Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Immigration
-
June 25, 2024
2nd Circ. Affirms 5-Year Sentence For Impostor Immigration Atty
A Connecticut woman sentenced to five years in federal prison for stealing money from vulnerable victims by pretending to be an immigration attorney can't undo her plea deal or lessen the roughly $368,000 she was ordered to pay in restitution, the Second Circuit has ruled.
-
June 25, 2024
Feds Stonewalling Immigration Fee Record Request, Suit Says
A civil rights group in Boston filed suit Tuesday to force the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to hand over records about how the government decides requests to waive fees for people seeking immigration protections.
-
June 25, 2024
Immigration Org.'s Attys Can Be In Union, NLRB Official Says
Attorneys at a nonprofit providing immigration legal services may remain in a voluntarily recognized union bargaining unit, a National Labor Relations Board regional director concluded, saying the attorneys are not supervisors who are excluded from unionizing under federal labor law.
-
June 25, 2024
Fed. Circ. Revives Class Action Against Feds' Visa Fraud Sting
The Federal Circuit on Tuesday revived an Indian citizen's proposed class action to recover tuition payments to a fake university the U.S. Department of Homeland Security set up to catch visa fraudsters, saying the lower court wrongly determined it lacked jurisdiction.
-
June 24, 2024
Feds Reach $34M Deal Over Canceled Deportation Flights
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. General Services Administration and an aviation company have struck a $34.4 million settlement ending litigation over canceled deportation flights, according to a filing at the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals.
-
June 24, 2024
NJ Atty Suspended 3 Years For Unauthorized Practice Of Law
A New Jersey attorney has been suspended from practicing law for three years after she continued to represent clients and mishandle sensitive matters while she was suspended for similar conduct in 2019, according to a New Jersey Supreme Court order.
-
June 24, 2024
Justices' Removal Notice Decision Unwinds 3 Migrants' Wins
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent endorsement of multipart removal notices resulted in the Monday vacatur of three circuit court decisions offering migrants another chance at fighting deportation after receiving notices that initially omitted important information about their removal hearings.
-
June 24, 2024
Duane Morris Appoints New Immigration Law Chair
Philadelphia-based Duane Morris LLP announced on Friday the appointment of business immigration partner Ted J. Chiappari as chair of its immigration division, part of its employment, labor, benefits and immigration practice.
-
June 21, 2024
DOL Says Union's Farm Wage Challenge Too Late
The U.S. Department of Labor has pushed back against a challenge to rules introduced in 2022 that a Washington union said are depressing farmworkers' wages, telling a federal judge Friday that the union should have objected during the rule-making period.
-
June 21, 2024
NCAA Teams May Suffer Without Int'l Student Pay Regs
The historic $2.77 billion settlement to address college athletes' alleged lost compensation on name, image and likeness deals could have an adverse effect on university team rosters if the federal government fails to level the playing field for international athletes.
-
June 21, 2024
Wrong Address Dooms Removal Relief Bid, 11th Circ. Finds
The Eleventh Circuit won't reverse the long-ago removal in absentia of a Honduran woman who missed her removal hearing, citing the Board of Immigration Appeals' finding that she'd provided an inaccurate address to receive notice of the hearing.
-
June 21, 2024
Justices Won't Allow Citizens To Contest Denied Spouse Visas
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that Americans do not have a constitutional right to challenge the U.S. Department of State's denial of spousal visa applications, rejecting a woman's bid to review the department's rejection of her Salvadoran husband's visa.
-
June 20, 2024
Logistics Cos. Face Skilled Worker Visa Misuse Class Action
A pair of logistics companies in the United States face a proposed worker class action alleging they misled prospective employees in Mexico about purported engineering roles that, in reality, were menial labor.
-
June 20, 2024
Judge Flags Iowa's Blocked Immigration Law In Texas Battle
The Texas federal judge overseeing the Biden administration's challenge to a state law authorizing the deportation of noncitizens urged the parties to inform the Fifth Circuit of an order blocking Iowa's similar law, anticipating an Eighth Circuit review of Iowa's defeat.
-
June 20, 2024
Staffing Co. To Pay $558K To End DOJ Immigrant Bias Probe
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that a staffing firm will pay nearly $558,000 to end an investigation into its hiring practices that found it deterred non-U.S. citizens with permission to work in the country from applying for open job opportunities.
-
June 20, 2024
Spanish Fluency Goal Defeats H-2B Tutor Application
The U.S. Department of Labor refused to grant a woman's H-2B visa application to hire a foreign Spanish-language tutor for her children, ruling that the goal to attain Spanish fluency was at odds with the temporary nature of the nonimmigrant visa program.
