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Immigration
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May 16, 2024
Judge OKs Plan For Those Hit By Rescinded Trump Travel Ban
Immigration advocates who sued the federal government said they were celebrating "a glimmer of hope" this week after a federal judge OK'd a plan that would require immigration officials to reconsider visa applications for people denied entry into the U.S. because of a Trump-era travel ban affecting individuals from Muslim-majority countries.
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May 16, 2024
Taliban Victim Says Asylum Priority Practice Needs To Go
A Pakistani asylum-seeker asked a New York federal court to rule that the federal government's practice of prioritizing the most recent asylum applications in a backlog is unlawful, saying in a lawsuit that the policy has caused indefinite uncertainty and hardships.
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May 16, 2024
Prosecutors Say Fake Fortune 500 Workers Funded N. Korea
The Biden administration alleged that North Korea may have raised $6.8 million to develop nuclear weapons by installing remote information technology workers at Fortune 500 businesses, announcing charges Thursday against two individuals accused of helping agents pose as U.S. employees.
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May 16, 2024
Seattle-Area Atty Disbarred For Immigration Court Violations
A Seattle-area attorney has lost her legal license after the Washington State Bar Association found she submitted falsified paperwork to the federal government, lied to her clients and immigration courts to conceal filing delays, and committed other violations that exposed her clients to possible deportation and other serious harm.
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May 16, 2024
Judge Ends ICE's 'Knock And Talk' Immigrant Arrest Tactic
A California federal court has struck down U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's policy of entering immigrants' private property without authorization for arrest, ruling that the practice violated the immigrants' Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful seizure.
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May 15, 2024
Conn. Strip Club Owner Ran 'Brothel,' Hid $5.7M, Feds Say
The man in charge of a Connecticut strip club and two of his associates operated the business as a brothel, took payments for "commercial sex acts," lied to secure a $150,000 federal COVID-19 relief grant, and hid $5.7 million in income from the IRS, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.
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May 15, 2024
2nd Circ. Revives Removal Fight Over Judge's Lack Of Analysis
An immigrant facing removal despite fearing a drug cartel's torture back home got another shot to fight deportation, after the Second Circuit ruled that an immigration judge didn't adequately explain why short shrift was given to the immigrant's expert witness.
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May 15, 2024
Rio Grande Is A 'Creek,' Texas Tells 5th Circ. In Barrier Rehearing
The state of Texas told the full Fifth Circuit on Wednesday that the Rio Grande is "little more than a creek with an excellent publicist" as it pushed the court to vacate an order that would require it to remove a floating barrier intended to keep migrants out of the country.
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May 15, 2024
Fla. Sheriff Caved To ICE Detainer On American, Atty Says
Attorneys for a Tampa-area U.S. citizen mistaken for a Jamaican national and nearly deported told a Florida federal judge Wednesday that the Monroe County sheriff lacked probable cause to arrest the man, arguing that the police agency blindly followed a federal immigration detainer without checking its accuracy.
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May 15, 2024
Staffing Co. Settles Claims It Spurned Immigrant's Work Docs
A medical staffing company agreed to improve employee anti-discrimination training to resolve allegations that it fired an immigrant employee, after refusing to accept valid evidence that she could work in the U.S., the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
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May 15, 2024
US Accused Of Ditching Refugee Families Without Explanation
Three families the United Nations refugee agency referred to the U.S. for resettlement after they fled to Kenya from Congo are accusing the U.S. government of leaving them in limbo after an eleventh-hour cancellation on their move to the U.S.
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May 14, 2024
Asset Manager Cops To $1.2B Venezuelan Oil Co. Fraud
An asset manager pled guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in a $1.2 billion scheme to embezzle money from Venezuela's state-owned oil company and launder it through false investment schemes in the U.S. and abroad.
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May 14, 2024
4th Circ. Says Attempted Child Sex Abuse Warrants Removal
The Fourth Circuit approved the deportation of a man convicted of attempting to sexually abuse a child, ruling Tuesday that the attempted offense qualified as child abuse crime warranting removal.
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May 14, 2024
Iraqis, Feds Seek Settlement OK In Deportation Row
The U.S. government and a class of Iraqi nationals fighting deportation for fear of persecution urged a Michigan federal judge to preliminarily approve a settlement reached after what they said were nearly seven years of vigorous litigation.
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May 14, 2024
DOL Appeals Board Nixes Disaster Relief Provider's H-2B Bid
A U.S. Department of Labor appeals board has upheld the denial of H-2B visas for a Louisiana-based company seeking to hire foreign workers for disaster relief services, finding that the company did not show the work to be seasonal.
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May 14, 2024
NY Court System Immune To Spanish-Speaker's Bias Case
The New York Unified Court System can't be sued in federal court by a Spanish speaker whose limited English language skills allegedly barred him from a program that could have reduced a drug offense's severity, the New York federal court has ruled.
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May 13, 2024
Wall Fraud Conviction Affirmed Despite Juror-Prosecutor Tie
The Second Circuit on Monday affirmed the conviction of a Colorado man found to have siphoned online donations meant to fund a Southern border wall, saying the fact that a federal prosecutor had mentored a juror's daughter didn't warrant vacating the conviction.
