisciplinary and interspecies approach.” The article notes that most Migrations-supported research has been heavily rooted in the social sciences. For example, when Mr. Yale-Loehr wanted to assess the awareness of public health care benefits among immigrants, he partnered with a Migrations colleague on a qualitative survey. Their work resulted in RightsforHealth, a website where immigrants can easily research health benefits for which they may be eligible. https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/migrations/

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Marketplace in “As Summer Approaches, Labor Shortages Make Summer Hiring Tough.” He said that consumers will notice labor shortages “in terms of increased prices. When you go to a restaurant, because there’s not enough workers, you’re going to see it in terms of reduced hours” at restaurants and at the community recreation center, for example. https://www.marketplace.org/2023/04/14/labor-shortages-make-seasonal-hiring-tough-summer/

Below are ABIL Members and their partners/associates listed in Who’s Who Legal: Corporate Immigration 2023 (https://whoswholegal.com/analysis/corporate-immigration-2023—legal-marketplace-analysis):

EUROPE–MIDDLE EAST–AFRICA

Global Elite Thought Leaders:

Laura Devine – Laura Devine Immigration, London, UK

Ana Garicano – Sagardoy Abogados, Madrid, Spain

Gunther Mävers – michels.pmks Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaft mbB, Cologne, Germany

Marco Mazzeschi – Mazzeschi – Corporate Immigration and Citizenship Law, Milan, Italy

Nicolas Rollason – Kingsley Napley, London, UK

Karl Waheed – Karl Waheed Avocats, Paris, France

Leading Firms:

Kingsley Napley, London, UK

Laura Devine Solicitors, London, UK

Flynn Hodkinson, London, UK

Other Leading Individuals:

BELGIUM: Bernard Caris – Younity, Brussels, Belgium

FRANCE: Karl Waheed – Karl Waheed Avocats, Paris, France

GERMANY: Gunther Mävers – michels.pmks Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaft mbB, Cologne, Germany

GERMANY: Bettina Offer – Offer & Mastmann, Frankfurt, Germany

ITALY: Marco Mazzeschi – Mazzeschi – Corporate Immigration and Citizenship Law, Milan, Italy

NETHERLANDS: Jelle Kroes – Kroes Advocaten Immigration Lawyers, Amsterdam, Netherlands

SPAIN: Ana Garicano – Sagardoy Abogados, Madrid, Spain

SWITZERLAND: Nina Perch-Nielsen – Blue Lake Legal, Zurich, Switzerland

TüRKIYE: Maria Celebi – Bener Law Office, Istanbul, Türkiye

NORTH AMERICA

Global Elite Thought Leaders:

Barbara Jo Caruso – Corporate Immigration Law Firm, Toronto, Canada

Ronald Klasko – Klasko Immigration Law Partners, Philadelphia, United States

Charles Kuck – Kuck Baxter Immigration, Atlanta, United States

Cyrus Mehta – Cyrus D Mehta & Partners, New York, United States

Angelo Paparelli – Vialto, Los Angeles, United States

Gregory Siskind – Siskind Susser, Memphis, United States

William Stock – Klasko Immigration Law Partners, Philadelphia, United States

Bernard Wolfsdorf – Wolfsdorf Rosenthal, Santa Monica, United States

Stephen Yale-Loehr – Miller Mayer LLP, Ithaca, United States

Leading Firms:

Klasko Immigration Law Partners, United States

Foster, United States

Wolfsdorf Rosenthal, United States

Other Leading Individuals:

CANADA: Barbara Jo Caruso – Corporate Immigration Law Firm, Toronto, Canada

U.S.: Cyrus Mehta – Cyrus D Mehta & Partners, New York, NY, United States

U.S.: Charles Kuck – Kuck Baxter Immigration, Atlanta, GA, United States

U.S.: Stephen Yale-Loehr – Miller Mayer LLP, Ithaca, NY, United States

U.S.: Gregory Siskind – Siskind Susser, Memphis, TN, United States

U.S.: Ira Kurzban – Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, Coral Gables, FL, United States

U.S.: Vincent Lau – Clark Lau, Boston, MA, United States

U.S.: Vic Goel – Goel & Anderson, Reston, VA, United States

U.S.: Marketa Lindt – Sidley Austin, Chicago, IL, United States

U.S.: Rami Fakhoury – Fakhoury Global Immigration, Troy, MI, United States

ASIA-PACIFIC

Global Elite Thought Leaders:

Phillip Yip – Phillip Yip & Associates, Sydney, Australia

Other Leading Individuals:

AUSTRALIA: Phillip Yip – Phillip Yip & Associates, Sydney, Australia

HONG KONG: Eugene Chow – Chow King & Associates, Wanchai, Hong Kong

LATIN AMERICA

Global Elite Thought Leaders:

Ariel Orrego-Villacorta – AOV Abogados, Lima, Peru

Other Leading Individuals:

COLOMBIA: Rodrigo Tannus Serrano – Tannus & Asociados, Bogota, Colombia

PERU: Ariel Orrego-Villacorta – AOV Abogados, Lima, Peru

The following ABIL members, and members of ABIL firms, were listed in LawDragon’s 2023 list of 100 leading immigration lawyers:

Delisa Bressler – Foster – Austin, TX

Helene Dang – Foster – Houston, TX

Corina Farias – Foster – Austin

Charles Foster – Foster – Houston, TX

H. Ronald Klasko – Klasko Immigration Law Partners – Philadelphia, PA

Ira Kurzban – Kurzban Kurzban – Coral Gables, FL

Avalyn Langemeier – Foster – Houston, TX

Marketa Lindt – Sidley – Chicago, IL

Robert Loughran – Foster – Austin, TX

John Meyer – Foster – Austin, TX

Dorothee Mitchell – Foster – Austin, TX

Farshad Owji – WR Immigration – San Francisco, CA

Angelo Paparelli – Vialto Law – Los Angeles, CA

Jose Perez – Foster – Houston

John Pratt – Kurzban Kurzban – Coral Gables, FL

Edward Ramos – Kurzban Kurzban – Coral Gables, FL

Kimberley Best Robidoux – WR Immigration – San Diego, CA

William Stock – Klasko Immigration Law Partners – Philadelphia, PA

Helena Tetzeli – Kurzban Kurzban – Coral Gables, FL

Bernard Wolfsdorf – WR Immigration – Santa Monica, CA

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Is this issue:

1. COVID-19 VACCINE REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAVELERS: AN OVERVIEW – This article provides an overview of COVID-19 vaccine documentation and requirements for travelers in several countries.

2. CANADA – Canada has launched a new stream of immigration for Ukrainians.

3. FRANCE – This article provides updates in French immigration law and international mobility in France.

4. ITALY – A new portal for Italian work permit applications is finally online, but there are issues. Also, the procedure for filing work permit applications has changed. Finally, a new decree will be approved and published soon, with a planned quantity of 75,000 quotas for work.

5. MEXICO – Colombian citizens entering Mexico must register.

6. SCHENGEN AREA – This article discusses how to calculate the 90/180-days allowance for non-European Union nationals traveling to Schengen countries, and the new Electronic Entry System.

7. UNITED KINGDOM – Visa processing delays outside the United Kingdom have worsened in recent weeks. This article also provides tips on what to do if UK Visas and Immigration calls or emails about a sponsor license.

8. New Publications and Items of Interest – New Publications and Items of Interest

9. ABIL Member / Firm News – ABIL Member / Firm News

Download:

ABIL Global Immigration Update – June 2022

1. COVID-19 VACCINE REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAVELERS: AN OVERVIEW

This article provides an overview of COVID-19 vaccine documentation and requirements for travelers in several countries.

Canada

As with many other countries, Canada relaxed its entry requirement in the spring of 2022. Since April 1, 2022, Canada allows travelers to enter without a pre-arrival test if they are fully vaccinated.

Foreign nationals can enter Canada if they have been vaccinated with two doses of a recognized vaccine* (both doses of the same vaccine or a mix of two different shots) or one dose of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The last shot must be received at least 14 days before arrival in Canada. The foreign proof of vaccination to be shown at the Canadian border must be an official certificate, pass, card, receipt, or confirmation, in English or French, that shows any first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine received. It cannot be only a QR code. The name of the traveler, the authority who administered the vaccine, and the dates and brand(s) of the shots must be in writing.

Unvaccinated foreign nationals who come to Canada to spend time at a seasonal home or cottage; visit an immediate or extended family member, if age 18 or over; attend a Canadian educational institution as an international student if age 18 or over; provide child care for relatives; visit for personal or casual reasons; perform work for an air or rail crew, a medical occupation, transportation, or sports; or enter for tourism, fishing, entertainment, or leisure cannot enter Canada, even if they have tested negative for COVID-19. Few exceptions exist for unvaccinated foreign nationals; see https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/exemptions

As of May 19, 2022, a third booster dose is not mandatory, and there is no limit of time between the last dose received and the travel date. The government of Canada prohibits anyone from entering Canada by any means of transportation if the person presents any symptoms of COVID-19.

