Trump Halts Immigration to the United States

On Monday evening, the President announced that he was going to sign an Executive Order to temporarily halt immigration to the United States. On Tuesday, he held a press conference where he answered questions about immigration, and this Houston immigration lawyer and Miami immigration lawyer watched almost the entire press conference.

Ever since the President’s announcement on Monday, I have been inundated by calls, emails and messages asking about the effect of the new immigration ban. Unfortunately, there has been nothing in writing, but only leaks about what might be in the ban. Even at yesterday’s press conference, the President did not reveal much, other than there would be a temporary halt.

I will follow-up with another blog post in a day or two analyzing the President’s Executive Order halting immigration, once it is written and signed, which he predicted would be today or tomorrow.

Here’s what we know directly from the President. It will be a temporary halt. The reason for it, as he stated yesterday, is to protect American jobs that have been lost due to the coronavirus pandemic. He made it very clear however, that he was not halting immigration because immigrants can bring coronavirus to the United States, but rather he was halting immigration to protect American jobs.

As a lawyer, this is very interesting that a President can cancel existing laws “to protect the job market,” especially when those laws were passed with protecting the job market in mind. Moreover, it is being done without any empirical study on the effect of immigration and the  current job market. Of course, prior studies have shown the contrary, how immigration and immigrants actually improve the overall job market by becoming consumers,  creating jobs and through investment.

While it may sound good and logical to the average person………halt immigration to protect American jobs……….the consequences of allowing a President to cancel existing laws passed by Congress and signed by prior presidents, can have very serious repercussions in the future. This can set a very dangerous precedent.

Moreover, our country has a long history of  debating and passing immigration laws where there has always been a tug-of-war between the pro-immigration lobby and the labor lobby. Historically, and we are talking about many decades, the labor lobby (unions, etc) have wanted to limit immigration in order to protect American jobs. So, as Congress would pass laws about immigration, there would always be compromise in order to protect the American labor market.  As a result, our immigration laws have been passed with certain rules already built-in to protect the labor market for American workers. It is no simple task for any company to bring in foreign workers, and it can take years with various levels of proof being submitted to the government to show that American workers are not being displaced.

The Executive Order to halt immigration reminds me of the Obama Executive Order to extend DACA-like protection to parents of U.S. citizens who are presently in the country. In that situation, the courts stopped the Obama program saying that he cannot extend immigration laws by Executive Order. It would be interesting to see if the courts say that Trump cannot limit or halt the laws by stopping immigration, by Executive Order. Like many past Executive Orders about immigration by President Trump, this new Executive Order  will be immediately challenged in court, and no doubt, be temporarily enjoined from being enforced by a federal judge. As with his other Executive Orders, it will likely end up in the Supreme Court, and if recent precedent holds true, the Supreme Court will allow the temporary ban, perhaps in a more narrow fashion.

I will not speculate as to what forms of immigration will be banned, because the Order itself is coming at any moment and it will be specific.  However, from his press conference and from the leaks so far, it seems that it will affect only immigrants who are currently outside the U.S., and not immigrants who have cases pending for work permits or green cards inside the U.S.  Of course, I could be wrong and we will just have to see what it actually says.

Will the Order have an effect on applications for immigration such as extensions of B-2 visitor status or E-2 investor status, or even H-1B or L-1 visa status? The answer is almost certainly, no. That would be way too broad to get past the Supreme Court in my opinion. Will it stop an immigration lawyer like me from submitting visa petitions for my clients? The answer is that it is very unlikely to have that effect. All indications are that it is a temporary halt on a very narrow basis, as affects people entering the United States from abroad. So, for people here, it almost certainly will not halt the immigration situation within the United States………but we will see, so,watch for my update.

Finally, as a practical matter, there is already an effective immigration halt because immigrant and non-immigrant visas are issued by U.S. Consulates and U.S. Embassies around the world and they have all been closed since last month and are not issuing any visas. Additionally, most airlines are no longer flying into the United States, so that even those with visas cannot get into the country right now.

Bruce Coane is a Houston immigration lawyer and Miami immigration lawyer who is Board Certified in Immigration & Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He may be reached at bruce.coane@gmail.com or by phone at 305.538.6800 or 713.850.0066. The website is http://www.coane.com.

Coronavirus: Employment Laws and Psychiatry

Here is a Zoom video conversation I had this week with Houston psychiatrist, Dr. Daniela White. This Houston wrongful termination lawyer and Miami wrongful termination lawyer discussed some of the new employment laws relating to Coronavirus, as well as psychiatric issues she was seeing with patients. For a bit of insight on the laws and some good ideas about dealing with stress caused by isolation and quarantine, please enjoy our short video discussion.

