Immigration Nerds

In an interview recorded on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, Immigration Nerds host Lauren Clarke talked to David J. Bier, Associate Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute about the state of America's legal immigration system. Mr. Bier recently testified at a hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Accountability in the United States House of Representatives. In that testimony an...

The H-1B Domestic Visa Renewal pilot program launched on January 29, 2024. The Immigration Nerds - senior attorney and host, Lauren Clarke and senior managing attorney consular affairs, Diane Holcombe-Geddens - talk about the program and share valuable insight and process notes as the program gets underway. GUEST:  Diane Holcombe-Geddens, Senior Managing Attorney, Consular Affairs, EIG HOST:...

Immigration Nerds host Lauren Clarke interviews César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, author of the book, Welcome the Wretched: In Defense of the “Criminal Alien , ” which explores the intersection of US immigration law and the criminal justice system. Also in this episode, news updates on USCIS policy guidance on student visas and fee increases for immigration services. GUEST:  César Cuauhtémoc...

The Immigration Nerds host Lauren Clarke is joined by Stuart Anderson, executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, to discuss his Forbes article, "The Most Inspiring Immigration Stories Of 2023." Hit play and learn about a teenage immigrant from Ethiopia who became one of America's top young scientists; a Mexican immigrant who became a successful entrepreneur; a Vietnamese r...

Guest: Dan Restrepo & Erin Sikorsky, Climate Migration Council Host: Lauren Clarke & Hiba Anver Producer: Adam Belmar On this episode of the Immigration Nerds Podcast we discuss the issue of climate migration. Host Lauren Clarke is joined by Erickson Immigration Group Partner Hiba Anver and featured guests Dan Restrepo and Erin Sikorsky from the Climate Migration Council. They discussed th...

On this episode of Immigration Nerd Podcast we discuss the US Green Card system backlog of 7.6 million individuals waiting for lawful permanent residency and a new report that predicts nearly $4 trillion in economic gains to the US economy over the next decade if the backlog was cleared. Bloomberg Law immigration reporter Andrew Kreighbaum joins host Lauren Clarke to discuss the financial and huma...

On this episode of Immigration Nerds we discuss the demographic crisis of the "graying of America" and the long-term economic challenges it poses to the United States. Host Lauren Clarks talks to Ben Gitis, Associate Director, Economy & Immigration, Bipartisan Policy Center, about their report highlighting the role of immigration in addressing this crisis. The report explains that the aging po...

Hit play for the very latest news and analysis on DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. On Wednesday, September 13, 2023, a federal judge in Texas once again ruled that DACA is unlawful. What does this latest ruling mean for Dreamers right now? What is the Major QuestIons doctrine? And how might it impact the opinions of the US Supreme Court’s nine Justices? Host Lauren Clarke...

Temporary protected status is back in the news. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has recently extended TPS for Ukraine, Sudan, and other countries. On this episode of the Immigration Nerds, host Lauren Clarke has details on all the TPS headlines plus a powerful interview with Nils Kinuani, a human rights advocate leading a campaign for TPS for Congolese immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. NE...

This August, Erickson Immigration Group hosted a very special Women in the Law event with Betsy Fisher, the U.S. Director of Talent Beyond Boundaries. Host Lauren Clarke and EIG partner Hiba Mona Anver share Hiba's previously recorded conversation with Betsy, as she shares insights from her career as a woman in the law, and highlights from her work with Talent Beyond Boundaries and their efforts t...

We invite you to join us around the table to meet the immigrant chefs who celebrate their culture, share diverse cuisine, and nourish our communities. In our inaugural episode of this Immigration Nerds series, Food of Immigrants , host Lauren Clarke takes you to meet Chef Maziar Farivar and his brother Shahab Farivar, the owners of the Peacock Café in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C....

Immigration can be a gamble. For some the winning ticket comes via the United States Diversity Visa Lottery. Join Immigration Nerds host, and Erickson Immigration Group senior attorney, Lauren Clarke for a fascinating conversation with the author of the book, Dreamland - America's Immigration Lottery in an Age of Restriction , Carly Beth Goodman, Ph. D. Show Links: Buy the book: Dreamland Gue...