All travelers must fill out the ArriveCan app within 72 hours of a direct flight to Canada with their proof of vaccination and travel plans.

* Vaccines recognized by Canada as of May 2022 include AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD (ChAdOx1-S, Vaxzevria, AZD1222), Bharat Biotech (Covaxin, BBV152 A, B, C), Medicago Covifenz, Moderna (Spikevax, mRNA-1273) including for children aged 6 to 11 years, Novavax (NVX-COV2373, Nuvaxovid, Covovax), Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty/tozinameran, BNT162b2) including for children aged 5 to 11 years, Sinopharm BIBP (BBIBP-CorV), and Sinovac (CoronaVac, PiCoVacc).

Italy

Travelers must present to the carrier and to whoever is in charge of checking:

• The COVID-19 green certificate or other equivalent certificate, which must state one of the following conditions:
  • Completion of the primary vaccination series or booster dose according to the vaccination plans of the countries of release with vaccines authorized by the European Medical Agency (primary series validity 9 months and booster dose without predefined limit)
  • Recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection (valid for 180 days from positive swab test)
  • Recovery after the administration of the first dose of vaccine or at the end of the primary vaccination series or following the administration of the relevant booster dose
  • Rapid antigen or molecular swab test within 48 or 72 hours, respectively, before entry into Italy.

COVID-19 green certificates of successful vaccination are accepted in Italian, English, French, Spanish, or German. If submitted in another language, they must be accompanied by a sworn translation into Italian. Foreign certifications of recovery must be accompanied by a sworn translation into Italian.

It should also be noted that the certification regarding the completion of the vaccination series must refer to one of the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency:

• Pfizer-BioNtech Comirnaty
• Moderna
• Vaxzevria
• Janssen (Johnson & Johnson)
• Nuvaxovid (Novavax)
• A vaccine considered equivalent by the Italian legislation (e.g., Covishield, Fiocruz, R-Covi).

Mexico

There are no restrictions related to COVID-19 to enter Mexican National Territory. Specifically, there is:

• No vaccination card requirement
• No entry or exit ban
• No quarantine requirement
• No mandatory proof of vaccination or COVID-19 testing

Mexico grants an online proof of vaccination to travel abroad.

Turkey

Turkey has access to both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Sinovac vaccines. Citizens or lawful residents are eligible for free vaccination (three total), which is then immediately recorded in the Ministry of Health’s online system. The Ministry has a public mobile phone app (called E-nabuz) that verifies the date/type of vaccine the individual was given and produces an online certificate with a QR code to evidence vaccination status. The Ministry of Health can also produce a European Union (EU)-compliant vaccination certificate through the E-nabuz system for mobility within the EU.

Full vaccination at least two weeks before entry is required with a Ministry of Turkey-approved (or WHO-approved) vaccine OR a negative PCR test or proof of recovery from COVID-19.

Details:

• For further information, see “Türkiye Travel Rules,” Turkish Airlines, https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-tr/announcements/coronavirus-outbreak/turkey-travel-rules/

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2. CANADA

Canada has launched a new stream of immigration for Ukrainians.

The Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) allows Ukrainian nationals to apply for a Canadian visa without most of the usual requirements (free of charge, exempt from completing an immigration medical exam overseas, the option to apply for an open work permit, exempt from Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements) excepting biometrics in certain cases and ArriveCAN. Announced on March 17, 2022, the CUAET is particularly interesting for Ukrainians as compared to other visas available because it allows them to obtain an open work permit and/or study permit free of charge, and they can be authorized to stay in Canada up to three years instead of the standard six months. For non-complex cases, the aim is to approve such visa applications within 14 days of receipt. No sponsor in Canada is required, no ties to home country are to be considered, and there are no financial requirements.

To apply for CUAET, Ukrainians need to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa and an Open Work Permit by mentioning in their application that it is made through CUAET to highlight the urgency of the demand to the visa officers. Once the application is submitted, Ukrainians need to take biometrics only if they are aged 18 to 60. Then they normally would need to submit their passport for placement of Canadian Visa (although Canadian authorities now emit counterfoil-less visas if the applicant is in one of six departure countries: Poland, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, or Romania).

On April 28, 2022, Canada received 163,747 applications and approved 56,633, and 19,628 Ukrainians arrived in Canada. As there is no limit on the number of CUAET applications of CUAET, it is a popular and successful program, according to reports.

Details:

• Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (updated Apr. 22, 2022), Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/ukraine-measures/cuaet.html

Ukraine Immigration Measures: Key Figures (updated Apr. 29, 2022), Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/ukraine-measures/key-figures.html

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3. FRANCE

This article provides updates in French immigration law and international mobility in France.

Update of salary thresholds for certain immigration categories following the legal minimum wage increase on May 1, 2022. Following the increase of the minimum wage on May 1, 2022, the minimum base salary threshold to access the Talent Passport-qualified employee status is now 39,494 euros per year; that of the Talent Passport-employee on assignment increased to 35,545 euros.

European Commission proposes digitization of procedures and visas. On April 27, 2022, the European Commission presented a draft regulation aimed at fully digitizing the visa issuance procedure. The objective would be to allow the online filing of visa applications and issue digital visas. The Commission plans to develop the online tool starting in 2024 for entry into service in 2026, with a view to its use by all Schengen Member States by 2031 at the latest.

State services and immigration: regaining meaning and efficiency. In a report published on May 10, 2022, a fact-finding mission set up by the Senate’s law commission reported that “foreign nationals’ rights have become illegible and incomprehensible under the effect of the layers of successive reforms, ineffective procedures and a lack of means of the State services to implement them.” Among other things, the new tools allowing the filing of an increasing number of applications online, and the making of appointments online, are called into question. By the end of 2022, the “Digital Administration of foreign nationals in France” platform, ANEF, aims at digitalization of 100% of residence permit applications in France, when currently 52% of the requests are already processed online. To overcome current difficulties that sometimes prevent the filing of applications, or that result in long virtual waiting lines, the report recommends implementation of “robust technical support allowing the rapid resolution of difficulties on the atypical files” and “preserving other methods of access to the public service for foreign nationals when an administrative procedure initiated via ANEF has not been successful.” It is also proposed to set by regulation a maximum period for the administration to grant an appointment at the prefecture.

Ukraine: beneficiaries of temporary protection can exercise a self-employed profession. Formalizing the possibility for beneficiaries of temporary protection displaced from Ukraine to exercise an independent profession, a decree of April 27, 2022, from the Minister of the Economy modifies the decree of December 29, 2021, and the commercial code to include the temporary residence permit (APS) issued to beneficiaries of temporary protection to the list of supporting documents to be produced in support of requests for registration and de-registration in the trades directory and in the Trade and Companies Register.

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4. ITALY

A new portal for Italian work permit applications is finally online, but there are issues. Also, the procedure for filing work permit applications has changed. Finally, a new decree will be approved and published soon, with a planned quantity of 75,000 quotas for work.

Portal for Italian Work Permit Applications Opens, With Issues

The immigration system portal was closed from April 22, 2022, until May 15, 2022. It has come back online, but it is not yet fully functional and there are still many technical issues, delays, difficulties, and problems that need to be resolved.

The Ministry is working on these issues, although most of the immigration offices, including in many major cities such as Milan, Rome, Torino, and Florence, have canceled all appointments until further notice due to system problems. There is no estimate regarding when the system will be fully operational.

Procedure for Filing Work Permit Applications Changes

Also, the procedure for filing work permit applications has changed. The online system asks work permit applicants to upload their main mandatory documents before filing, but users await further clarification from the government on the new procedures.

Based on these issues, delays are expected for any new work permit applications and when completing the necessary immigration steps for those workers who have already entered Italy or plan to enter Italy.

New Decree To Be Approved Soon

The Italian minister of internal affairs announced that a new decreto flussi will be approved and published soon, with a planned quantity of 75,000 quotas for work. There is a lack of staff in specific activity sectors, the Ministry said. The decree is expected not only to increase the quotas in the unskilled work sector (highly skilled workers are exempt from obtaining quotas) but also to make available new quotas for conversion from study to work and self-employment, including start-up visas.

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5. MEXICO

Colombian citizens entering Mexico must register.

As of April 1, 2022, all Colombian citizens entering Mexico must complete a pre-registration form online: https://www.inm.gob.mx/spublic/portal/inmex.html

The information requested includes details such as personal data, length of stay, activities to be carried out, source of payment, contact information in the country of origin and information about a contact person in the country of destination (name and telephone number), hotel or Airbnb reservation, and roundtrip itinerary.

You may find more information at the following website https://www.gob.mx/inm/articulos/eres-de-nacionalidad-colombiana-y-vas-a-viajar-a-mexico?idiom=es

Details:

• Additional information for Colombians wishing to enter Mexico is at https://www.gob.mx/inm/articulos/eres-de-nacionalidad-colombiana-y-vas-a-viajar-a-mexico?idiom=es (Spanish)

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6. SCHENGEN AREA

This article discusses how to calculate the 90/180-days allowance for non-European Union nationals traveling to Schengen countries, and the new Electronic Entry System.

