Apparently there is an epidemic of constitutional amnesia/shameless pandering affecting state Attorneys General throughout the country.  As I told you last week, first it was Virginia State Attorney Cuccinelli opining that local law enforcement officerscan arrest those they suspect of committing criminal violations ofimmigration laws — crossing the border — but not those they think haveviolated civil immigration statutes — overstaying visas. Rather paradoxically, he added that that it is generally"inadvisable" to arrest those suspected of committing civil violations."The ability to arrest lies clearly when there is a criminal offense andit is decidedly unclear where there is a civil offense," he said.  In other words…"HUH??"  As if a police…

Although the Dream Act, which will offer legal status to some 700,000 foreign-born illegal aliens who entered the U.S. Before the age of 16, remains a dream, an unofficial policy change has apparently been keeping ICE from deporting those who would qualify. Check out the New York Times article: http://nyti.ms/d84Du8…

In the beginning there was equity.  And it sucked.  It sucked because for the first decade or so, the vast majority of EB-5 Regional Centers were focused exclusively on circumventing the letter of the law as handed down in the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT90), wherein capital risk was a prerequisite.  While the smoke and mirrors deployed by many of these early players resulted in a remarkable number of initial I-526 approvals — a testament to how unprepared the then-INS was for the shell game shenanigans –  the whole thing came crashing down at the I-829 level, as the government saw the bottom line and permanent residency was denied for many, many families.  It further sucked because the vast majority of regional centers were too preoccupied with collecting the…

Showing his readiness for the Senate seat into which he is investing millions, Jeff Greene continued his history of totally lying about proven facts, this time in a televised debate with his opponent, Kendrick Meek.  When Meek asked him about Greene's yacht trip to Cuba – a violation of U.S. law –Greene insisted he had not personally takenthe yacht to Cuba.  After the debate, though,Greene acknowledged he "may have gone in 2007". He said the JewishFederation had obtained a visa for him to visit Cuba and that he andother members of the federation visited a synagogue.Having LEGALLY been in Havana several times, there are two possible responses:1- Mr. Greene was AGAIN lying, a habit with which he is increasingly identified OR2- The poor man's memory has deterior…

[Yes, as a matter of fact, that WAS a typo in original title! (-;]As much as I love the scenery, history, and food of the great state of Virginia, in which I resided off and on during my State Department years, I have always been somewhat shocked with their legal interpretations and rulings.  Today that rep is solidly concerned with their Attorney General's unsolicited and patently wrong legal opinion regarding Arizona's immigration law.  But first a story…As a young consular officer on a temp assignment in DC, I had a landlord unlawfully refuse to reimburse a security deposit.  I took her to Virginia small claims court and won in minutes; restitution and costs were ordered.  Her attorney, knowing I was in Mexico, filed an appeal but deliberately sent it to …

Just a thought/question: I have 63 contacts in "Linked In", almost all of them people with whom I share a fundamental client base.  Good people; SMART people.  Nothing ever happens except people invite me.On Facebook, I have 271 friends.  I sneeze and I get 15 responses.What's wrong with this picture?  Maybe it's that I am not "working" Linked In the way I "work" FB but I'll tell you what…show me who your FRIENDS are…And I'll tell you ALLLLLLL about you…(-;…

Melissa and I worked, along with other immigration attorneys with whom we worked, spent some time at the University of Miami teaching law students how to prepare Haitian TPS forms; it was in the aftermath of the earthquake and UM's law school was scrambling to do what they could to help those affected.  I told you guys about this back then in the blog but Melissa just found this great article on it, so I am sharing it with you…Melissa and Jose Train Students at UM…

As the media and activists on both side have continued making "news" of Arizona's new immigration enforcement law, I've been chanting and chanting and chanting…"the law violates federal sovereignty and the first federal judge to touch it will zap it."Bingo. As she did so, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled: “There is a substantiallikelihood that officers will wrongfully arrest legal resident aliensunder the new [law],'' Bolton ruled. “By enforcing this statute,Arizona would impose a `distinct, unusual and extraordinary' burden onlegal resident aliens that only the federal government has the authorityto impose.''NO DUHHHH.Look, I understand everyone's frustration with the Federal Government's failure to enact comprehen…

Okay, the quick and dirty:  as most of you know, I have looooooong struggled with attorneys getting a referral fee for a client who selects a particular EB5 Regional Center AND then handling the legal work for the client.  I have heard ALL the arguments:"It's okay as long as it's disclosed""Clients don't care""That's what EVERYONE does!"You heard me rant and rave about this fundamental conflict, which I have likened to a fox yelling "I am coming in the henhouse" before he enters, with the net result for the chickens being the same.  Despite my issues, my clients continue to hammer me over the head.  They say:"Jose, you CAN'T hand us over to another lawyer, we want you!!""WE DON'T CARE i…