The Immigration Nerds is back with the details on Canada’s aggressive new approach to attracting high skilled workers from right here in the United States. Immigration Nerds host and Erickson Immigration Group Senior Attorney Lauren Clarke talks to Justin Storch, Associate Attorney, International Practice, and Jesse Root, International Practice Project Manager, about Canada's big immigration annou...

The summer travel season is here, and for foreign nationals, there are special considerations that must be taken in advance of any international travel. In this episode of the Immigration Nerds podcast, Erickson Immigration Group partner, Alejandra Zapatero joins host Lauren Clarke for a Nerds-worthy conversation about how to make sure your summer travel documents packing list is complete. HOST: L...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security declared July 31, 2023, as the end date for COVID-related I-9 verification flexibilities. They have also mandated that all I-9s verified using those temporary flexibilities must now be reverified in-person by August 30, 2023. Hit play for a detailed explanation of everything I-9 and how employers and employees can ensure compliance.   HOST: Lauren Clar...

The Australian government is expanding pathways to permanent residency through a new visa program for highly skilled foreign workers. Hit play to get details on changes in the occupation lists, how it impacts visa eligibility, and the new role for labor market testing. Erickson Immigration Group senior manager for Australia, Martin Russell, joins host Lauren Clarke from Melbourne. Show Links: C-SP...

What does it mean to be a digital nomad in the year 2023? Is taking your job with you as you travel the world more than just a trend? Veteran digital nomad Josh Andrews joins the podcast from Medellin, Colombia, to help define terms and share perspectives on the lifestyle and its promise. Hit play to hear if digital nomading is right for you and what types of jobs travel best. GUEST:  Josh An...

In this latest episode of the Immigration Nerds podcast, we nerd out on the immigration policies of Canada, a nation whose population grew by over one million people for the first time ever last year and is expecting to welcome another 1.5 million permanent residents by the end of 2025. So who better to discuss Canadian immigration with than a Canadian immigrant? Our host Lauren Clare is joined by...

In this week's episode of the Immigration Nerds podcast, we invite you to hit play for all the facts surrounding the hottest topics for H-1B visa holders right now: cap selection, grace periods, and domestic visa renewals. Host and EIG Senior Attorney Lauren Clarke is joined for a far-reaching discussion by Shev Dalal-Dheini, Director of Government Relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Ass...

In this week's Immigration Nerds podcast episode, host Lauren Clarke speaks with Alejandra Oliva, author of the new book, Rivermouth — A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration. In Rivermouth, Oliva focuses on the physical spaces that make up different phases of immigration and looks at how language and opportunity move through each of them; from the river as the waterway that separates the US...

This week, the Immigration Nerds features a conversation between Lauren Clarke, senior attorney at Erickson Immigration Group, and EIG Senior Manager Martin Russell in Australia and Immigration Manager, Erdiana Kamarudin, in Singapore. The team explores how new workforce planning and hiring policies in the APAC region are creating opportunities for highly skilled migrants. Featured Guest: EIG Seni...

Immigration Nerds host Lauren Clarke, a senior attorney at Erickson Immigration Group, helps us understand the facts and context of the soon-expiring Title 42 policy created decades ago to address public health and social welfare but most recently used during the pandemic to regulate the border. Our guest, David J. Bier, Associate Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute, joins us to...

The podcast from the smartest nerds in the know on immigration is back! The Immigration Nerds Podcast has relaunched with show host Lauren Clarke—a senior attorney at Erickson Immigration Group, an immigrant, and the kind of nerd who makes the details easier to understand. Are you interested in the American response to the refugee crisis in Ukraine? Hear what’s working and what’s not in the U.S. S...

This week's Immigration Nerds episode is a special one as we celebrate the growth of our podcast to become a must-listen in our industry and a top-rated immigration podcast. But how did we get here? In early 2018, Hiba Anver, now an EIG partner, and host/producer Ian Gaines, then an immigration paralegal, imagined a podcast that would shine a spotlight on all types of immigration and give a microp...

As the summer approaches many countries across the board are opening up to accommodate the expected influx of tourism as the weather gets warmer. And with that in mind, Bloomberg created a ranking system called the covid resilience index to help guide you along the way. The system aggregates each country’s lockdown severity, vaccinated travel routes, flight capacity, vaccine doses per 100 people,...