How to Count Your 90 Days

Non-European Union (EU) visitors can stay in the Schengen countries for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period, but the calculation is not easy.

The Schengen area includes 26 EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechstenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The scannable QR code below leads to EU Migration and Home Affairs, which includes visa policy information and lists of countries whose citizens must have a visa or are exempt from visa requirements when crossing Schengen external borders.

Third-country nationals (e.g., those who are not citizens of the EU and Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland), irrespective of being visa-required or exempt, who intend to travel to the Schengen area for a short trip for business or tourism can stay for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period. A few terms and rules apply:

Date of entry: The first day of stay on the territory of the Schengen Member State

Date of exit: The last day of stay in the Schengen Area

This applies only to short-term visitors. Periods of stay authorized under a residence permit or a long-stay visa are not taken into account in the calculation of the duration of stay on the territory of the Member States.

Reference to “any 180-day period” implies the application of a “moving” 180-day reference period, looking backwards at each day of the stay (be it at the entry or at the day of an actual check), into the last 180-day period, to verify if the 90-days/180-day-period requirement continues to be fulfilled.

As noted above, calculation is often not easy. The EU has created an online calculator.

New Entry/Exit System

The new Entry/Exit System (EES), to be operational in 2022, will automatically identify those who overstay their periods of admission. It will collect identity information and the date and place of entry and exit. The EES will apply to non-EU nationals, visa-required and visa-exempt travelers in the Schengen area. It will replace manual stamping of passports.

Details:

• “How to Count Your Schengen 90 Days,” Medium, https://medium.com/studiomazzeschi/how-to-count-your-schengen-90-days-ee96f5d25326
• Entry/Exit System (EES), Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/smart-borders/entry-exit-system_en

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7. UNITED KINGDOM

Visa processing delays outside the United Kingdom have worsened in recent weeks. This article also provides tips on what to do if UK Visas and Immigration calls or emails about a sponsor license.

Visa Processing Delays

Visa processing delays outside the United Kingdom (UK) have worsened. Any applications for people to start working in the UK within the next three to four months should be initiated now.

In response to the crisis in Ukraine, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) reallocated resources to those fleeing Ukraine who need to apply for a UK visa. As a result, priority (for a five-day turnaround) and super priority (for same day service) have been suspended, except for visit visa applications.

The expected standard processing time was three weeks, but applications are taking longer. Businesses should therefore plan accordingly for urgent applications and apply as soon as possible.

For visa applications submitted outside the UK, the current situation is:

• Work visas. Priority services for work visa applications are suspended. The standard service processing time of three weeks is being missed in many cases.

• Visit visas. Priority services for visit visa applications have now been suspended in some locations, including Asia Pacific countries due to the COVID-19-related lockdown in China.

• Family visas. Priority services for family visa applications (including those applying as the partner of a British citizen) are still suspended. The standard service processing time has just doubled from 12 weeks to 24 weeks.

Emails and Calls From UKVI about Sponsor Licenses

Some have been contacted out of the blue by UKVI about their sponsor licenses The caller or the email may say they have noticed you have not accessed your online sponsor license—the Sponsor Management System (SMS)—in the last 12 months.

Many sponsors do not use their licence regularly. They may only be sponsoring a low volume of workers and so will not have accessed their SMS. The sponsor license records need to be kept up to date, but that should not necessarily mean the SMS must be accessed every 12 months. Some sponsors may have more than one Level 1 or 2 User (who has access to the SMS), and so understandably not all users may have accessed the SMS. UKVI recommends that the SMS be accessed every month, but this is not required.

As a precaution, the following is recommended as part of ongoing compliance activities:

• Check that the key personnel on your sponsor license are still in place. This includes the Authorising Officer (person in overall charge of the sponsor license), the Key Contact (who receives communications from UKVI), and the Level 1 and 2 Users. It is possible that UKVI will notice bounce-back emails signaling that key personnel have left the business and whether the business is still operational.

• Consider whether there are any other changes to your sponsor license. Changes to be recorded include when the business has changed its name, address, or ownership.

Any updates should be made within 10 working days of the change and as soon as possible.

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8. New Publications and Items of Interest

Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers: ·

The latest immigration news is at https://www.abil.com/news.cfm. ·

The latest published media releases include:

• ABIL Says Proposed Change to Public Charge Rule Would Exclude Immigrants from Government Programs: https://www.prweb.com/releases/abil_says_proposed_change_to_public_charge_rule_would_exclude_immigrants_from_government_programs/prweb15737932.htm
• New Data Show Increase in H-1B Denials and RFEs: https://www.prweb.com/releases/new_data_show_increase_in_h_1b_denials_and_rfes/prweb15673632.htm
• ABIL Urges Administration to Change “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/05/prweb15485457.htm
• ABIL Member Kuck Baxter Immigration Commercial Nominated for an Emmy: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/05/prweb15485460.htm

–   ABIL Members Note Immigration Threats for Employers in 2018: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/03/prweb15261255.htm

• ABIL is available on Twitter: @ABILImmigration.
• Recent ABIL member blogs are at http://www.abilblog.com/.

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9. ABIL Member / Firm News

The following Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers members and associates will speak at the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Annual Conference on Immigration Law or the AILA/GMS Annual Global Migration Forum (https://info.aila.org/ac22):

AILA ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON IMMIGRATION LAW

Remote Management Is the Future: Ethically and Effectively Managing Freelance and Remote Employees: Michele G. Madera (DL), Miki Kawashima Matrician (Klasko Immigration Law Partners)

Naturalization Basics panel: Dagmar Butte

Ready to Be an Immigration Lawyer? If Only I Had Known Then What I Know Now!: Ari Sauer

Introducing Essential Terms and Concepts: William Stock

Lessons Learned from the Great Downgrade Rush of 2020: Cyrus Mehta

EEEEK! Filing Post-Pandemic E-1 And E-2 Applications: Bernard Wolfsdorf

EB-5 and International Entrepreneur Parole: Current State of the Programs: H. Ronald Klasko

“You’re FOIA’d!” The Immigration Attorney’s Secret Weapon: Charles Kuck

Hot Topics Strategy Session with the AILA National Officers: Farshad Owji

Asylum I: Protecting Those Seeking Refuge in the United States: Stephen Yale-Loehr

It’s Tough to Become an Intracompany Transferee: Crafting Winning L-1A and L‑1B Arguments: Fausta Albi

H-1B: Specialty Occupations Outside the Box: Bob White, Vic Goel

The New Normal: Dealing with a Remote Workforce: Kehrela Hodkinson

Hot Topics in Removal: Case Law Updates, New Arguments, and More!: Aaron Hall

ILCA Panel: The Policy and Political Landscape for the 2022 Midterm Elections: Ira Kurzban

Opportunities for H-2B Visas for Seasonal/Short-Term Positions: Beyond Hospitality and Leisure Occupations: Loan Huynh

The EB-1A, NIW, and Schedule A in Nontraditional Fields: Jason Susser

Motion Practice in Immigration Court: Winning Your Case Before the Individual Hearing: Lily Axelrod (discussion leader)

Exchanging Workers: Issues Unique to the J Visa Exchange Program: Elissa Taub (discussion leader)

Employer Compliance Issues: Beyond the Form I-9: Angelo Paparelli

Non-Hardship Waivers: Applications: David Isaacson

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Immigration Attorney?: Ira Kurzban

Why Aren’t You Delegating: Bryan Funai

The Overture and the Final Act: Hiring and Firing: Kirby Joseph (discussion leader), Elise Fialkowski

Well-Being Practices for Your Entire Office: Jennifer Howard

60 Tech Tips in 60 Minutes: Gregory Siskind

Buried in Piles of Paper? Let’s Get Digital!: Hannah Little (discussion leader), Hilary Fraser, Robert Loughran

AILA/GMS ANNUAL GLOBAL MIGRATION FORUM

Practice Management: Welcome Address and Greetings: Maria Celebi

Attorney Compliance and Ethics: Tools to Navigate the Global Migration: Rodrigo Tannus Serrano

Immigration Lawyers as Global Citizens: Ariel Orrego-Villacorta

Current Impact of COVID-19 on Global Migration: Bernard Caris

Competing Globally for Talent and Essential Workers: William Hummel (discussion leader), Nina Perch-Nielsen

The Road Ahead: What Do We Envision for the Future of Global Mobility?: Audrey Lustgarten (discussion leader), Farshad Owji, Philip Yip

Gomberg Dalfen S.E.N.C (Avi Gomberg‘s [bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-gomberg.cfm?c=CA] firm) and Corporate Immigration Law Firm (BJ Caruso‘s [bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-caruso.cfm?c=CA] firm) were named by Canadian Lawyer as Top Immigration Law Boutiques for 2022-23. https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/rankings/top-immigration-law-boutiques-2022-23/365708

1. Ronald Klasko, of Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP, spoke on the EB-5 panel at the Investment Migration Forum, sponsored by the Investment Migration Council. Global leaders in investment migration from more than 40 countries spoke and attended the forum held June 6-9, 2022, in Brussels, Belgium. https://investmentmigration.org/forum/

