BIG Immigration Law Blog

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Latest from BIG Immigration Law Blog

The Trump Administration Releases a New Hymnal to Curb the Administrative State; Immigration Lawyers Erupt in Rapturous Song

November 11, 2019

President Trump’s October 9, 2019 overtures landed as music to the ears of many a grizzled immigration lawyer who persistently suffers battle fatigue from the culture of virtually never. On that day the President released a double album, each with artfully penned liner notes: Executive Order on Promoting the Rule of Law Through Transparency and Fairness in Civil Administrative Enforcement and Adjudication (which I dub, “TAFCAEA”). Executive Order on Promoting the Rule of Law …

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Weed and Worry — The Immigration Consequences of Engaging in the Cannabis Trade

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

October 21, 2019

By: Angelo Paparelli Seyfarth Synopsis: The legal cannabis business is spreading like weeds. As several states and foreign countries have enacted laws decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, a fresh rush of reefer madness has overtaken the business world. Investments in the cannabis industry are now available as ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), and marijuana startups are proliferating at every step along the supply chain. Not to be a downer, but this…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

EB-5 Securities Law Disclosure Obligations and Possible Marketing Opportunities In the Wake of the Recent Modernization Rule

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

October 14, 2019

By David Warburg and Mark Katzoff Seyfarth Synopsis: This article discusses the impact of the newly adopted EB-5 regulations on the disclosure obligations of ongoing EB-5 offerings. The obligation to make full and fair disclosure under the US federal securities laws is most often viewed by many, if not most sponsors who are seeking EB-5 capital as a legal and regulatory burden – sometimes almost as a necessary evil. Moreover, many also assume that a…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

USCIS Publishes EB-5 Modernization Rule: the Impact on the EB-5 Program

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

July 26, 2019

By Dawn Lurie, Mark Katzoff, Angelo A. Paparelli and Randy Johnson Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 24, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the immigration-benefits component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), published a final regulation on “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization” (the “Rule”) to reform the EB-5 program in the Federal Register. Absent successful court challenges, or the passage by Congress of EB-5 legislation, the Rule will take effect on November…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

ICE Chills the Summer with Thousands of Audit Notices Issued to Businesses Nationwide

By Dawn Lurie

July 22, 2019

This blogpost has been updated on July 23, 2019 with information regarding the number of audit notices issued. Seyfarth Synopsis: The temperature may be heating up in the nation’s capital, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is keeping things cool. ICE Acting Director, Matthew Albence, confirmed that almost 3330¹ Notices of Inspection (NOI) have already been served, across the 50 states and Puerto Rico, initiating Form I-9 audits for companies of all shapes and sizes. It is expected…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Houses Passes Bill Lifting “Per-Country Caps”

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP & Dawn Lurie

July 11, 2019

By Randy Johnson and Dawn Lurie Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 10, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1044 – the “Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019,” on the Suspension Calendar[1] with a bipartisan vote of 365-65. The legislation, originally introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), would eliminate the existing “per-country cap” for employment-based immigrants while also increasing the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas. The current employment-based system for immigrant visas…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Too Natural for Naturalization: An Update

By Leon Rodriguez

July 1, 2019

On May 29, 2019, forty-seven members of Congress wrote a letter to Attorney General Bob Barr and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan registering their disagreement with the application of USCIS policy guidance to those who have been employed in the legal cannabis industry. The letter’s signatories, led by Reps. Joe Neguse, Kelly Armstrong and Hakeem Jeffries, noted that thirty states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for medical and/or recreational purposes.…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Too Natural for Naturalization: Even Decriminalized Marijuana Can be a Bar to US Citizenship

By Leon Rodriguez

June 24, 2019

Seyfarth Synopsis: As a number of states and the District of Columbia have moved to permit possession, use and sale of marijuana for both medicinal and recreational purposes and the business of legalized cannabis distribution has grown exponentially, federal law banning such activity remains unchanged. Deeming the trend in state law irrelevant, federal immigration authorities have in fact moved in the opposite direction. Last month, on April 19, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced policy …

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Immigration Haunting: Social Security Administration Resumes Issuing No-Match Notices

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

May 16, 2019

By Angelo Paparelli Seyfarth Synopsis: The Social Security Administration has once again resumed issuing No-Match notices to employers. The notices alert businesses that SSA has identified data discrepancies between the agency’s records and employer-provided data submitted for payroll tax reporting to the IRS. Issuance of the notice triggers a duty upon employers to take action. While a No-Match notice may involve an innocent clerical mistake or an unreported name change, it could also offer a…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

FY 2020 Cap Reached

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

April 9, 2019

Seyfarth Synopsis: USCIS Announces the FY 2020 H-1B Cap Reached. On April 5, 2019, United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it received sufficient H-1B petitions to meet the regular H-1B quota (or “cap”) for Fiscal Year 2020, which begins on October 1, 2019. This means that USCIS received more than 65,000 H-1B petitions in the first week of filing (April 1 – April 5). USCIS will next determine if it received a…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Blog Authors

The Trump Administration Releases a New Hymnal to Curb the Administrative State; Immigration Lawyers Erupt in Rapturous Song

Weed and Worry — The Immigration Consequences of Engaging in the Cannabis Trade

EB-5 Securities Law Disclosure Obligations and Possible Marketing Opportunities In the Wake of the Recent Modernization Rule

USCIS Publishes EB-5 Modernization Rule: the Impact on the EB-5 Program

ICE Chills the Summer with Thousands of Audit Notices Issued to Businesses Nationwide

Houses Passes Bill Lifting “Per-Country Caps”

Too Natural for Naturalization: An Update

Too Natural for Naturalization: Even Decriminalized Marijuana Can be a Bar to US Citizenship

Immigration Haunting: Social Security Administration Resumes Issuing No-Match Notices

FY 2020 Cap Reached

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