Washington or Bust?

The incomparably entertaining RickSanchez, former Miami news anchor, not only got a great gig with CNN , but he’s done quite well since being somewhat giggled out of South Florida.  Recently, Rick anchored a piece  covering the changes in immigrationenforcement patterns being seen already in the Obama Administration.  It was a good story and I thought it wasworth a mention. Basically, as we all saw, the so-called “First 100 Days” ofPresident Obama’s emerging legacy has been spent in large part with thedismantling of former President Bush’s hodge-podge of ill-conceivedpolicies.  In the area of immigrationpolicy, it is notable that Mr. Obama has not only looked “within” (as in withinternal migratory policy) but also “without” (as in eliminating themean-s…

9 More Haitians Die en Route to the U.S.

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. …

EB-5: Yes, I really think there are better choices…

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…

The EB-5 “Guarantee”…here we go again…

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…

Why Are There So Many CRUMMY Immigration Attorneys?

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…