by: Terese Tadros Ibarra* Coptic Christians in Egypt and other Eastern Orthodox churches in the Middle East and throughout the world celebrated Christmas Eve on Sunday, January 6, 2013. Coptic Christians (or Copts) represent about 10% of Egypt’s population of 84 million, the majority of which are Sunni Muslim. Due to recent incidents of violence […]
By: Helena Coric* An overwhelming amount of sources discuss the backlog problems our immigration system is facing. In deportation proceedings, the difficulties become more apparent as hearings are delayed and one is left to simply wait it out. For those individuals that feel they do not have a strong case or lack the funds for […]
Today marks the beginning of a sad era for Russian orphans. Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill outlawing American adoptions of Russian orphans. As a result, there are forty six children currently hanging in limbo, as their adoption processes were initiated before the legislation went into effect. It remains to […]
This Monday we celebrated the 64th annual Human Rights Day, a day to celebrate human rights, bring a specific issue into the spotlight, and to advocate for human rights for those whose rights are constantly curtailed. However, Human Rights Day shouldn’t just be a day. It is up to us to make it go on […]
By: John Nicholas Mandalakas* Despite the difficulties that civilian business face in securing visas for much needed foreign employees with special skills (STEM or otherwise), military outfits are having no problems. This is due to a program called MAVNI (Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest), which allows for foreign nationals holding virtually any US […]
By: Helena Coric* The 2012 Presidential election produced great advances in the fight for marriage equality as legislation passed in the states of Minnesota, Maryland, Maine, and Washington. The significance of these results is that for the first time voters supported the measure at the polls, instead of it simply being limited to the authority […]
By: John Nicholas Mandalakas* In a recent court case a federal judge ruled against the USCIS, finding the agency in violation of requirements under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The case was based on a dispute that lasted almost ten years. Mirsad Hajro, who was the primary plaintiff of the case, was denied naturalization […]
By: Margarita Baldwin* In assessing an asylum seeker’s ability to relocate within the borders of the country, the Immigration Judge must decide whether the asylum-seeker can avoid future persecution by moving to another part of the country and whether it would be reasonable to expect the asylum-seeker to do so. A recent BIA’s decision granted […]
By: Helena Coric* U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to experience backlog in its data system. Government enforcement data obtained from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) indicates that the current number of pending cases is up 23 percent, which is 82 percent higher than in the past decade. Considering the potential problems the […]
By: Helena Coric* A recent decision by U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the end of October 2012 initiated the process to go paperless for the I-94 Form. The I-94 Form is the card used to indicate the date of admission, status, and authorized period of stay in the passport of a foreign […]