Robert Loughran (bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-loughran.cfm) announced that Foster LLP Partner Todd Fowler and Senior Attorney Florence Luk will present a webinar, “Summer Travel During Covid-19: What You Need to Know,” on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. The webinar will provide HR professionals with an overview of the latest regarding travel restrictions and which countries are affected. The presenters will also discuss strategies for filing work visa extension petitions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in lieu of visa applications presented at U.S. Embassies abroad. For more information or to register, see

Mr. Loughran announced:

• Partner José Pérez and Attorney Melissa Cantu will present in a Foster webinar, “Basics of Family-Based Immigration,” on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. The webinar will provide HR professionals with a basic understanding of family-based immigration. HR professionals can expect to learn about family-based visas, and issues facing U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who wish to reunite with their families. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4939537719342625549
• Pérez will speak on a panel, “Foreign/Mexican Investments in the Texas Business Markets,” at the U.S.-Mexico Real Estate Investment Summit on Thursday, June 9, 2022. REBS Dallas will bring together executives representing real estate funds, institutional investors, developers, real estate brokers, consultants, attorneys, and academics, as well as government officials and other representatives of the business and financial communities of Texas and Mexico. https://rebs.mx/

Cyrus Mehta (bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-mehta.cfm) and Kaitlyn Box co-authored several new blog posts: “Ethical Dimensions of Patel v. Garland,” http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2022/05/ethical-dimensions-of-patel-v-garland.html; “Ethical Considerations When ICE Moves to Dismiss Removal Proceedings Under the Doyle Prosecutorial Discretion Memo,” http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2022/05/ethical-considerations-when-ice-moves-to-dismiss-removal-proceedings-under-the-doyle-prosecutorial-discretion-memo.html; “Helping Afghans and Ukrainians Progress from Parole to Temporary Protected Status to Permanent Residence,” http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2022/05/helping-afghans-and-ukrainians-can-progress-from-parole-to-temporary-protected-status-to-permanent-residence.html

Mr. Mehta and Jessica Paszco co-authored a new blog post, “H-1B Extension Beyond Six Years Will Not Be Granted If Priority Date Is Current and Green Card is Not Applied for Within One Year.” http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2022/05/h-1b-extension-beyond-six-years-will-not-be-granted-if-priority-date-is-current-and-green-card-is-not-applied-for-within-one-year.html

Mr. Mehta has accepted the position of Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Law Journal, following the previous EIC’s departure on June 30, 2022. Mr. Mehta’s blog is at http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/.

Greg Siskind, of Siskind Susser, authored “Siskind Summary—Uniting for Ukraine Program.” https://www.visalaw.com/siskind-summary-uniting-for-ukraine-program/?locale=en

Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP has published a blog post and several webinars on the newly reauthorized EB-5 regional center program. https://wolfsdorf.com/news-and-resources/

WR Immigration announced two nominations for Chambers and Partners’ North American Diversity & Inclusion Awards. Bernard Wolfsdorf was nominated for Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year and WR Immigration was nominated for Pro Bono Outstanding Firm. https://wolfsdorf.com/chambers-diversity-inclusion-awards-north-america-2022/

Stephen Yale-Loehr (bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-loehr.cfm?c=US) was quoted by the Associated Press in “Video Spreads False Claims About Immigrants.” Regarding claims that immigrants living in the United States without authorization commit a high number of crimes, he said, “Almost every reputable report that I have seen has found that immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than native born U.S. citizens.” Mr. Yale-Loehr cited a 2020 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal. Using data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the study found that immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization have “substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants across a range of felony offenses.” Regarding an estimate of the number of immigrants who could be living in the United States without authorization, Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “Their numbers of 21 million are just wildly off base. They are double what reputable research organizations have found.” He pointed to the Pew Research Center, which estimated that 10.5 million immigrants were living in the U.S. without authorization as of 2017. Regarding claims by conservative activist Candace Owens, citing a 2011 Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) report,  that immigrants living in the United States use public benefits at a high rate and that 80% never go off welfare, Mr. Yale-Loehr noted that a 2002 Brookings Institution report states that use of welfare by legal permanent residents has declined by a faster rate than use of such benefits by citizens. “The CIS report doesn’t distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants,” he noted. “Neither report states that 80% of undocumented immigrants never go off welfare. The bottom line: These two reports fail to support Candace Owens’ claim.” https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-charlie-kirk-candace-owens-immigration-688231079873

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Time in “Why Judges Are Basically in Charge of U.S. Immigration Policy Now.” He said, “This is a manifestation of our broken immigration system. Today, almost every executive action on immigration is being challenged in the courts.” He also noted that judges having so much power to determine immigration policy also puts the U.S. judicial system in a delicate spot, since federal judges are often wary of being drawn into issues of national sovereignty or of impinging on the executive branch’s authority to conduct foreign policy. But these days, they often have no choice. “Courts are loath to weigh in,” he said. Another reason for the recent explosion of court challenges was the pace at which the Trump administration moved on immigration issues, the article notes. That “unprecedented pace” led to an unprecedented wave of new lawsuits. “That really accelerated the legal challenges,” Mr. Yale-Loehr said. And now, he said, “Conservative states are suing every chance they get to challenge everything that the Biden administration is doing on immigration.” https://time.com/6172684/judges-us-immigration-policy/

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by the New York State Bar Association in “NYSBA Members Fight for Immigrant Representation.” Mr. Yale-Loehr, who is co-chair with Shayna Kessler of NYSBA’s Immigration Representation Committee, said, “We try to encourage more members to work pro bono for immigrants, and Shayna has been particularly active in trying to work on funding issues and legislative issues to make it easier to get representation for immigrants in New York State. Immigrants are not guaranteed an attorney. Over half of all immigrants don’t have a lawyer, and immigration law is one of the most complex areas of law in the country. For asylum seekers, it can be a life and death decision.” https://nysba.org/nysba-members-fight-for-immigrant-representation/

Mr. Yale-Loehr co-authored  “How a Supreme Court Abortion Ruling May Harm Refugee Women,” New York Daily News, Apr. 20, 2022. https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-supreme-court-refugee-abortion-20220420-iyjrkcorjndk5gpxads5qzi4z4-story.html

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Spectrum News in “Several Democrats Side With Republicans to Keep Border Restrictions.” He noted that the Trump administration said “that for public health reasons they were going to turn back most people who tried to enter from Mexico into the United States, if they did not already have a valid visa like a tourist visa. Title 42 is sort of like a garden hose that has been bottled up. All the people that would normally come in at regular flows over the years have been sort of stymied and held up at the border. And of course, if they lift title 42, that surge now is going to be coming across the border and temporarily could pose problems for the Border Patrol. I think that people should be aware that there will be a surge at the border at the termination of Title 42 but part of that is because of the normal seasonal surge that always happens this time of year.” https://spectrumnews1.com/ma/worcester/politics/2022/04/12/these-democrats-side-with-republicans-to-keep-border-restrictions–

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Univision in “Supreme Court Ruling Leaves Immigrants With Errors in Their Paperwork on the Brink of Deportation.” Mr. Yale-Loehr said that the Supreme Court’s decision “means that thousands of immigrants each year will no longer be able to go to federal court to correct factual errors by immigration judges. Given how much is at stake in deportation proceedings, Congress should provide funding for attorneys to represent immigrants in all deportation proceedings in the same way that attorneys are automatically provided to everyone charged with a crime.” https://www.univision.com/noticias/inmigracion/fallo-corte-suprema-deja-inmigrantes-al-borde-de-deportacion-las-claves (Spanish, with English translation available)

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Law360 in “High Court Raises Stakes of Immigration Court Decisions.” He said that noncitizens without legal representation are more likely to be affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling because they don’t have the help of legal professionals trained to watch out for potential errors by immigration adjudicators. He said legal aid programs can help address the disadvantages facing noncitizens who lack access to counsel, and encouraged immigration advocates to push for federal, state, and local governments to fund such programs. “We need to make sure that every immigrant has good representation in immigration court. Given the many errors the immigration bureaucracy makes, many people will be denied their day in court because of this decision,” he said. https://www.law360.com/immigration/articles/1493704/high-court-raises-stakes-of-immigration-court-decisions (registration required)

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by law.com in “Immigration Lawyers Welcome Clarity and Lessening of Bias Wrought by Court Notification Statute on Hochul’s Desk.” A measure, passed by the New York legislature and awaiting Gov. Hochul’s signature, is structured so that courts would give standard required language about the risk of immigration consequences resulting from a guilty plea to everyone—the court wouldn’t first find out whether a defendant is a noncitizen. “So there’s no discrimination in that sense,” Mr. Yale-Loehr said. He noted that immigration law and criminal law are complicated, and that advising people about the intersection of them makes it even more complicated. “Many times people erroneously think that it’s only if they plead guilty to a felony crime that they might be deportable, but in many cases under federal immigration law, pleading guilty to a misdemeanor can also make you deportable,” he said.

Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Spectrum News in “Lawmakers Call for Investigation Into Office Handling Asylum Cases for New England States.” He explained that some outside factors may have played a part in the Boston U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service office’s low approval rate. “There are a lot of reasons, [including] high turnover of officers [and] pressure to decide cases quickly … if [officers] see the same kind of case over and over again, you sort of feel like you know that type of case without really probing into the individual facts of the case. … There’s a lot of disparity in all of the USCIS asylum offices and it got worse during the Trump administration. There was pressure from headquarters to make it harder to win approval. So approval rates across the country went down. They just seem to have gone down more in Boston than in some of the other USCIS asylum offices.” https://spectrumnews1.com/ma/worcester/politics/2022/06/01/lawmakers-call-for-investigation-into-office-handling-asylum-cases-for-new-england-states

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In this issue:

1. DOCUMENT PROCUREMENT AND THE LEGALIZATION PROCESS: AN OVERVIEW – This article provides an overview of policies and procedures on document procurement and legalization in several countries

2. CANADA – Canada has issued several updates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

3. ITALY – Italy has lifted some travel restrictions. A new law extends residence permit validity and suspension of administrative procedures. Also, Italy has published a “Phase 2” decree related to COVID-19 rules. The government is drafting a decree to boost investments. Foreigners with serious health conditions can apply for a medical treatment temporary permit. Applications are open for migrant worker regularization.

4. RUSSIA – Russia has announced extensions of patents for certain foreign citizens, a new e-visa, and COVID-19 procedures updates.

5. SCHENGEN AREA – Schengen Member States and Schengen Associated States have been invited to extend restrictions on nonessential travel to the European Union until June 15, 2020.

6. UNITED KINGDOM – The Home Office has clarified what those stuck outside the United Kingdom (UK) with expired 30-day entry visas must do to be able to enter the UK. Also, the Home Secretary has announced a 14-day quarantine regime for international passengers arriving in the UK.

7. New Publications and Items of Interest – New Publications and Items of Interest

8. ABIL Member / Firm News – ABIL Member / Firm News

Downloads:

ABIL Global Immigration Update – June 2020

1. DOCUMENT PROCUREMENT AND THE LEGALIZATION PROCESS: AN OVERVIEW

This article provides an overview of policies and procedures on document procurement and legalization in several countries.

Canada

Police clearance certificates are issued in Canada by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the federal police service, and are commonly referred to as “RCMP criminal record checks.” Applications for RCMP checks for immigration purposes require fingerprints to be taken by a local police station in Canada, or by an accredited fingerprinting company inside or outside Canada. A list of accredited companies can be requested at [email protected]. The fingerprints are then submitted to the RCMP’s Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS) for searches of the National Repository of Criminal Records, and the RCMP issues a one-page criminal record check displaying the fingerprints, the person’s picture, the content of the repository, and the official RCMP dry seal.

The RCMP criminal record check may be submitted to Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, referred to as “Global Affairs Canada,” for authentication. Authentication is the certification of the genuineness of the RCMP’s seal so that the issued document may be recognized in another jurisdiction. Documents brought in person to Global Affairs Canada’s Authentication Office in Ottawa are processed on the spot, but may also be mailed in, or mailed to one of the Canadian consulates or embassies abroad that offer authentication services. In Canada this service is free of charge, but Canadian representations abroad may charge a fee. Because the government of Canada is not party to the Hague Apostille Convention, authentication by Global Affairs Canada is usually required before a foreign or Canadian document can be legalized by a foreign consulate or embassy.

A detailed process outline tailored to the type of document that requires authentication is on Global Affairs Canada’s website at . As of this writing, the website includes a notice stating, “Due to the evolving situation regarding COVID-19, authentication services will be closed to the public until further notice. Our mail-in service will continue. Usual mail-in service standards may not apply.”

Italy

Italian police clearance certificates are also known as criminal records or police records, and are official certificates from the Judicial Records Register of the Italian Court.

In Italy there are two kinds of police records:

1. The Certificato Generale del Casellario Giudiziale (General Certificate of Good Conduct), which certifies all irrevocable judgments of the court regarding criminal, civil, and administrative matters.
2. The Certificato dei Carichi Pendenti (Certificate of Pending Charges), which shows a person’s pending criminal proceedings.

How can a police record be obtained? There are two ways:

1. The individual concerned or a delegate can request it by visiting the Italian court in person. In such a case, the certificate will be released by simply providing the officer with the following:

• In case of a delegate, proxy duly signed by the applicant
• Applicant’s ID document – scan copy
• Revenue stamps for the certificate request (1 revenue stamp of €16 + 1 revenue stamp of €3.87)

2. The individual concerned or a delegate can request it online by following these steps:

• Fill out and submit the online application form.
• After 3 to 5 working days, visit the Italian court in person for the certificate collection and bring the supporting documents:
• In case of a delegate, proxy duly signed by the applicant
• Applicant’s ID document – scan copy
• Revenue stamps for the certificate request (1 revenue stamp of €16 + 1 revenue stamp of €3.87)

Also, Italian police records usually must be duly legalized to be officially recognized abroad. The legalization process is done by affixing a stamp or a sticker on the document itself or on a separate certifying paper.

If the country that issued the document has signed the Hague Convention of 5th October 1961, then the legalization is by means of a procedure called apostille, to be completed at the local prefecture having jurisdiction over the town hall that issued the police record; otherwise, the document must be legalized by the embassy/consulate of the country of issuance located in Italy.

The exact requirements to obtain the legalization/apostille must be determined on a case-by-case basis with the issuing authority.

For more information, see https://www.italycertificates.com/italian-criminal-record/

Turkey

In Turkey, police clearances (criminal background checks/records, Adli Sicil Kaydi) are issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office within the Ministry of Justice. This may be requested by the individual in person at the Prosecutor’s Office and is produced on demand immediately and affixed with a red seal for veracity.

A police clearance is also available via an individual’s electronic government account, called an E-devlet account. The individual logs into the account with a personal passcode and can print this and other personal government documents such as birth certificates and address registration documents. Veracity of the online document is confirmed by a unique bar code at the bottom of the document. This bar code can then be confirmed online for legitimacy. The document can be generated in English as well.

As Turkey is a signatory of the Apostille Convention, it will issue an apostille for this police clearance as long as it is destined for another apostille country. In January 2019, Turkey initiated an online apostille process for a few specific personal civil documents. Currently the process is applicable only to Turkish citizens and only for police clearances and court orders. The plan is to expand this to other documents, such as birth, death, and marriage records; diplomas; transcripts; and corporate establishment documents.

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2. CANADA

Canada has issued several updates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canada has extended the travel ban between the United States and Canada to June 21, 2020. Most travel from overseas remains suspended until June 30, 2020. Issuance of electronic travel authorizations and visitor visas are currently suspended and require additional argumentation to prove the purpose of travel.

Unitl August 31, 2020, international students already in Canada are allowed to work full-time, provided they work in an essential service or function as defined by Public Safety Canada, in the following sectors: Energy and Utilities, Information and Communication Technologies, Finance, Health, Food, Water, Transportation, Safety, Government, and Manufacturing. Note that this is not a blanket permission per industry, but the job in question must be covered by the specific essential functions identified by Public Safety Canada in every industry covered under this initiative.

In addition, to facilitate and expedite new hires (or renewals) for certain occupations now considered a priority due to COVID-19, Service Canada has announced a list of priority occupations that will be expedited and, exceptionally, not be subject to the advertising requirement. This streamlines the Labour Market Impact Assessment process for the following occupations and their NOCs:

6331 – Butchers, meat cutters, and fishmongers (retail and wholesale)

7511 – Transport truck drivers

8252 – Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors, and specialized livestock workers

8431 – General farm workers

8432 – Nursery and greenhouse workers

8611 – Harvesting labourers

9463 – Fish and seafood plant workers

9617 – Labourers in food, beverage, and associated products processing

9618 – Labourers in fish and seafood processing

9462 – Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers, and related workers

An additional work permit application at the consular post is required, as this is the prerequisite to be allowed to travel to Canada. This may be complicated by the fact that biometrics are still required for work permits to be approved, yet most biometric collection points worldwide are closed. However, a number of accredited Panel Physicians are still performing Canadian immigration medical examinations.

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3. ITALY

Italy has lifted some travel restrictions. A new law extends residence permit validity and suspension of administrative procedures. Also, Italy has published a “Phase 2” decree related to COVID-19 rules. The government is drafting a decree to boost investments. Foreigners with serious health conditions can apply for a medical treatment temporary permit.

Travel restrictions lifted. As of June 3, 2020, the Italian government announced that it is possible to move freely throughout the country without the need for a justified reason, and travel restrictions have been lifted for travelers coming from the European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) (including all EU Member States, Schengen Area Countries, UK, and Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican State), who will no longer be required to quarantine upon arrival. Exceptions apply for those who have been outside the countries listed above within 14 days of traveling to Italy.

Visitors from outside the EU are expected to be allowed again in the country after June 15, 2020.

New law. A new law, effective April 30, 2020, extended the validity of residence permits to August 31, 2020. The law also extended the validity of nulla Osta (entry clearances for family reasons, work permits) for the same period and the terms for conversion of study permits into work permits.

