Newly Discovered Press Coverage…about US!

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…

The Problem with “Linked In”

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…(-;…

Enforcing the Obvious- Fed Judge Blocks Arizona Enforcement

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…

Putting My EB-5 Money Where My Mouth Is…

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…

Before Committing to an EB-5 Regional Center, Look Under the Hood

If there is a single imperative rule when it comes toselecting an EB-5 Regional Center in which to invest, it's this: look at the resumes of thoseresponsible for organizing and managing the deal.  In my many conversations with Michael Gibson,the EB-5 due diligence expert who visits EB5 Regional Centers on an ongoingbasis, it has become apparent that there is much more to defining EB5 successthan simply having a "good idea." From the cockamamie to the clever, from the fiscally prudent to thereckless, an emerging pattern of success is disproportionately attributable tothe Regional Centers with the most intellectual horsepower, tenacity andbusiness savvy under the “hood” of the investment vehicle (pun intended).  Invariably, what the organizers have putunder …

From Earthquake to Red Tape

When the earthquake hit Haiti, the world responded…and the U.S. responded admirably, in many ways.  The efforts to help the injured and save lives has focused on the South Florida community.  After so many years of disparate treatment between Cuban and Haitian refugees, it has been encouraging to see this compassion realized in humanitarian action.But now that the proverbial dust has settled – and despite the continuing challenges which will continue to plague Haiti — those fortunate enough to have received this compassion now face that most insidious of enemies: federal U.S. bureaucracy.  While it is clear that the U.S. can't simply "welcome all comers" and serve as the refuge for the global tide of "huddled masses, yearning to be free" prevalent…

Intelligence and Immigration

I spent a lot of time last week at the AILA conference quietly pondering just how our immigration system got as broken as it has.  Between unresponsive bureaucrats, dogmatic policies which fly in the face of our national identity, and lawyers trying to bend the rules to the point of destroying useful immigration options through abuse, it became clear to me that nothing less than a total rewrite of existing immigration policy is needed. The current Frankenstein is, sadly, irreparable.There is a great line from the song of one of my favorite artists, Donald Fagen, of Steely Dan fame.  In his solo album debut, IGY – which, interestingly, stands for "International Geophysical Year" — the title song explores the idyllic perfection of the future he idealized as a teenager in…

2010 Florida Trend’s Legal Elite- Honored and Humbled!

Folks, just wanted to share something which is personal (as I will explain) and very meaningful to me.  As many of you know, I have been practicing a long time.  Six years ago, I sold my practice to my partner and stepped out of immigration for a few years.  When I returned to it last year, the AILA meetings were full of faces I didn't recognize, the PERM process had replaced labor cert, and, frankly, I felt a bit like an old dog concerned about new tricks. I jumped back into investment based immigration wholeheartedly last year and it's been a wild and woolly year and a half so far.  A few years back when I was still in the prior practice, I'd been named to the Legal Elite, so I was only a little surprised to hear that I'd been nominated again.&#160…

CIS? NIMBA…

As I sat at the opening session of the American ImmigrationLawyers Association (AILA) National Convention on Thursday morning, I felt arekindling of the fire I felt when I began immigration practice.  David Leopold, AILA’s newly-installedpresident, spoke eloquently about our responsibilities as immigration attorneys,about the many masks behind which racism hides, and about our history as anation of immigrants.  I don’t know Mr. Leopold personally, but after thatpresentation of his, it sure feels like I do. The son of Holocaust survivors and as passionate an advocate as I’veseen among our ranks, it was quite apparent to me that the fire this man has inhis belly is exactly what we – AILA aswell as the United States of America – need to turn around the catastrophic in…

AILA National Convention Kicks Off

The 2010 National AILA seminar began at the Gaylord Convention Center in Washington, D.C’s National Harbor this morning with an inspired opening by immediate past AILA president Charles Kuck and a passionate call for comprehensive immigration reform (CIS), the subject of President Obama’s speech at American University this very morning.It’s been 7 years since I’ve been to a national AILA convention and BOY have things changed. The half dozen booth exhibits have multiplied into dozens of booths hosted by EB-5, publishers, credentialing services and the like. Instead of another 6 pound program, the 1000+ pages of materials came on a little USB drive.But the most noticeable difference is the size of the crowd. I was told at registration last night than some 2500 attendees are here…as I reca…