-
June 20, 2024
Transport Co.'s Missing Worksite Info Dooms H-2B Request
An agricultural transportation company's efforts to hire 28 truckers through the H-2B seasonal visa program were doomed by a job order that lacked specific information on the truckers' driving routes, according to a recent U.S. Department of Labor decision.
-
June 20, 2024
Texas Says DACA Challenge Withstands Mifepristone Ruling
Texas has fired back against the Biden administration's claim that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent blockbuster abortion-drug mifepristone ruling undermines the Lone Star State's standing to challenge the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, telling the Fifth Circuit that the appellate court "has held — repeatedly — that Texas has standing in this context."
-
June 20, 2024
Fla. Calls Abortion Drug Case Irrelevant To Migrant Parole Suit
Florida has rebuffed the Biden administration's efforts to use a high court ruling maintaining access to the abortion drug mifepristone to nix challenges to its migrant parole policies, telling the Eleventh Circuit that the healthcare case is unrelated to the immigration one.
-
June 18, 2024
Texas Atty Pares Border Phone Search Suit To Just APA Claim
A Texas attorney has significantly trimmed a lawsuit over cellphone searches at the border, dismissing claims he brought under the First and Fourth Amendments but leaving intact allegations the practice represents a violation of the federal Administrative Procedure Act.
-
June 18, 2024
Feds Say Discovery Order Exposes Migrants To Retaliation
The U.S. Department of Labor is urging a Mississippi federal court to reconsider ordering the disclosure of informants' identities in an investigation into a fish farm's labor practices, saying the May order exposed the informants, who are also migrant employees at the farm, to possible retaliation.
-
June 18, 2024
GAO Rejects Claim CBP Rigged Migrant Facility Contract Bids
The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Monday denied a vendor's protest challenging the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's solicitation seeking vendors to provide an immigrant detention facility in North Eagle Pass, Texas, rejecting the protester's allegations that the solicitation process was rigged to unfairly favor an incumbent contractor.
-
June 18, 2024
Calif. Staffing Firm Settles DOJ's Noncitizen Bias Claims
A California staffing agency must pay penalties and revise its employment policies as part of a settlement to resolve allegations of discrimination against foreigners by demanding certain types of documents to prove work authorization, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
-
June 18, 2024
Feds Ease Green Card Process For Mixed-Status Families
President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that certain foreigners who are married to U.S. citizens and their children can apply for green cards without leaving the U.S.
-
June 17, 2024
Iowa's Controversial Immigration Law Temporarily Blocked
An Iowa federal judge Monday temporarily blocked a controversial state law empowering local officials to arrest and remove previously deported individuals, even if they're now authorized to be in the country, ruling that the measure is trumped by federal law and therefore invalid.
Expert Analysis
-
Pugin Ruling Lowers Bar For Felony-Based Deportation
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Pugin v. Garland that an offense may constitute an obstruction of justice aggravated felony, even when an investigation or proceeding is not pending, may allow the government to seek deportation for other low-level offenses never intended to be grounds for felony-based deportation, says Peter Alfredson at Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition.
-
Steps To Success For Senior Associates
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.
-
Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities
At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.
-
Opinion
Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice
The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
-
RETRACTED: How New Prevailing Wage Rule May Affect H-1B Employment
Editor's note: This guest article has been removed due to an inaccurate discussion of the status of the U.S. Department of Labor's prevailing wage rule, "Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States." The rule is no longer on the Biden administration's current rulemaking agenda.
-
Opinion
Congress Should Pass Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill
By reforming visa allocation, expediting asylum processing, creating new employment visas and creating a path forward for individuals lacking permanent legal status, the recently introduced Dignity Act presents an opportunity for much-needed reform and deserves support from both sides of the aisle, says Laura Reiff at Greenberg Traurig.
-
How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks
Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.
-
Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip
After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
-
5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving
Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.
-
Pay Transparency Laws Complicate Foreign Labor Cert.
State and local laws adopted to help close the gender pay gap pose challenges for U.S. companies recruiting foreign nationals, as they try to navigate a thicket of pay transparency laws without running afoul of federally regulated recruitment practices, say Stephanie Pimentel and Asha George at Berry Appleman.
-
Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
-
Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
-
Foreign Labor Certification Website Still Structurally Limited
Though the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification has shown encouraging responsiveness in correcting at least one major issue with its online portal, several sources of frustration — including employers' limited access to filed applications — still require fixing, says Michael Morton at Fakhoury Global.
-
Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
-
Perspectives
Immigration Board Must Mend Choice Of Law Post-Garcia
The Board of Immigration Appeals must revisit the choice of law standard recently established in Matter of Garcia, which fails to establish predictability, upsets the settled expectations of parties' remanded cases and unfairly tips the scale in the government's favor, says Monica Mananzan at the Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition.