#newUScitizen
USCIS is celebrating the Fourth of July this year with 100 naturalization ceremonies throughout the country. The majority of naturalizations occur in the courtroom or at USCIS. A few naturalizations occur at special ceremonies such as the ones occurring throughout the country this weekend. The hashtag for the ceremonies is #newUScitizen.
Here are some of the largest naturalizations:
May 2016 Visa Bulletin Released
The Department of State has released the 2016 May Visa Bulletin.
Employment Based-2 and Employment Based-3 categories for India moved only a few weeks. The filing date is July 1, 2009 for EB-2 India. El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have their own chargeability in the employment-based category but not in the family-based category.
Family Based-2 for all non-listed chargeabilities is June 15, 2015 (spouses of LPRs). There is no filing date for the family-based categories. That will be released later this month, according to the State Department.
The Immigration Law That Will Make the United States a Global Soccer Powerhouse
For soccer (futbol) fans in the United States, it has been a struggle to slowly ingratiate soccer into the American sports pantheon, which is dominated by football, football, college football, and occasionally baseball. Soccer has been rising in prominence, thanks to some gritty and spectacular performances by the US Men’s and Women’s National Teams. The global game made enormous strides in 2014, as the country was struck with Soccer Fever during the World Cup. John Brooks deserves a statute for his goal against Ghana.
The Childhood Citizenship Act (CCA) of 2000 will make the United States a soccer power that will threaten the top teams. This month, 17 year old Gedion Zelalem expedited the process to obtain his passport. He has become a US citizen and will be eligible to play for the U.S. national team. The CCA is the reason why. Zelalem’s father turned his Permanent Residency into US Citizenship in 2014. As Zelalem was still under 18, a lawful permanent resident and in his father’s custody, his father’s naturalization allowed him to receive US citizenship automatically, even though he was born in Berlin to two Ethiopian parents. Zelalem immigrated to the United States as an eight year old in 2005 and was eligible to join either Ethiopia, Germany, or the United States national teams.
There are many great soccer players in Zelalem’s situation. Many players in the European Union are faced with similar situations and have to choose a country based on citizenship laws and heritage, such as Jerome and Kevin Boateng, Adnan Janujaz, Lionel Messi, Diego Costa, Danny Welbeck, and Stephen El-Sharaawy. We are thankful that Zelalem has chosen the United States, much like the German-Americans chose the United States. Thank you Congress and thank you Zelalem. We wish Zelalem the best of luck as he starts his career with Arsenal FC and cannot wait to see him lead USMNT to international glory.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is a quintessential American holiday, combining copious amounts of food, football, and family members into a one day celebration of gratitude and togetherness. Cutting across religious, racial, and cultural divisions, the holiday has been celebrated since the famed 1621 Plymouth feast between Native Americans and passengers of the Mayflower who had arrived in an unknown land. The feast celebrated a successful harvest and collaboration between the Natives and immigrant Europeans. The day was celebrated on all different days until President Franklin Roosevelt decreed that the fourth Thursday of November was Thanksgiving in 1939.
The Macy’s Parade and bottomless buffets of football and food boost the holiday’s fun qualities, but there is a deeper significance buttressing the holiday’s purpose and meaning. The story of Thanksgiving, even if slightly apocryphal, has multiple dimensions of resonance for us today, even a full four centuries later. Colonial America was rife with conflicts between the newly arriving Europeans and established Native Americans, who had created civilizations of their own for hundreds of years. Thanksgiving symbolizes harmonious interchange between the Native Americans and immigrant Europeans. As elementary schoolchildren are taught every year, the immigrant Europeans
had come from England via Holland, escaping religious persecution and an oppressive government. Their story resembles a modern day asylum, as they were fleeing extreme stress and strife to a country where they would be safe (and religion is a protected ground for asylum). The overall history of European immigration, settling, and expansion throughout the continent boded poorly for Native Americans, who were overwhelmed by settlement, wars, and diseases. However, the day of feasting that we now celebrate as Thanksgiving represents the promise of a bright, harmonious future between the various groups that make up the United States of America – whether they are generations of Americans whose grandparents entered through Ellis Island or newly minted Americans who are recent immigrants, lawful permanent residents, and citizens.
The Law Offices of Andrew Wood wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving.
President Barack Obama Announces Executive Action on Immigration Reform
Barack Obama Announces Immigration Reform: Relief for Immigrants
Speaking (full speech) from the White House Thursday night, President Obama announced to the nation his plan to issue an executive order, taking a multi-faceted approach to the bevy of immigration issues facing the nation.
As reported last week, Obama’s order will protect up to 4.5 million people from deportation. This is a minimal measure compared to the proposals and nearly passed laws (DREAM Act) that Congress has considered over the past eight years. Every president since Eisenhower in 1956 has granted relief to immigrants through executive action. The executive order does not change actual laws, but it re-directs executive agencies to shift their priorities. Here are some of the highlights:
Congress has debated and postured over immigration reform intensely during the past two years. President Obama challenged the legislative body to pass comprehensive immigration reform. In the interim, these tweaks to the immigration system should repair some broken components and provide relief for millions of deserving immigrants.
The Law Offices of Andrew Wood is pleasantly encouraged by the president’s plan and his focus on immigration reform. Immigration attorneys, advocates, and DREAMers in Pittsburgh and the around the country have been pushing for action for years. Perhaps this is the opportunity for real improvement.