 

For further information, I can be reached at bruce.coane@gmail.com or 713.850.0066, or 305.538.6800. The website is http://www.coane.com. Dr. White can be reached at 713.426.3100.

Immigration Cases continue to be Processed

While many offices close and the population shelters in place, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is open for business (via mail and online filings) and continues to process cases.

Our office also remains open, although most consultations these days are done by phone, WhatsApp, FaceTime or Skype. The front desk in all three of our offices is still manned by our excellent staff who continue to receive in-person packages and materials from clients and vendors. We also continue  to do  in-person appointments.

The USCIS has stopped interviewing at local offices and has canceled naturalization ceremonies which is very unfortunate. But, with social distancing, such large ceremonies would have been impossible. Hopefully they will resume in the near future, otherwise their backlog of cases will be almost insurmountable with further delays in adjudications.

As for foreign visitors to the USA and others on non-immigrant visas, many are in quite a predicament. If a non-immigrant worker such as H-1B or L-1 worker gets laid off, they can’t exactly leave the country right now, and they can quickly fall out of status once their grace period expires. And, those on ESTA or B-2 visitor status with expiration dates fast approaching have a serious dilemma where they cannot leave the USA and where there are limitations on extending status.

This Houston immigration lawyer and Miami immigration lawyer continues to work tirelessly, both at home and at the office to preserve the legal rights of clients and to timely file applications so that clients do not miss critical deadlines.

As for immigration courts, the courts that handle jail cases are still operating on a daily basis. The regular immigration courts that handle cases for foreign nationals who are not in jail, have canceled cases through April 10. That will most likely be extended in light of the president’s announcement extending social distancing for another 30 days.

For further information, you may contact the  author, Bruce Coane, who is a lawyer Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is available 24/7 at bruce.coane@gmail.com. He may also be reached at 713.850.0066 and 305.538.6800 during the week. The website is http://www.coane.com.

The new Coronavirus FMLA Law and Paid Sick Leave Act

Here is a video I recorded this weekend, with CPA, Ann McCowan, in Miami Beach. We talk about Coronavirus and COVID-19 and the new FMLA law and the Paid Sick Leave Act and how it affects both employers and employees. Ann explains the tax impacts and financial benefits for both employers and employees.

 

As most of you know, as an attorney, I have been practicing both employment law/wrongful termination and immigration law for over 30 years. For further information, I can be contacted at bruce.coane@gmail.com or at 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800.  I hope you enjoy our video.

Fired for Raising Concerns about Coronavirus or COVID-19?

I have been getting daily inquiries about employee rights in light of the Coronavirus and COVID-19 situation. Many employees have been fired for discussing the virus or taking time off. Today a doctor inquired about a hospital refusing to allow him to wear a mask while he makes his rounds. These are all novel issues and further complicated by emergency declarations at the local and national level.

Often during times of emergency declarations, legal rights are suspended. On the other hand, it still remains illegal to fire someone over protected legal rights, such as their disability or religion.

This Houston employment lawyer and Miami employment lawyer, deals with these issues every day. I consider federal laws under the Civil Rights Act of 1967,  the Americans with Disabilities Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and others. It is a matter of taking the individual facts of the person’s Coronavirus or COVID-19 situation and trying to apply those facts to existing laws.

What about lay-offs? There are hundreds of thousands , if not millions of American workers being laid off right now. If an employer has been trying to get rid of an employee for quite sometime, placing them in a group layoff is certainly one way to disguise their intent. In order for the employee to have a case in that situation, they would have to show that they were unfairly included in the layoff because of their age, race, sex or some other discriminatory reason. If the entire workforce is laid off, then, of course, the employee would most likely lose.

As these brand new employment issues arise due to Coronavirus and COVID-19, I will continue to work with clients to come up with out-of-the-box solutions to find laws that may cover their situation and may get them some justice in dealing with employers who make unfair or unscrupulous  decisions.

The author: Bruce A. Coane is a Houston employment lawyer and Miami employment lawyer for over 30 years, representing both workers and employers in workplace disputes. He  may be reached at bruce.coane@gmail.com, or at 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800. The website is http://www.coane.com.

Coronavirus, Travel Bans and the U.S. Immigration System

In this video I talk about the coronavirus and its effects on the U.S. Immigration System.

For further information, contact Bruce Coane, Houston Immigration Lawyer and Miami Immigration Lawyer, at bruce.coane@gmail.com, 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800.

