Immigration Nerds

-Re-release from February 2019- “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness….” These words reach ears with an aura of romanticism; they appeal to the highest aspirations within us all and they entice millions to come and ma...

H-1B Cap lottery is fast approaching, today we discuss travel recommendations for a covid environment, last chance and alternative options to the Cap, and general FAQ’s for this coming season. Erickson Immigration Groups, Managing Attorney, Naianka Rigaud joins.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would not be applying the H-1B Selection final rule which was introduced on January 7 by the Trump Administration. This would have changed the current random lottery H-1B selection process to prioritizing high wage-earning and more experienced applicants.  Erickson immigration Groups Managing Director Hiba Anver joins to share how to be b...

On February 2nd, President Joe Biden signed 3 major executive orders centering around disputed immigration policies from the previous administration. We walk through each of the order's strategic aims and concerns, members involved, and timelines of execution.

Lizbeth De La Cruz Santana is currently a Ph. D. candidate for the University of California Davis. Her focus is on Spanish, Latin American Literatures, cultures, and human rights. A SCHOLAR | EDUCATOR | PUBLIC SPEAKER | ARTIST . Her dissertation centers around the lives, challenges, and policy options available to better support childhood arrivals.

Dr. Robert McLeman, Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University joins the podcast. We discuss. -Key policy areas being developed to improve sustainability -Consequences of inaction -Major challenges that lay ahead -Impact on migration

On November 23rd, President Donald Trump issued a new temporary rule to pilot a program that would require tourist and business travelers from 24 countries — mostly in Africa — to pay a bond as much as $15,000. This rule targets nationals from countries who hold high rates of visa overstays, incentivizing them to return home on time, to avoid penalization. Erickson Immigration group Attorney, Krys...

The following audio is from SHRM GMIS Virtual Symposium held on November 17th. Featured Guest:  EIG, Managing Attorney, Salman Cheema  Hunton Andrews Kurth, Associate, Liesselot Whitbeck  The two discuss effective global mobility models that integrate immigration, tax and relocation into an efficient system that coordinates the entire process together. They challenge service provide...

Today we have Erickson Immigration Group’s Managing Directors Justin Parsons and Hiba Anver. With a new incoming President in January 2021 we discuss what immigration actions President-elect Joe Biden would like to accomplish in the next 4 years and obstacles that lay in the way. particularly: Travel Ban measures, Public Charge, DACA, and increasing H1-B visa cap.

On November 2nd, DHS proposed H-1B rule changes that would eliminate the current random generated selection of H-1B cap registrations and instead replace the selection process with prioritizing higher wage levels first. Erickson Immigration Group Attorney, Krystal Kirst, joins to talk about this potential policy change and how petitioners will be impacted.

On Monday, November 2nd, Judge Gary Feinerman of the U.S. District Court in Chicago blocked the "public charge" ruling issued by the Department of Homeland Security in 2019. In less than 48 hours, after DHS appealed, it was reinstated through the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and will stand for at least through November 17th. Here is our short brief

November 3rd, election day, draws near. For today’s purposes, we analyze the immigration components of the last presidential debate, and bring more clarity to each of the candidates positions. Topics discussed: -Coyotes -DACA -Family Separation -Detention Center Conditions -Catch and Release/Migrant Caravans Here is a list of past episodes that bring further clarity to the White House stances on i...

Today, we synthesize the Purdue Vs. Scalia case, that challenges the new DOL wage requirements and why they should return to it’s previous levels. If you find yourself needing substantive justification in arguing this proposition, this listen can be your quick to the point  cheat sheet.

AIRES and Erickson Immigration group join to discuss industry disruptions and solutions to HR transformation and Global Mobility practices. Guest: Vice President of Organizational Development at AIRES, Rob O'Donnell. President and CEO of Erickson Immigration Group, Jerry Erickson. Previously recorded on: 8/19/20

On Tuesday October 6 th , in tandem, the Department of Labor and Department of homeland Security released two major regulations that will overhaul the guest worker program largely targeting wage and degree requirements for specialty occupations. Patrick Pizzella, the deputy secretary of labor, called the changes announced on Tuesday "long overdue". "With millions of Americans looking for work...

October Visa Bulletin: Erickson Immigration Group's Managing Director, Hiba Anver joins. Skilled Indian workers make up roughly 75% of the employment-based green card backlog, a category that only accepts up to 7% of applicants from each country. Today, the number of total green cards issued each year is limited to 140,000. There's currently over 700,000 Indian workers waiting in a line now that i...

Sarah-Soonling Blackburn is an Educator and a Personal Development Trainer, who received her Doctorate from John Hopkins University . Her area of focus centers around developing strategies to optimize learning environments within classroom culture with an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusiveness. I came across a few of her writings on the Asian American experience in the classroom and stumb...

Yasmin Mirreh seemed to be one of the first few practitioners to cover how Covid will affect global travel. We discuss what were the concerns and general landscape at the time of writing her article and how it relates to what companies and employees now should be prioritizing in global mobility today. A snapshot in Covid response, then and now.

Sarah-Soonling Blackburn is an Educator and a Personal Development Trainer, who received her Doctorate from John Hopkins University . Her area of focus centers around developing strategies to optimize learning environments within classroom culture with an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusiveness. I came across a few of her writings on the Asian American experience in the classroom and stumb...

Lieutenant Colonel Mona Johnson dreamed of a world where a Muslim woman could be treated as an equal. After escaping a politically divided Egypt, she and her family lived in exile in Saudi Arabia before immigrating to the US in 1960. But assimilating into American culture was far from easy, as she and her family experienced unending discrimination compelling them to change their name in order to b...

Author and Assistant Professor at University of Illinois at Chicago, Adam Goodman joins. We discuss “The Deportation Machine: America's Long History with Expelling Immigrants”. Deportation Machine takes an intersectional approach into how authorities have largely used three main mechanisms of expulsion to exert tremendous control over people's lives, determining who can enter the country and regul...

Collecting private information from foreign travelers has sizabley increased over the past year. From collecting social media passwords of visa holders to taking DNA samples of travelers at the border. On July 31st, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it had reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security allowing both agencies to freely share immigrant petition and data reco...

Journalist and Author, Jessica Goudeau joins the podcast. The welcoming and acceptance of immigrants and refugees has been central to America’s identity for centuries–yet America has periodically turned its back at the times of greatest humanitarian need.  After the Last Border  is an intimate look at the lives of two women as they struggle for the twenty-first century American dream, ha...

In last week's episode we didn't get a chance to discuss exactly how international students are driving innovation within the university setting. Today, to give us this inside look from a faculty perspective is Senior Vice President of Research at Emory University, Dr. Deborah Watkins Bruner. Footnote:  This episode was recorded before the settlement agreement. However, we capture great insig...

In a settlement on Tuesday, July 14th DHS and ICE rescinded the policy barring international students from taking 100% of their courses online, threatening their visa status in America. Managing Director of Erickson Immigration Group, Hiba Anver joins to share the significance of this victory and what may be in store for university students next.