Immigration Law

Unexpectedly, the House Passes Health Care Reform Without Imposing a Waiting Period for Recent Immigrants

Posted on November 18, 2009
On November 7, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, a bill that in part creates health insurance subsidies for people with low incomes. Congress was strongly lobbied to impose a five-year waiting period for Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), or ?green card? holders delaying their access to these health insurance subsidies...

Last Two Weeks for Diversity Visa "Green Card" Lottery Filing Period

Posted on November 16, 2009
The filing period for the Fiscal Year 2011 Diversity Visa Lottery or "Green Card" Lottery ends on November 30, 2009. See our prior post here for details. (Photo: Permanent Resident Card, or "Green Card," which is actually an off-white color.)

Citizenship and Immigration Services May Increase Fees Again to Cover Budget Shortfall

Posted on November 14, 2009
In an interview today with the Houston Chronicle, Alejandro Mayorkas, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) indicated that another round of application and petition filing fee increases was probable in the near term. While the fee increase story was first reported on September 23 by the LA Times, the Houston Chronicle interview made news on the same day as DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano's first major speech on the administration's goals for immigration reform...

Supreme Court Signals Interest in Federal/State Conflict over Immigration Law Enforcement

Posted on November 13, 2009
The Supreme Court indicated this week that it may address the question of whether individual States, as opposed to the federal government, can enforce federal immigration law.Specifically, the Supreme Court asked the U.S. Department of Justice for its view on whether a 2007 Arizona law that allows the State of Arizona to enforce federal immigration laws is constitutional...

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White House to Push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform in Early 2010

Posted on November 13, 2009
The New York Times, reporting on DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano's speech today to the Center for American Progress, noted that today the Secretary confirmed the administration's intention to seek a path to legalization for an estimated 12 million undocumented persons now in the United States...

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Gives First Speech on Immigration, Focusing on Enforcement and Reform

Posted on November 13, 2009
Secretary Janet Napolitano's Prepared Remarks to be delivered at the Center for American Progress on November 13, 2009 are available at the Department of Homeland Security website here.

Masliah joins the American Immigration Council's Board of Trustees

Posted on November 11, 2009
Masliah & Soloway is proud to announce that Noemi has been appointed to the American Immigration Council?s Board of Trustees. Formerly the American Immigration Law Foundation, the American Immigration Council (?AIC?) was established in 1987 as the tax-exempt, non-profit educational and charitable sister organization to the American Immigration Lawyers? Association...

USCIS announces temporary period for filing H-1B petitions without certified LCA's

Posted on November 11, 2009
On November 5, 2009, the USCIS announced that, until March 4, 2010, it would begin accepting H-1B petitions filed without Labor Condition Applications (?LCA?s?) that have been certified by the Department of Labor (?DOL?).Certified LCA?s have been required prior to filing the H-1B petitions...

H-1B Count Update

Posted on November 07, 2009
According to the USCIS, as of October 25, 2009, approximately 20,000 advanced degree and approximately 52,800 cap-subject H-1B petitions have been received by the USCIS for the 2010 fiscal year. The agency will continue to accept both advanced degree and cap-subject cases, however all petitions received from now on will be counted towards the FY 2010 cap of 65,000.

Report Claims That Immigration Enforcement Is Undermining Workers' Rights

Posted on November 03, 2009
"Iced Out: How Immigration Enforcement Has Interfered with Workers? Rights," a report jointly issued on October 27 by the AFL-CIO, American Rights at Work and the National Employment Law Project and co-authored by Ana Avendaño, Rebecca Smith and Julie Martinez Ortega, concludes that an overseeing government entity is needed to moderate the enforcement of the nation?s immigration laws at the

Follow Us on Twitter

Posted on November 02, 2009
You can now follow Masliah & Soloway Immigration Updates on Twitter. To stay informed about changes in immigration law and policy and to receive news about our law firm click here or look for our tweets under the name MasliahSoloway.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius - Final Rule Repealing HIV Ban Will Be Effective January 2010: "I Am Pleased This Is Happening Now."

Posted on November 02, 2009
This morning, United States Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the publication in today's Federal Register (74 FR 56547) of the final rule repealing HIV from the list of "communicable diseases of public health significance...

Advance Copy of the November 2, 2009 Final Rule Repealing the HIV Ban

Posted on October 31, 2009
Read it here. It becomes effective 60 days from publication, on January 1, 2010."As a result of this final rule, aliens will no longer be inadmissible into the United States based solely on the ground they are infected with HIV, and they will not be required to undergo HIV testing as part of the required medical examination for U...

President Obama Expected to Announce End to HIV Ban Today, OMB Has Approved Final Rule

Posted on October 30, 2009
Yesterday, the White House Office of Management and Budget approved the regulations (see screen capture below) issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that will end the HIV ban on immigrants and non-immigrants, only seven days after the final regulations were submitted for review...

Members of Congress Look to Restart Immigration Reform in Early 2010

Posted on October 29, 2009
Listen to NPR's interview with Illinois Congressman, Luis Gutierrez on October 27, 2009.

Diversity Visa "Green Card" Lottery Filing Period Ends November 30, 2009

Posted on October 27, 2009
This note is posted for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.Consult a qualified attorney before filing any documents with the Immigration Service or State Department, including an entry into the DV Lottery.1. What is the Diversity Visa Lottery Program? The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Program makes 55,000 immigrant visas ("green cards") available each year to nationals of countries which the U...

Repeal of HIV Ban In Final Stages

Posted on October 26, 2009
The cruel and unnecessary ban on HIV+ immigrants and non-immigrants is a tiny step away from being history, as of this past Thursday. This past summer, the U.S. Health and Human Services published proposed regulations to bring them in line with the Congressional repeal of the HIV ban in the last weeks of the Bush presidency in December 2008...