Immigration Update: Travel Bans: Nigerians, Pregnant Women, Poor Immigrants

Here is my first Immigration Update of 2020, where this Houston Immigration Lawyer and Miami Immigration Lawyer talks about travel bans and new regulations dealing with foreigners accepting public benefits, Medicaid, etc.

For further information, I can be reached at 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800 or by email at bruce.coane@gmail.com.

Nigeria Travel Ban Hits Hard

The Trump administration announced a travel ban on citizens of Nigeria, to go into effect later this month. As soon as this was publicized, this Houston Immigration Lawyer and Miami Immigration Lawyer ‘s phone started ringing off the wall and the emails began to pile up.

Nigeria is Africa’s largest country and it is one of the top  oil-producing nations in the world. Most large oil companies like Shell, Chevron and others have a large presence in Nigeria. Moreover, these companies often move Nigerian petroleum engineers and other management employees back and forth between Nigeria and the U.S. But oil is not the only industry that will be affected by the all-out travel ban.

The tourism industry will be hit very hard. There are tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Nigerians traveling to the U.S. every year.Many come to visit family that live here and have immigrated here.

Just this morning I was thinking about the annual International Bar Association (IBA) conference which will be held in Miami later this year. Usually, the Nigerian delegation of lawyers and judges attending this international event is close to 1,000. With the new countries being added to the travel ban, I would have to think this will be the last IBA annual conference held in America. There are just too many lawyers and judges who would otherwise attend but are being barred by the current administration.

The number of flights that will be lost to the travel ban, and the effect on the Miami economy (hotel rooms, registration fees, restaurants, etc) from the loss of almost 1000 lawyers and judges coming from Nigeria for this event will be huge.

Many of my clients from Nigeria are in the oil industry and worry about their families and separation from their families. Some are working in Nigeria for Chevron or Shell or Schlumberger, while their spouse and children are in the U.S. on student visas. The spouse working in Nigeria will typically come 3-4 times a year to visit with their family in Houston or California or Alaska, where they typically live in the U.S.

Our office will be able to continue the green card process of visa petitions for these workers, but the actual issuance of an immigrant visa (following approval of a visa petition) will be barred. For those oil and gas workers from Nigeria who are temporarily working in the U.S. right now, they will be able to finish their green card cases and receive a green card as long as they stay here. It is only those who must get a visa at a USA Embassy who will likely be affected by the ban. And, certainly lawyers, judges, tourists and students trying to fly to the U.S. with a temporary visa will be barred from entry.

For further information this Board Certified immigration lawyer may be reached at 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800, or via email at bruce.coane@gmail.com.

L-1 Visa Lawsuit Filed to Overrule USCIS Denial

This past week, our law firm sued the federal government in U.S. District Court in Miami, over the denial of an extension of an L-1A, intracompany transfer working visa.

Our client, from Europe, had started his branch office in the USA and has over 10 American workers in Florida. The USCIS, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security had already previously approved him for an L-1A visa to work in the United States. After starting the business here and hiring more than ten employees, it was time to file for an extension of his stay in L-1A status.

In denying the extension of stay and rendering the business owner out of status, the  government now claimed that he was not a manager or executive who managed management employees, even though all the evidence submitted indicated that he was the CEO of the U.S.-based company.

President Trump, through an executive order, has stated that the government would give a more difficult time to intracompany transfer workers, but he did not say the USCIS should not follow the law and should not approve cases that clearly qualify under the law.

This Miami immigration lawyer and Houston immigration lawyer has been suing the federal government on improperly denied immigration visa cases for over thirty years. Normally, such cases are resolved in favor of the foreign national, based on my own personal experience. Moreover, if the government waits for the federal judge to overrule their decision, the federal government is often on the hook to pay attorney’s fees of the foreign national.

The government is expected to file an answer to the lawsuit in the next 60 days, with a 2021 trial date most likely on the horizon.

About the author: Bruce Coane is a Miami immigration lawyer and a Houston immigration lawyer and is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Coane practices immigration law in all 50 states and has clients all around the world.He may be reached at bruce.coane@gmail.com or at 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800

The New Public Charge Rules for Immigration Cases

In the video below, I talk about the new public charge rules for immigration cases. As an immigration lawyer, I advise clients on all the latest changes in the public charge rules, and I analyze their chances of satisfying the latest definitions when completing the affidavit of support for immigration cases.

For further information, this Miami immigration lawyer and Houston immigration lawyer may be reached at 713.850.0066 or 305.538.6800, or at bruce.coane@gmail.com.