The validity of Italian identification documents (e.g., identity cards, passports) expiring on or after March 17, 2020, also was extended until August 31, 2020.

In addition, all applications pending as of February 23, 2020, or filed after that date were suspended during the period between February 23, 2020, and April 15, 2020. This meant that any applications filed during that period were not processed in the same timeframe. This period was extended to May 15, 2020.

COVID-19 Phase 2. Also, the Italian government published a “Phase 2” decree in late April with a set of rules that applied in the first several weeks of May 2020. The new provisions were not significantly different from the ones previously in force: the government extended the “lockdown,” although the rules were somewhat relaxed and the list of businesses authorized to reopen was significantly extended (the list can be found in attachment 3 of the decree; businesses are identified by the specific industry code called Codice Ateco).

Reduction of thresholds for investor visa. On May 19, 2020, the Italian government published the Decreto rilancio, a decree intended to boost investments and to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on the Italian economy. The government aims to attract more investments, especially in companies and innovative start-ups. The decree reduces the amount required to qualify for an investor visa to 500,000 EUR (for investment in an Italian company, instead of 1 million EUR) and to 250,000 EUR (for investment in an innovative startup, instead of 500,000 EUR). The decree will need to be converted into law by the Italian Parliament within 60 days following publication. During the conversion process, it can be subject to further amendments.

Medical treatment temporary permit. Foreigners who have a serious medical condition and for whom returning to the country of origin or provenance would constitute a serious health risk cannot be expelled from Italy, according to a decree. Those in such circumstances can apply for a residence permit for medical treatment (permesso di soggiorno per cure mediche). The application must be filed at the police office and requires submission of a medical certificate issued by a public hospital or private hospital accredited by the national health system. The permit is issued for a maximum of one year and is renewable if the health condition persists.

Applications open for migrant worker regularization. From June 1 until July 15, 2020, applications to regularize an employment relationship with a foreign (or Italian) worker or apply for a 6-month residence permit are being accepted. This is possible only for specific sectors of work activities and under certain conditions.

There are two possible options: (1) the employer (company or individual) can apply for a work permit (or declare an irregular work relationship with a foreigner or Italian national) for a foreign national in Italy; or (2) the foreign national with a permit expired since October 31, 2019, can apply for a 6-month residence permit.

Sectors include agriculture, livestock, fishing, and related activities; caregivers; and domestic work.

Details:

• Travel restrictions lifted, https://www.mazzeschi.it/news/italy-reopen-its-gates/
• Law decree April 8, 2020, n. 23, https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2020/04/08/20G00043/sg
• Phase 2 decree, https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2020/04/27/20A02352/sg
• Residence Permit Validity Extended to August 31^st, 2020, https://www.mazzeschi.it/news/validity-of-residence-permits-permessi-di-soggiorno-extended-until-june-15-2020/
• COVID-19: Italy Moves to Phase 2, https://www.mazzeschi.it/news/italy-new-decree-introduces-covid-19-related-measure/
• Proposal to Reduce Thresholds for the Investor Visa, https://www.mazzeschi.it/news/italy-proposal-to-reduce-thresholds-for-the-investor-visa/
• Stuck in Italy Due to Health Problems? Apply for a Medical Treatment Temporary Permit, https://www.mazzeschi.it/news/stuck-in-italy-due-to-health-problems-apply-for-a-medical-treatment-temporary-permit/
• Italian government information regarding June 1-July 15 applications, https://www.interno.gov.it/it/notizie/emersione-dei-rapporti-lavoro-e-rilascio-permessi-soggiorno-temporaneo
• “Applications Open for Migrant Workers Regularization,” Mazzeschi S.r.l., https://www.mazzeschi.it/news/applications-open-for-migrant-workers-regularization/

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4. RUSSIA

Russia has announced extensions of patents for certain foreign citizens, a new e-visa, and COVID-19 procedures updates.

Patents can be extended multiple times. A federal law effective April 24, 2020, changes the procedure of reissuance of patents for work in Russia by foreign citizens who entered using a non-visa regime. Now it is possible to apply for a patent extension an unlimited number of times (previously patents were extended only once). Documents supporting the extension must be filed not less than 10 business days before the expiration of the patent.

New e-visa. Federal Law bill under review: A new bill introduced to the State Duma on April 20, 2020, proposes amendments to the federal law of August 15, 1996, № 114-FL, “On entering and exiting Russian Federation.” The bill introduces, beginning January 1, 2021, a new visa category: the “unified e-visa” (UEV). The new visa will be single-entry, issued for a term of 60 calendar days with an allowed stay of 16 calendar days, and processed within 4 calendar days from the date the application is filed.

This visa category will replace the e-visa that exists now (standard one-entry business visa, tourist, humanitarian), on the basis of which foreign citizens from certain countries are able to visit a number of specified Russia regions with short-term trips.

Foreign citizens who will receive UEV will be able to visit all Russian regions with the following purposes:

• Guest visit;
• Business visit;
• Tourist;
• Participant in scientific, cultural and political, economical and sporting events;
• other reasons.

The UEV will be issued only to the citizens of designated countries, soon to be determined by the government. Entry with this type of visa will be possible only through certain border control points (also soon to be determined by the government).

To receive the UEV, a foreign citizen will not need an inviting party (organization/company or Russian citizen).

The UEV will be issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a foreign citizen’s application, which must be submitted in electronic form through a special Internet portal.

E-visas in the old format will be issued until December 31, 2020, with validity until February 3, 2021.

COVID-19 procedures update. Russia also announced that visas will be extended for 90 days when departure from Russia is not possible due to a quarantine in the home country or country of permanent residence. In such cases, the visa can be extended for a period up to 90 days, with the possibility of extension.

On April 29, 2020, the Russian government issued an order temporarily closing the Russian borders for an indefinite period of time for entry of foreign nationals and stateless persons to the territory of the Russian Federation, with some exceptions, such as diplomatic and military personnel and others.

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5. SCHENGEN AREA

Schengen Member States and Schengen Associated States have been invited to extend restrictions on nonessential travel to the European Union until June 15, 2020.

On May 8, 2020, the European Commission invited Schengen Member States and Schengen Associated States to extend temporary restrictions on nonessential travel to the European Union (EU) until June 15, 2020. The temporary travel restrictions apply to all nonessential travel from third countries to the EU+ area. Based on epidemiological considerations, the Commission will assess if a further prolongation of travel restrictions beyond June 15 will be needed.

Details:

• EU notice,
• Coronavirus: Member States to Extend Restriction on Nonessential Travel to the EU Until 15 June,

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6. UNITED KINGDOM

The Home Office has clarified what those stuck outside the United Kingdom (UK) with expired 30-day entry visas must do to be able to enter the UK. Also, the Home Secretary has announced a 14-day quarantine regime for international passengers arriving in the UK.

New Home Office guidance confirms that those with expired 30-day entry visas must apply for a replacement visa before traveling. Before the end of 2020, the person must email the Coronavirus Immigration Help Centre to obtain a replacement visa free of charge once the visa application centers reopen.

Also, Home Secretary Priti Patel announced on May 22, 2020, that a 14-day quarantine regime for international passengers arriving in the UK would begin on June 8, 2020.

Details:

• UK Immigration FAQs for UK Visa Holders and Businesses, https://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/services/department/immigration/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-immigration-faqs
• Home Secretary Announces 14-Day Quarantine for International Passengers Arriving in the UK, https://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/insights/news/immigration-update-home-secretary-announces-14-day-quarantine-for-international-passengers-arriving-in-the-uk

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7. New Publications and Items of Interest

Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers: ·

The latest immigration news is at https://www.abil.com/news.cfm. ·

The latest published media releases include:

• ABIL Says Proposed Change to Public Charge Rule Would Exclude Immigrants from Government Programs: https://www.prweb.com/releases/abil_says_proposed_change_to_public_charge_rule_would_exclude_immigrants_from_government_programs/prweb15737932.htm
• New Data Show Increase in H-1B Denials and RFEs: https://www.prweb.com/releases/new_data_show_increase_in_h_1b_denials_and_rfes/prweb15673632.htm
• ABIL Urges Administration to Change “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/05/prweb15485457.htm
• ABIL Member Kuck Baxter Immigration Commercial Nominated for an Emmy: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/05/prweb15485460.htm

–   ABIL Members Note Immigration Threats for Employers in 2018: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/03/prweb15261255.htm

• ABIL is available on Twitter: @ABILImmigration.
• Recent ABIL member blogs are at http://www.abilblog.com/.

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8. ABIL Member / Firm News

Dagmar Butte (bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-butte.cfm?c=US) was quoted by Forbes in “USCIS Disputes Improperly Denying 900 H-1B Visa Registrations.” She said, “I think USCIS needs to do a better job, given the lessons learned, to provide full transparency between what employers and representatives see and to identify common error triggers and warn of them more effectively. Employers don’t want to game the system and they should at least have the opportunity to fix errors that are baked into the limitations of the system. The Department of Labor has a system that flags these kinds of things to prevent employers from inadvertently doing something that will get the case denied. I think USCIS needs to fix or create warnings for when one of the events they outline is about to happen.” The article is at .

