Dear Readers:
Immigration made the news this past month, but for a reason no one was predicting. When a Liberian man on a visitor visa showed up at a hospital in Dallas with Ebola symptoms, many started calling for restricting the entry of individuals from Ebola-infected countries in West Africa. For now, individuals from those countries are being permitted to enter the US and are being checked for fever upon entry at the major international airports in the US. The pressure to enact travel restrictions has been strong, however, and just this week Australia became the first country to bar the issuance of visas to individuals from stricken countries. Whether the US will follow is very much an open question.
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We are now just days away from the 2014 midterm elections, but, oddly, it feels rather unimportant when it comes to the immigration debate. I wrote in Openers last month that regardless of whether the Senate is controlled by the Republicans or the Democrats, immigration legislation is unlikely to move. Some Republicans are hoping that Republicans will feel a greater obligation to move bills if they control both houses, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Furthermore, we’re still very likely going to see an executive order or series of executive orders from the White House on immigration that will no doubt make negotiating with the Republicans on legislation even tougher. Insiders believe that the Department of Homeland Security and USCIS are going to send their recommendations to the President within the next two weeks.
No one knows for sure what’s going to be proposed. But expect the actions to be sweeping and affect both illegally present immigrants and legal immigrants. When we get news on the orders, we will quickly summarize them and prepare a special newsletter for immediate distribution.
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In firm news, Elissa Taub presented on physician immigration law to the IMG section of the Massachusetts Medical Society. Greg Siskind presented on EB-5 immigrant investor visas at the joint annual meeting of the Ohio and Michigan chapters of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
We also welcome Yvette Sebelist to the editorial team here at Siskind’s Immigration Bulletin. She’s going to be taking over the ABCs of Immigration column that we’ve included here for the twenty years we’ve published this online newsletter. Yvette is a senior counsel in our Nashville office.
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Siskind Susser PC welcomes attorney Spencer Glaser to the Memphis team. For two years Spencer worked as a summer associate at Siskind Susser, assisting attorneys with the preparation and filing of family and employment based visa petitions. Now that he has been sworn in to practice law in Tennessee, he is joining the firm as an attorney.
Spencer graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in history from the University of Tennessee, where he was accepted to the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He went on to earn his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.
Spencer has experience working in several different areas of immigration law. He completed internships with the Memphis Immigration Court, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office. He also clerked for Shelby County Circuit Judge, Donna Fields and Criminal Court Judge, Tim Dwyer. Spencer is an active member of the Memphis Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
We wish Spencer the best and look forward to seeing his accomplishments as an attorney with Siskind Susser PC.
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As always, we remind readers that we welcome new clients. You schedule telephone or in person consultations with Siskind Susser attorneys and can arrange either by calling one of our offices or filling out the consultation request form at www.visalaw.com/consultation.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.