Blog

Nov. 4, 2015

The Seventh Annual Golden Bridges Event, held at the Seaport Hotel in Boston on October 21-22, was a great success. The sold out conference focused on fostering relations between the city of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Ireland’s Northwest.

Oct. 8, 2015

The State Department announced that is now accepting applications for the 2017 Diversity Visa program. Applicants may register online through October 1, 2015 to November 3, 2015. The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Program) makes up to 50,000 immigrant visas available annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to individuals who are from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

Sept. 23, 2015

Our principal attorney, John Foley, has been in the news this past week on both sides of the Atlantic. John was featured in a documentary that aired on the Irish national broadcaster, RTÉ, earlier this week.

Sept. 3, 2015

The Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, has announced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending the designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an additional 18 months. The extended designation is effective January 23, 2016 through July 22, 2017.

Sept. 3, 2015

The Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, has announced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending the designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an additional 18 months. The extended designation is effective January 23, 2016 through July 22, 2017.

July 7, 2015

House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) traveled to Ireland last week to meet with Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan, for talks about US-Ireland links. They discussed the Irish economic recovery, immigration reform including the plight of the undocumented Irish in the US, and the situation in the North.

June 23, 2015

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, gave money to the “I’m In” campaign launched by TheDream.us, a national scholarship fund for undocumented immigrants. The fund targets an immigration policy started by President O’Bama that exempts the undocumented children of immigrants from removal and allows them to work.

June 18, 2015

The Supreme Court made a final decision on an Arizona case based on a constitutional amendment that denied bail to all illegal immigrants with serious felonies on Monday, June 1, 2015. The Justices refused to consider an appeal based on a 2006 decision, which stipulated that bail for illegal immigrants would not be done on a case-by-case consideration as previously decided in a 1984 case.

June 18, 2015

While technology has helped modernize and streamline the world of immigration over the past decade, the latest system crash announced by the U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) is proving to be a significant problem. All clients, in particular those with international travel plans, should be aware that the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs is experiencing technical issues with their visa systems.

June 11, 2015

The United States is currently in negotiation to sign a trade agreement with eleven countries, including Mexico and Canada to Vietnam and Malaysia. President Obama’s all-encompassing international regulatory agreement, labeled the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), seeks to regulate everything from the environment and energy to minimum wages, food and, most notably, immigration.