Foster, LLP, has published several new blog postings. “U.S. Immigration Considerations for COVID-19 Pandemic and CARES Act” is at https://www.fosterglobal.com/blog/us-immigration-considerations-for-covid-19-pandemic-and-cares-act/. “Four Tips to Secure an H-1B Approval” is at https://www.fosterglobal.com/blog/four-tips-to-secure-an-h-1b-approval/.

Foster, LLP, hosted a webinar, “Navigating COVID-19: Essential Immigration-Related Updates for Human Resources in a Telecommuting Environment” on April 9, 2020. For more information, see .

Jeff Joseph, of Joseph & Hall, P.C., was quoted by Law360 in “Orgs Say Gov’t Wrongly Denied Market Analysts H-1B Visas.” Commenting on a new nationwide class action lawsuit, MadKudu, Inc. v. USCIS, he said that USCIS’ decision-making, with respect to its pattern and practice of denying H-1B nonimmigrant employment-based petitions for market research analysts positions filed by businesses in the United States, is “nonsense” and disregards “substantial evidence that clearly establishes that market research analysts are a specialty occupation. Under USCIS’ twisted logic, my English literature degree rendered me uniquely unprepared to take on the professional specialty occupation of immigration lawyer.” The article is available by subscription at https://www.law360.com/articles/1264849. The complaint is at https://www.aila.org/infonet/complaint-filed-in-district-court-challenging.

Charles Kuck (bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-kuck.cfm) was featured on Univision’s Conexion show discussing, “What is the Impact of Trump’s Executive Order Limiting Legal Immigration?” The video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CwHxutj9JI.

Mr. Kuck was quoted by the Times of India in “Class Action Lawsuit Against H-1B Denials for Market Research Analysts Gathers Steam.” Mr. Kuck said, “USCIS does not like being sued. The class action lawsuit actually resulted in USCIS re-opening and approving the plaintiff’s H-1B applications for market research analysts. We would love for more employers and employees to join our suit—there is no cost in doing so.” The article is at .

Mr. Kuck served as one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys in MadKudu, Inc., v. USCIS. A related press release is at https://www.aila.org/advo-media/press-releases/2020/class-action-lawsuit-seeks-to-challenge-uscis. The complaint is at https://www.aila.org/infonet/complaint-filed-in-district-court-challenging.

Mr. Kuck was quoted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in “Doctors, Humanitarian Workers Rushing to Help as Virus Spreads.” Mr. Kuck noted the impact on immigrant families of the COVID-19 crisis. “If they are afraid to get tested and it starts running rampant in their communities, it is only going to make it worse for us. It is not going to stay isolated in one place,” he said. See https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-news/immigrants-refugees-georgia-vulnerable-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/pJJFmzOZzyiUTJRyiEBzoM/

Mr. Kuck was quoted by Breitbart in “Report: India’s H-1B Companies Ask Labor Department to Let Foreign Workers Stay Amid Crash.” Among other things, he said, “Our H-1B system simply does not contemplate this [mass shutdown] scenario that is happening right now.” The article is at https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/03/indias-h-1b-companies-ask-labor-department-to-let-foreign-workers-stay-amid-crash/.

Mr. Kuck participated in Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind” to talk about immigrants in detention and how they are being affected by the pandemic, along with other topics. See https://www.gpbnews.org/post/political-rewind-jails-risk-becoming-georgias-next-hotspot.

Mr. Kuck‘s latest Immigration Hour podcast, “COVID-19 and USCIS, ICE, and EOIR – How to NOT Respond to a Crisis,” is at https://soundcloud.com/user-474250731/covid-19-and-uscis-ice-and-eoir-how-to-not-respond-to-a-crisis.

Mr. Kuck published a new blog posting. “Employment, Furlough, and Termination Options for Employers and Their Nonimmigrant Workers (H-1B, L-1, E-2, TN, O-1, and F-1 OPT)” is at .

Robert Loughran (bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-loughran.cfm) was interviewed on Austin ABC affiliate KVUE on April 25, 2020, regarding the impact of President Trump’s Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants. The video is at https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/austin-immigration-lawyer-presidents-trump-executive-order-immigration/269-096a3083-1b27-42ef-b2a2-dece603e956b.

Mr. Loughran presented a webinar, “Practicing Through Pandemic,” regarding adapting the practice of law in the midst of COVID-19. The webinar was hosted by the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Texas Chapter and the San Antonio Bar Association’s Texas Chapter on April 3, 2020. For more information, see https://zoom.us/meeting/register/u5wvdOugrTssIi2JLhrdc_IXuKEV_xXZ6Q.

Cyrus Mehta (bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-mehta.cfm) has authored or co-authored several new blog postings. “The Beneficial Impact of the Supreme Court’s Decision in Kisor v. Wilkie on H-1B Denials” is at http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2020/05/the-beneficial-impact-of-the-supreme-courts-decision-in-kisor-v-wilkie-on-h-1b-denials.html. “The Differing Impact of Foreign Entity Changes on an L-1 Extension and EB-1C Petition” is at http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2020/05/the-differing-impact-of-foreign-entity-changes-on-an-l-1-extension-and-eb-1c-petition.html. “FAQ Relating to Skilled Workers in the Green Card Backlogs During COVID-19” is at . “Changes in Salary and Other Working Conditions for Nonimmigrant Workers in L-1, O, TN, E and F-1 Status Due to COVID-19” is at . “Building the Legal Case to Challenge Trump’s Immigration Ban” is at http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2020/04/building-the-legal-case-to-challenge-trumps-immigration-ban.html.Mr. Mehta spoke on “Ethics and Immigration: Spotlight on Select Rules and Client Representation During COVID-19” on May 18, 2020. He presented a briefing on fundamental ethical rules, how they pertain to immigration practice, and considerations when ethical issues arise in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Mehta addressed the four C’s of professional conduct rules: competence, communications, confidentiality, and conflicts, as well as other key rules requiring attention by lawyers during the pandemic. For more information or to order, see https://www.pli.edu/programs/ethics-and-immigration-spotlight-on-select-rules-and-client-representation-during-covid-19.

Mr. Mehta published an article on LinkedIn shortly after President Trump issued a proclamation banning permanent immigration to the United States for 60 days with possible extensions, with some exceptions. The article, “Trump Cannot Be Allowed to Rewrite Immigration Laws Based on Whim and Caprice,” is at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/trump-cannot-allowed-rewrite-immigration-laws-based-whim-cyrus-mehta/.

Mr. Mehta was quoted in the following publications on President Trump’s order:

• Law360, “Can Trump End Immigration? Wording Matters, Scholars Say,” https://www.law360.com/articles/1265963/can-trump-end-immigration-wording-matters-scholars-say
• Economic Times, “Trump’s Plan to Suspend Immigration Would Affect Indians Waiting to Migrate to U.S.,” https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/nris-in-news/trumps-plan-to-suspend-immigration-would-affect-indians-waiting-to-migrate-to-us/articleshow/75272497.cms
• Times of India, “If U.S. Immigration is Temporarily Suspended, Legal Experts Foresee a Plethora of Lawsuit[s],” https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/if-us-immigration-is-temporarily-suspended-legal-experts-foresee-a-plethora-of-lawsuit/articleshow/75266086.cms
• India Times, “Trump Stops Green Cards for 60 Days Overseas. H-1B Visa Could Be Next,” https://www.newsindiatimes.com/trump-stops-green-cards-for-60-days-overseas-h-1b-visa-could-be-next/
• Business Insider, “Trump’s Executive Order Suspending Entry of Immigrants is ‘Drastic and Damaging,’ Says U.S. Immigration Attorney,” https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/trumps-executive-order-suspending-entry-of-immigrants-is-drastic-and-damaging-says-us-immigration-attorney/articleshow/75310925.cms
• South Asian Times, “Trump’s Immigration Ban Not Affecting H-1B Visa,” https://thesouthasiantimes.info/vol-12-issue-51/ (see the next page of the e newspaper)

Mr. Mehta‘s posting was quoted by Breitbart in “Report: India’s H-1B Companies Ask Labor Department to Let Foreign Workers Stay Amid Crash.” He said, “If an employee works from a home which is within commuting distance of the workplace, then there is no need to file an amendment.” But, he added, “if an employee works from a home which is NOT within commuting distance from the workplace, the employer should obtain a new LCA for that location and file an H-1B amendment.” The article is at https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/03/indias-h-1b-companies-ask-labor-department-to-let-foreign-workers-stay-amid-crash/.

