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Now that summer is here, hopefully most of us are planning our vacations. Although most summers, I return to my native Puerto Rico to visit family and spend some time at the beach, I’m always reading the newspaper (digitally these days) to look for new places to travel. If you’ve been reading the news over the past several months, there have been quite a few articles about a new Caribbean destination for travelers: Cuba. Continue reading “Cuba: La Perla de las Antillas”
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday that it will temporarily suspend premium processing of Petitions for H-1B extensions beginning on Tuesday, May 26, 2015. USCIS will continue to process H-1B extensions that were received prior to May 26. USCIS will refund the premium processing fee for H-1B extensions filed prior to May 26, 2015, but not processed within the 15-calendar-day period. Continue reading “USCIS Suspends Premium Processing of Petitions for H-1B Extension”
Beautiful weather and golfing for a worthy cause makes for a fantastic Friday! Today is the Third Annual Hispanic Business Initiative Fund (HBIF) golf tournament in Tampa, Florida. In addition to Shumaker’s sponsorship, I was happy to sponsor a foursome. Proceeds from this event will be used for services that help create and retain jobs in Florida. Some of the other event sponsors include Bank of America, Chase, PNC, Wells Fargo, Walt Disney World Resort, Suncoast Credit Union, Impact Industrial Supplies, Telemundo and UPS.
HBIF was first established in 1991 in Tampa, by community leaders and government officials who identified the need for bilingual technical assistance and support for Hispanic entrepreneurs in the area. Today, HBIF is recognized as the state’s leading nonprofit, economic development organization specializing in providing bilingual assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs. In order to increase the number of viable, fiscally sustainable businesses, create jobs, and help the community prosper, HBIF offers a variety of services to Hispanics who wish to start or grow their business in Florida. With offices in the West Coast, Central and South Florida regions, all HBIF services to clients are free thanks to corporate donations, government grants and special fundraising events. In the last five fiscal years, HBIF has helped clients create and retain 5,287 jobs in Florida.
While the lawsuit challenging President Obama’s executive action continues to garner headlines, an additional lawsuit has been filed contesting another part of the executive actions that DHS is attempting to implement. This time the lawsuit is challenging the administration’s authority to give work authorization to the H-4 dependent spouses of certain H-1B nonimmigrants. Currently, H-4 spouses are not authorized to engage in employment unless the spouse has his/her own work visa. Continue reading “DHS Asks Court to Dismiss Lawsuit Challenging H-4 Work Authorization”
In a Thursday midnight filing, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers disclosed that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued about 2,000 three-year work permits (as opposed to the currently authorized two-year permits) to illegal immigrants granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Technically, the issuance of the three-year work permits — an aspect of President Obama’s November 20 executive actions which expanded DACA — was in violation of U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen’s February 16 injunction issued in the case of State of Texas v. United States. Continue reading “2000 Three Year Work Permits Were Issued by DHS in Violation of Injunction”
This week the U.S. Departments of Labor and Homeland Security announced an interim final rule to reinstate and make improvements to the H-2B Visa program, and a final rule to establish the prevailing wage methodology to be utilized for the H-2B program. Continue reading “DOL and DHS Release Joint New Rules for H-2B Visa Program”
Maria del Carmen Ramos, partner in the Tampa office, has been appointed to a three-year term on The Florida Bar’s Judicial Administration and Evaluations Committee, which is concerned with obtaining and retaining qualified judicial officers, as well as making judicial offices more attractive to qualified attorneys. Continue reading “Maria del Carmen Ramos Appointed to Florida Bar Committee”
Maria del Carmen Ramos, an immigration partner in our Tampa office, was invited by the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) to speak to a delegation of distinguished visitors from Russia as part of the Labor Migration and Migrant Adaptation Program. Continue reading “Maria del Carmen Ramos Speaks at Labor Migration and Migrant Adaptation Program”
Mechelle Zarou, partner in the Toledo office, spoke at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) Texas Chapter Spring Conference on “Best Practices for L-1 Visas.” The AILA Texas Chapter encompasses the states of Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The conference was held April 23-25, 2015 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Continue reading “Mechelle Zarou Presented to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Texas Chapter”