The year 2020 marked a sudden break in mobility across international borders. The COVID-19 pandemic decimated tourism and business travel; cut the lion’s share of seasonal and temporary labor migration; temporarily ground refugee resettlement efforts to a halt; and held up the processing of visas of all kinds, from those for international students to family reunification. Yet even as the overall picture of human mobility in 2020 is of movement dramatically curtailed, the details of this picture varied over the course of the year and across regions.

Joining to share the data behind this shift is Migration Policy Institute's Senior Policy Analyst Jeanne Batalova and Policy Analyst Kate Hooper, with help from EIG's Lead Researcher Luke Bianco.

Ron Wada is Senior Counsel for TafaPolsky & Smith LLP and is a nationally recognized expert in US immigration law. He is the co-editor of the leading national immigration law treatise Immigration Law and Procedure and is the author of AILA’s Focus on EB2 & EB3 Degree Equivalency, a standard desk-top reference book for immigration attorneys nationwide.

He explains the journey to writing one of the most referenced immigration books in circulation today.

Director of Immigration Advocacy at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Megan Horn Essaheb joins.

We discuss:

1. Reuniting Families Act provisions and how others can help.
2. #StopAsianHate campaign and recent events in Atlanta. Covid-19’s role in the rise of hostility towards Asian Americans and how AAJC is countering the surge in discrimination/xenophobia.

On March 12th, USCIS announced it would consider reopening select nonimmigrant petitions that were previously denied based upon three rescinded policy memos.

Jon Wasden Partner at Wasden Banias LLC discusses how his team litigated the memos that were later rescinded by USCIS on March 12th, and shares his experience with taking Trump-era policies to task in court.

Today we have a special guest, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Executive Director of Immigration Policy, Jon Baselice.

We explore key legislative and regulatory policies the chamber is advocating for in immigration, and how immigration law firms can help assist. We address the current status, future outlook, and any challenges found along the way.

Today is a short recap of immigration news from the past week. Namely the suspension of Proclamation 10014, and who that will affect, and also address the reasons why the administration has reverted the naturalization test back to its 2008 standard and what that means for you.

-Re-release from February 2019-

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness….”

These words reach ears with an aura of romanticism; they appeal to the highest aspirations within us all and they entice millions to come and maximize their abilities in this great nation. As Black History Month comes to an end, we welcome Howard University political science professor Robinson Woodward-Burns and we discuss the role African Americans had in turning those words from a theoretical promise into a tangible reality for all by becoming citizens of the United States.

For more, follow Robinson on-

Twitter: @rwbdc

Website: woodwardburns.com

H-1B Cap lottery is fast approaching, today we discuss travel recommendations for a covid environment, last chance and alternative options to the Cap, and general FAQ’s for this coming season.

Erickson Immigration Groups, Managing Attorney, Naianka Rigaud joins.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would not be applying the H-1B Selection final rule which was introduced on January 7 by the Trump Administration.

This would have changed the current random lottery H-1B selection process to prioritizing high wage-earning and more experienced applicants. 

Erickson immigration Groups Managing Director Hiba Anver joins to share how to be best prepared during this lottery season. 

On February 2nd, President Joe Biden signed 3 major executive orders centering around disputed immigration policies from the previous administration.

We walk through each of the order's strategic aims and concerns, members involved, and timelines of execution.