Mr. Mehta and Stephen Yale-Loehr (bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-loehr.cfm?c=US) were quoted by the Times of India in “Medical Insurance a Burden for Laid-Off H-1B Workers.” Among other things, Mr. Mehta said, “Employer plans are generally of a higher quality, and employers are able to purchase these higher quality plans at a discounted group rate from the insurance company. In most cases, the employer pays most of the premium and the employee pays a smaller percentage. When the employee is terminated, the employee pays the whole cost of the insurance [under COBRA] and the employer generally does not pay.” Mr. Yale-Loehr said that many laid-off H-1B workers do not know about COBRA benefits or may be afraid to ask. “They should consult an experienced insurance agent to understand their rights. And many employers may not realize they need to provide COBRA continuation coverage to a terminated H-1B worker,” he noted. The article is at https://bit.ly/2XhFQFe.

David Isaacson, of Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners PLLC, has authored a new blog posting. “My Comment on the Proposed Affidavit of Support Revisions: Do You Have One Too?” is at http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2020/04/my-comment-on-proposed-affidavit-of-support-revisions-do-you-have-one-too.html.

Cora-Ann Pestaina, of Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners PLLC, has authored a new blog posting. “LCA Posting Requirements at Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Do I Post on the Refrigerator or Bathroom Mirror?” is at https://bit.ly/34yaHkb. Angelo Paparelli (bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-paparelli.cfm) has authored a new blog posting. “No Whine Before Its Time: USCIS Recognizes Immigration Successorship in Interest for Multinational Executives and Managers” is at https://bit.ly/3bHkkPw. Mr. Paparelli authored an op-ed published by Bloomberg Law on how immigrants can help us attack COVID-19 and revive the economy. “Insight: Legal Immigration Can Help Revive the Economy—If We Let It” is at https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/insight-legal-immigration-can-help-revive-the-economy-if-we-let-it. Mr. Paparelli was quoted by Law360 in “Shielded From Green Card Ban, EB-5 Investors Still At Risk.” The article discusses the risks to those who invested in projects that are under construction and are halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those with pending EB-5 petitions must alert USCIS of any significant changes to the project during the estimated two-year processing time. An investor may be required to file a new petition if the changes are significant enough, causing the applicant to lose their spot in line for a green card, sometimes for years. “This throws the EB-5 program into absolute turmoil and ambiguity,” Mr. Paparelli said. The article is at https://www.law360.com/construction/articles/1269542/shielded-from-green-card-ban-eb-5-investors-still-at-risk. Mr. Paparelli, partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, and William Stock (bio: https://www.abil.com/lawyers/lawyers-stock.cfm?c=US), partner at Klasko Immigration Law Partners LLP, were quoted by Law360 in “Axed H-1B Work Visa Policies May Not Be Gone For Good.” Mr. Paparelli noted that USCIS will not stop trying to issue rule changes through policy memoranda unless it is forced to do so. “So what are the levers of pressure that can be placed on them? Congress, money or politics,” he said. Mr. Stock said that many of the immigration guidance memos the Trump administration has issued have gone too far and tried to change regulations without rulemaking. “This administration certainly has seemed to care less than other administrations have about whether the guidance they are promulgating would be inconsistent with the regulations,” he said. The article is available by registering at https://www.law360.com/articles/1276864/axed-h-1b-work-visa-policies-may-not-be-gone-for-good. Pearl Immigration has posted a summary of information on U.S. consulate closures around the world and related information due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The summary is at https://www.immigrationlaw.com/u-s-consulate-closures-due-to-covid-19/. Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Inside Higher Ed in “Trump Administration Reportedly Considers Restrictions on Foreign Student Work Program.” Mr. Yale-Loehr noted that the Trump administration could take a number of actions in relation to Optional Practical Training (OPT). He said that he thinks President Trump is likely to instruct the Department of Homeland Security “to start rulemaking, because I think he’s getting a lot of pushback from companies that rely on OPT. A proposed rule would give him political cover while not actually suspending the OPT program.” The article is at https://bit.ly/2MaCYVE. Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Univision in “Corte de apelaciones falla en contra de una medida de Trump que prohíbe la entrada de migrantes sin seguro médico.” The article discusses an appeals court ruling against a Trump administration measure prohibiting the entry of uninsured migrants. If effective, “the new temporarily suspended rule would affect more than half of all immigrants. The 2-1 decision … confirmed the temporary suspension decision issued in November,” he said. He further noted that the majority opinion of the 9^th Circuit panel of judges maintains that “the lower court adequately determined that the plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm in the form of a long separation from their loved ones abroad. The majority also noted that the President does not have unlimited power to deny immigrant visas based on purely domestic concerns.” The article (in Spanish) is at https://bit.ly/3blFD94. Mr. Yale-Loehr co-authored “Challenging H-1B Denials in Federal Courts: Trends and Strategies” (Apr. 27, 2020), which includes details on Miller Mayer research into recent H-1B cases, summaries of recent cases, and strategies and takeaways for employers to use in future lawsuits, https://millermayer.com/2020/challenging-h-1b-denials-in-federal-courts-trends-and-strategies/Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Univision in “Demanda contra el gobierno por negar ayuda a matrimonios mixtos revive el temor al uso de datos privados.” The article (in Spanish) discusses a lawsuit challenging the exclusion of certain immigrants from receiving coronavirus stimulus checks. Mr. Yale-Loehr noted that the legal precedent in this case could be in favor of the government. “I wish MALDEF the best, but I fear that they may lose their case,” he said. “In Mathews v. Díaz, 426 US 67 (1976), the Supreme Court held that “Congress regularly establishes rules regarding foreigners that may be unacceptable if applied to citizens” (426 US at 80) and that “there is no constitutional duty to provide all foreign citizens with the same benefits provided to citizens,” he added. “The Court held that such disparate treatment by Congress regularly does not necessarily imply harmful discrimination,” he said. The article is at https://www.univision.com/noticias/inmigracion/demanda-contra-el-gobierno-por-negar-ayuda-a-matrimonios-mixtos-revive-el-temor-al-uso-de-datos-privados.  Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by the Toronto Globe and Mail in “Trump Freezes Some Immigration to U.S., May Stop Temporary Work Permits, Citing Coronavirus.” Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “First, if the purpose of the proclamation is to protect against the coronavirus, it makes no sense to temporarily suspend entry of people applying for green visas but not those coming temporarily to the United States. Second, if the purpose is to protect U.S. workers, it also makes no sense to exclude temporary foreign workers from the proclamation.” The article is at https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/us-politics/article-trump-freezes-some-immigration-to-us-may-stop-temporary-work/. Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Huffington Post in “Trump Signs Order Suspending Some Immigration During Coronavirus Pandemic.” He said before the order was released that an order to ban all immigration to the United States would be “outrageous and likely unconstitutional,” noting that the United States has “never done that before, even during world wars.” The article is at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-executive-order-immigration-coronavirus_n_5e9f3bf1c5b6a486d08048b5?guccounter=1. Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by China Daily in “U.S. Immigration Suspension Draws Criticism.” He said, “If the executive order (had) suspended all immigration to the United States, it would surely be challenged as unconstitutional.” The article is at http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202004/23/WS5ea0cea1a3105d50a3d18214.html. Mr. Yale-Loehr was interviewed on The Take, a podcast from Al Jazeera, about the history of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and how the Supreme Court might rule in a few weeks. The podcast, “When ‘Dreamers’ Self-Deport,” is at https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/thetake/2020/05/dreamers-deport-200522152026157.html. Mr. Yale-Loehr was quoted by Law360 in “Can Trump End Immigration? Wording Matters, Scholars Say.” He noted that if the order targeted anyone already in the United States, it would also raised constitutional concerns. The article is at https://www.law360.com/immigration/articles/1265963. Mr. Yale-Loehr was also quoted by several other publications on the same topic:·         Financial Times, “Donald Trump Suspends Key Routes to U.S. Immigration for 60 Days,” https://www.ft.com/content/7060ba17-03b5-48d6-94d1-37c6d99c5f0a (available by subscription only)·         Express (UK), “Trump ‘Pauses Immigration’ to Put Americans First in Line for Jobs After COVID-19 Lockdown,” https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1272096/donald-trump-immigration-ban-US-coronavirus-job-market-employment-death-toll-latest ·         AZ Central, “Trump Wants to Shut Down Immigration to Slow the Coronavirus and Protect American Jobs. Here’s How That Could Backfire,” https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2020/04/21/trumps-immigration-shutdown-plan-could-backfire-coronavirus-covid-19/3000121001/·         Vox, “Trump’s Executive Order to Stop Issuing Green Cards Temporarily, Explained,” https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/4/21/21229286/trump-immigration-ban-executive-order-coronavirus ·         Univision, “Esto es lo que se sabe hasta ahora de la orden de Trump de suspender la inmigración a EEUU,” https://www.univision.com/noticias/inmigracion/esto-es-lo-que-se-sabe-hasta-ahora-de-la-orden-de-trump-de-suspender-la-inmigracion-a-eeuu Mr. Yale-Loehr of Miller Mayer LLP; Cornell Law School, together with additional Cornell departments; and Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga Counties, presented a webinar on new changes to immigrants’ access to public benefits and the impact of COVID-19 care on the public charge analysis. The webinar, “Immigrants, Public Benefits, and COVID-19,” was held April 13, 2020. For more information or to download the slide deck and handouts, see https://cornell.app.box.com/folder/109666262652.

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