Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace
AILA member Maurice “Mo” Goldman shares insights into why it feels the country is moving away from valuing its history as a “nation of immigrants” and emphasizes the need for immigration attorneys and their clients to share their stories and shift the narrative.
25 Years Ago the State Department Recognized How Visa Consul and Immigration Counsel Can Work Together in the Visa Application Process
AILA member Liam Schwartz reflects on Department of State cable 99 State 21138 which was spearheaded by the late Stephen K. Fischel; the cable highlights the importance to the visa application process of the working relationship between consular officers and immigration attorneys.
Is Chevron Dead? Thoughts after Oral Arguments in Relentless, Inc. and Loper Bright Enterprises
Brian Green and Stephen Yale-Loehr describe the recent oral arguments in two SCOTUS cases which could dramatically affect federal agency review; it is yet unclear whether the decisions will hurt or help immigrants when challenging ambiguous agency decisions or interpretations.
FOIA Behind the Scenes – How USCIS and DOS Process Immigration-Related Requests
AILA member Alexandra Zaretsky describes how the International Refugee Assistance Project decided to find out how USCIS and the State Department process FOIA requests by filing a “meta-FOIA” which unearthed some questionable agency policies of potential interest to others.
End-of-Year Reflection on the State Department’s FY23 Visa Processing Achievements and What Needs to Be Done Next
AILA Senior Policy Associate Paul Stern shares an end-of-year reflection on how the State Department’s visa processing went in Fiscal Year 2023, and lays out the work that remains, including how Congress can help address the delays and backlogs permanently.
Potential Game-Changer Cases for Immigration Law at SCOTUS
AILA Members and litigation experts Brian Green and Stephen Yale-Loehr describe three SCOTUS cases that could have significant implications for the practice of immigration law; the legitimacy of the current U.S. immigration court system could be undermined depending on the rulings.
Priority Dates, Dates for Filing, and Final Action Dates: An Intro to the Visa Bulletin for Adjustment of Status Applicants
In this blog post, AILA member Peter Choi offers a helpful primer for adjustment of status applicants as they attempt to decipher the Visa Bulletin.
Afghanistan – Two Years Later, an Immigration Attorney Reflects
AILA member Mariam Atash reflects on the two years since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and urges everyone to take action and advocate for passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act to protect the many still waiting for safety.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation (or the Economic Impact of Immigrants)
AILA Media Advo Committee Member Anthony Pawelski shares some key insights into the economic benefits of immigrants in New England states, and how the data shows how our “nation immensely benefit from our immigrant population” using data from the American Immigration Council’s Map the Impact tool.
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Not from New England but wondering how your state (or vacation destination) stacks up? All these data points and more are at your fingertips at the American Immigration Council’s Map the Impact page, so go ahead and dive in and” Map the Impact.
A New Way to Offer Immigration Law Expertise to Service Members
Margaret Stock describes the immigration concerns facing many service members and how the new Morgan Lewis Military Immigration Fellow Joanna Kloet will be able to offer help hand in hand with volunteer attorneys assisting via the AILA Military Assistance Program (MAP) effort.