Every year, approximately 5,000 people enter the United States from abroad to be religious workers. However, extensive immigration backlogs are forcing religious workers out of work, and in some cases, even forcing them to leave the country. The R-1 Visa Process One mechanism through which religious workers gain legal status in the United States is the R-1 visa. The R-1 visa permits nonimmigrants to enter the United READ MORE READ MORE

United States Continues Controversial Border Policy The Biden Administration decided this week to continue a policy implemented by the Trump administration that authorized the rapid deportation of noncitizens stopped at the U.S./Mexico, citing safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 1.5 million people have been expelled under this program without the opportunity to apply for any form of relief. This measure permits U.S. border officials to READ MORE READ MORE

Despite the rare passage of legislation providing Liberians in the United States a direct path to citizenship, few have completed the application process. Now that the Dec. 20, 2021, deadline to apply has passed, advocates from across the country are fighting for an extension to allow certain Liberians in the United States access to obtain green cards. The Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act In December 2019, Congress READ MORE READ MORE

On Friday, May 15, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice clarifying to employers that they cannot reverify Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) who presented evidence of permanent residence status that was unexpired at the time of the employee’s initial Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, regardless of later expiration. While employers were never required to reverify LPRs, there has long lacked specific instruction on this, leading many READ MORE READ MORE

On Friday, I was honored to join a group of today’s business leaders and innovators at WeWork, who are shaping tomorrow, for a discussion on immigration. In a room nineteen floors above the rumbling of New York’s traffic with sushi in hand, two concerns quickly became central to our discussion: (1) the growing barrier of US businesses—small, mid, and large—to access to the global workforce; and (2) READ MORE READ MORE