Month: June 2013

According to an article on mercurynews.com:  “Canada has landed in Silicon Valley with a brazen message: Give us your smart, your restless, your huddled Googleplex workers yearning to breathe life into the high-tech economy up north.”

The message on the billboard is priceless.  If this isn’t a sign (pun intended) that our immigration laws need to adapt to today’s global, competitive market, I’m not sure what would be.

Please visit our firm’’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!

 

Yesterday the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act.  This decision will affect many federal benefits not the least of which will be immigration.  US Citizens will be able to sponsor their foreign-born same-sex spouses for permanent residence, foreign-born gay spouses can now be derivative dependents for employment-based immigration cases, and hardship waivers may be available to same-sex spouses if a foreign-national can show extreme hardship to the US Citizen husband or wife.  In other words, immigration benefits that have been available to heterosexual married couples are now available to gay married couples.

The issue of offering same-sex spouse immigration benefits that was not included in the Senate immigration bill that passed today is therefore moot.

It looks like a lot is going on on the immigration front so I will be keeping this blog active as developments occur.

Please visit our firm’’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!

According to an article on news.yahoo.com:  “The Senate passed a sweeping immigration reform bill on Thursday afternoon, after a recently hashed-out compromise on border security helped convince a total of 14 Republicans to vote for the measure. The bill, which passed 68 to 32, could face a steep uphill climb in the Republican-controlled House.”

This is a great first step and Senate majority leader Harry Reid had members take their seats to vote for this historic legislation.  the ball is now in the House’s court and it will be fascinating to see how it plays out.  Although Democrats and many Republicans do want reform to pass, politically, some Democrats would probably want to watch the GOP implode over this issue.  A win-win would be to pass legislation and take immigration off the table come election time.

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!

 

According to a USCIS News Release:  “The government of Ethiopia informed the United States that, effective Sept. 1, 2013, it will require all adoption cases filed by United States prospective adoptive parents to undergo the U.S. PAIR process. Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA) will require a PAIR letter issued by USCIS in order to make a best interest determination.”

Please visit our firm’’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!