20,000 H-1Bs Still Available

Posted on August 20, 2009
There is continuing evidence that demand for H-1Bs has cooled off considerably this year. According to the latest update from Citizenship and Immigration Services, the number of Fiscal Year 2010 H-1B petitions filed in the past five months falls far short of the allotment of 65,000 H-1Bs available for employers subject to the numerical limitation...

J.J. Shepherd Joins Los Angeles Office

Posted on August 11, 2009
Joseph Shepherd is a recent graduate of Brooklyn Law School (J.D., 2009). He joins the firm as a Law Clerk in our new Los Angeles Office. Mr. Shepherd is a former intern of Immigration Equality, a national non-profit organization dedicated to ending discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and HIV positive individuals in U...

Los Angeles Office Moves to a New Location

Posted on August 01, 2009
Masliah & Soloway's seven-month old Los Angeles office has moved to a new location at Museum Square, 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 645, Los Angeles, CA 90036. The office is located at the intersection of Wilshire and Curson on Museum Mile next to the Los Angeles County Museum.

Vicki Yudenfriend, Of Counsel

Posted on May 27, 2009
Vicki Yudenfriend, of counsel to Masliah & Soloway, is a graduate of Boston University School of law and has practiced Immigration law for over twenty years.  Her practice has focused on business and family immigration.  She has represented corporations ranging from hospitals to engineering firms as well as individuals including artists, professionals and skilled workers...

Masliah & Soloway Opens Los Angeles Office

Posted on April 25, 2009
We are excited to announce the opening of our Los Angeles office, located at 8436 W. Third Street, just east of La Cienega Boulevard. With the addition of this new office, Masliah & Soloway is better positioned to provide immigration law services to clients in southern California as we continue to grow and establish ourselves as a national immigration law firm...

Noemi Masliah Selected by SuperLawyers as "Seriously Outstanding"

Posted on October 17, 2008
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Jorge Campos, Fabrice Van Michel Join M & S

Posted on October 13, 2008
This year we welcomed two recent LLM graduates to the firm. Both have sat for the New York Bar exam and both look forward to applying for admission to the bar soon. Together they represent a diverse background of life experiences, education and employment histories...

Wendy Erdly Joins Masliah & Soloway

Posted on September 26, 2008
Wendy Erdly joined Masliah & Soloway in the spring of 2008 and has been actively involved in our business immigration practice, including all non-immigrant visa matters (e.g., E-1, E-2, H-1B, L-1A, L-1B, and O-1 petitions), PERM Labor Certifications, and Employment-based First Preference (EB-1) cases for aliens of extraordinary ability...

CBP Announces Travel Tips

Posted on June 10, 2008
The United States Customs and Border Protection Agency has announced travel tips for international travelers this summer. On any given day the Customs and Border Protection Agency welcomes more than one million international travelers into the United States...

Lobbying for Immigration Reform

Posted on April 10, 2008
On April 3, 2008, I participated in the American Immigration Lawyers? Association?s National Day of Action by going to Washington DC and visiting the legislative counsel or assistants of some New York State Congressional delegations. As I do every year on that day, I, together with AILA members from around the country, lobbied for our country?s Senators and Representatives to fix the devastatingly broken immigration system...

Repeal Ban on HIV+ Immigrants

Posted on April 03, 2008
AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATIONPOSITION PAPERREPEAL THE HIV BAN 918 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20004 Phone: (202) 216-2400 Fax: (202) 783-7853 The Issue: The United States currently has one of the world?s harshest immigration policies for individuals who are HIV-positive...

TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR H-1B VISAS

Posted on March 22, 2008
FROM THE LAW OFFICE OF MASLIAH & SOLOWAYURGENTH-1B COUNTDOWN: T-MINUS 14 DAYSWe are disseminating this urgent announcement to anyone who might be impacted by the current scarcity of H-1B professional work visas, or know someone who is. In order to have a chance at an H-1B visa this year, the petition must be filed during the period starting April 1 and ending on April 7, 2008...

Heavy Traffic at the USCIS

Posted on November 27, 2007
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has informed the public that it received nearly 2.5 million applications and petitions this past July and August. This is more than double the number of applications and petitions received during those two months of 2006...

Masliah & Soloway Joins Protest In Support of Pakistani Lawyers

Posted on November 13, 2007
The lawyers of Masliah and Soloway joined hundreds of attorneys a public rally today in front of the New York Supreme Court at 60 Centre Street to express solidarity with our beleaguered colleagues at the Pakistani bar. In protesting Pakistan?s President Pervez Musharraf?s November 6, 2007 declaration of a state of emergency and his unilateral suspension of the country?s constitution, many Pakistani lawyers have been arrested, including the President of their Bar Association...

DREAM Act Fails to Become Reality

Posted on November 05, 2007
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) is a proposed bill whose primary purpose is to enable younger undocumented aliens who were brought here as children to attain lawful status and get an education. The bill has been introduced in Congress several times, most recently on October 24 when it failed to reach full debate in the Senate by a 52-44 vote (8 short of the 60 votes required)...

"Iced Out: How Immigration Enforcement

Posted on November 07, 1999
"Iced Out: How Immigration Enforcement Has Interfered with Workers? Rights," a report jointly issued on October 27 by the AFL-CIO, American Rights at Work and the National Employment Law Project and co-authored by Ana Avendaño, Rebecca Smith and Julie Martinez Ortega, concludes that an overseeing government entity is needed to moderate the enforcement of the nation?s immigration laws at the workplace and to ensure that workplace rights are not impeded by overzealous enforcement...