The Miami Herald reported yesterday that 9 Haitian migrants (at least) died after their smuggler's boat capsized en route from Bimini to Miami.  This is the latest tragedy at sea and these tragedies will continue until the failed regional economic and immigration policies of past administrations – both Republican AND Democratic – are changed.  Specifically, the Obama team needs to:-remove the disparity in the treatment of Haitian and Cuban refugees-eliminate the absurd "wet foot/dry foot" policy-commit to mitigating illegal migration from the Caribbean using the same tools we've used in Mexico for decades: trade incentives, tariff elimination, job stimulation programs and poverty reduction projects.Haiti, our most desperately needy neighbor, gets as much U.S. …

Yesterday I apparently offended a few folks with my comments regarding the EB-5 Visa. Most of the comments I got back are not printable — hey, these ARE attorneys involved (-;. One gentleman expressed himself courteously, and his comments merit a response.Stephen Parnell is joint managing partner of Which EB5 (www.WhichEB5.com), an organization which describes itself in its press releases as “advocates of immigrant investors and have chosen to be independent from any regional center. They have worked with more than 800families and more than 100 who have opted for an EB-5 regional center investmentvisa”. Mr Parnell wrote yesterday: Howon earth can you call the EB-5 a scam? Are you not aware of the numbers ofinvestors who are currently seeing the return of their original investment?Yes, the…

In the early 90s, I expended a great deal of time and energy explaining to clients why the EB-5 was NOT the best solution for folks seeking to immigrate to the U.S. and having viable companies abroad.  The reasons are simple1- The L-1 mechanism offers the same path to the green card at a fraction of the $500,000-$1,000,000 investment of the EB-52- The job creation requirements allow for vague interpretation by the government, as evidenced by the hundreds of cases where pilot program applicants were deemed NOT to have met said requirements and3- The whole fundamental premise behind EB-5 pilot programs is a SCAM, and anyone who tells you that they can assure that your investment is not at risk AND meets EB-5 requirements is either totally ignorant of the statutory language or, in my exp…

I haven't written here in awhile and I hate to get back in the saddle via a RANT, but I am seriously upset: in the past two days, I have been approached by not one, not two, but THREE prospective clients sharing the same basic problem: their otherwise straightforward immigration case has been disemboweled and trashed by a licensed Florida attorney with absolutely no fundamental understanding of U.S. immigration law.This is all part of a dark trinity which South Florida immigrants have long faced:The tragic belief that countrymen will not rip you off (when, in fact, it is most often Colombians who rip off Colombians, Chinese who rip off Chinese…the nature of the con game…remember: "con man" is short for "confidence", and upon this they prey.)The legal pandemoniu…

You may have heard of the brilliantly conceived (if somewhat less brilliantly executed) film, "A Day Without A Mexican".  In the movie, Southern California awakens to an absence of Mexicans, and the world grinds to a stop because no one is there to provide the infrastructural support needed for society to operate.  I've seen real-life, miniature examples of this, such as when ICE raids on South Beach and in St. Thomas have temporarily closed entire shopping areas.  If you've been reading what I write for awhile, you know that I am very much in favor of immigration controls and no apologist for those who ignore our immigration laws.  But that being said, I am also a pragmatist who understands the role these currently-illegal migrants play in our very …

Having emigrated from Cuba in 1966, I have lived under the rules of the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba since resettling in the United States with my parents.  I grew up in South Florida, where the Cuban-American community sincerely believed for many, many years that the economic pressure imposed by the embargo would succeed in displacing Castro's communist regime.As I grew up, this faith seemed more and more misplaced, and in this past decade, through several sanctioned visits to Cuba, I eventually came to the conclusion that the embargo had never been, and would never be, effective in achieving its purpose.  In fact, the embargo seemed to have become Fidel Castro's primary weapon for staying in power, a powerful tool for demonizing American interests and creating the &quot…

The New York Times reported today that the Obama administration has reiterated its intention to tacklecomprehensive immigration reform this year.  Among the objectives is the creation of a viable mechanism giving legal status to the estimated 12 million illegal migrants living in the U.S.  The news of this effort is enthusiastically received by those affected as well as by the many U.S. employers who depend upon such workers for their operations.This bit of great news, along with the Administration's current attention on ending the 50 year old, toothless, worthless trade and travel embargo on Cuba, suggests that this administration has as much bite as they do bark. 'Bout time someone in Washington did……

I know my dear friend Sam Udani will be absolutely mortified when he sees today’s blog entry, but too bad.  He simply has to come to terms with his insight and what it means to those of us with our ear to the ground, listening for the distant thundering hooves of immigration changes to come.   Sam, of course, is the founder of ILW.COM, the most comprehensive U.S. immigration website on the Internet.  Sam is not an attorney, and my theory is that this explains (in part, at least) why his analysis of things immigration is as incisive as it is.  You mentioned the Sage of Omaha, Sam, so suck it up and handle the well-deserved kudos, my perpetually self-effacing friend…(-; Here are a few of his predictions: -The downturn in H1-B employment in the financial…

Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th U.S. President today, and what a ride it's been. To me, one of the most intriguing (and admirable) qualities of this man is how his pragmatism seems to defuse agendas.  In these past days, I've discussed this sea change in our national agenda with a number of friends, both Democrats and Republicans.  I find it very interesting that all but the most jaded Republicans — who will never be happy with any Democratic President, regardless of what he is able to accomplish — I've been speaking with acknowledge that Obama's still, cool waters run deep indeed, and that the fact that he is the best public speaker any of us has ever seen and a poster child for American intelligentsia does not, as previously alleged, imply a &quot…