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May 13, 2024
Celebrated Irish Jockey Sues USCIS For Denying EB-1 Visa
An accomplished jockey and steeplechase champion from Ireland is suing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Pennsylvania federal court, alleging that the agency wrongly denied his 390-plus page application for an EB-1 visa because he didn't respond to a request for additional evidence despite the original petition having ample evidence to support the classification.
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May 13, 2024
DOL Says Policy Disagreement Not Enough To Nix H-2A Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor rejected a group of farms' criticisms of new H-2A agricultural wages as a mere policy disagreement, telling a North Carolina federal court that the rule was appropriately enacted after taking stock of its potential financial effects.
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May 13, 2024
Texas, Mo. Say Border Contractors Lack Interests To Defend
Texas and Missouri have slammed contractors' attempts to defend the Biden administration's plans to use border wall construction funds to remediate existing barriers, telling a Texas federal court that the group lacks a direct interest in the case's outcome.
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May 13, 2024
Investor Seeks Info On Visa Denied For Money Exchanger Use
A Vietnamese woman challenging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' denial of her EB-5 petition hauled the agency into a D.C. federal court, accusing it of withholding information that may reveal why her use of a money exchanger doomed her petition.
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May 10, 2024
Immigration Court Backlog Swells To Nearly 3.6M Cases
The number of pending deportation cases in courts across the country has swelled to almost 3.6 million as of the end of April, almost 1.3 million of which are asylum cases, while many immigrants continue to get deported without legal representation, according to a report issued by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse on Wednesday.
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May 10, 2024
Cos. Sufficiently Alleged DOL Retaliation Over Atty, Judge Says
The U.S. Department of Labor failed Friday to trim a lawsuit challenging three companies' five-year ban from the H-2B program after a Texas federal judge ruled that the companies sufficiently alleged that the department retaliated against them because of their attorney choice.
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May 10, 2024
Lack Of Specificity Dooms Concrete Co.'s H-2B Worker Bid
A U.S. Department of Labor appeals board backed a department certifying officer's decision not to let a concrete solutions company temporarily hire foreign workers to supplement its staff, saying the company failed to adequately explain why it needed the workers.
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May 10, 2024
Farm Gets 2nd Go At H-2A Extension After Worker's Aneurysm
A U.S. Department of Labor appeals board has revived a farm's request to extend two foreign workers' employment to finish up work that was delayed after a co-worker suffered a brain aneurysm, saying a certifying officer shouldn't have flat-out denied the extension request.
Expert Analysis
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Tips For Student Visa Applicants Mired In Processing Delays
Notwithstanding procedural changes at the U.S. Department of State that provided hope for more timely and predictable visa processing outcomes, international student applications continue to risk becoming bogged down in administrative processing, but certain steps may improve the situation, say Carl Risch and Lauren Epstein at Mayer Brown.
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5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices
The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.
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Avoiding The Ethical Pitfalls Of Crowdfunded Legal Fees
The crowdfunding of legal fees has become increasingly common, providing a new way for people to afford legal services, but attorneys who accept crowdsourced funds must remember several key ethical obligations to mitigate their risks, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review
Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Series
Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
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How A Gov't Shutdown Would Affect Immigration Processing
While a government shutdown would certainly create issues and cause delays for immigration processing, independently funded functions would continue for at least a limited time, and immigration practitioners can expect agencies to create reasonable exceptions and provide guidance for navigating affected matters once operations resume, say William Stock and Sarah Holler at Klasko Immigration Law Partners.
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Opinion
Smart Immigration Reform Can Improve Health Care Access
With the U.S. health care crisis expected to worsen due to ongoing nationwide physician shortages, immigration reform can provide one short-term solution to bring more trained doctors to medically underserved areas, says Sarah Peterson at Fragomen.
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Opinion
Private Equity Owners Can Remedy Law Firms' Agency Issues
Nonlawyer, private-equity ownership of law firms can benefit shareholders and others vulnerable to governance issues such as disparate interests, and can in turn help resolve agency problems, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI
When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.
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How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth
Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.
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Opinion
Time To End Double Standard On Kids' Green Cards
Recent changes to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rules have helped many children qualify for green cards, but the government's failure to extend these changes to consular processing unfairly leaves out children stuck abroad who need visas to join their parents in the U.S., says Edward Ramos at Kurzban Kurzban.
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Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics
X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.
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Litigation Can Facilitate EB-5 Investor Visa Determinations
Processing times in the EB-5 investor visa program continue to rise, but filing a mandamus claim in the right venue against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may offer applicants mired in delay a means to expedite processing, says Mark Stevens at Clark Hill.
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3rd Circ. Ruling Fine-Tunes The 'But It's Hemp' Defense
The Third Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Rivera decision, upholding the appellant’s conviction for marijuana possession, clarifies that defendants charged with trafficking marijuana have the burden of proving that the cannabis is actually federally legal hemp under the 2018 Farm Bill, say attorneys at McGlinchey Stafford.
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ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act
While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.