Musings on Immigration

President Trump signed an Executive Order on January 27, 2017, entitled “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals."  This Executive Order had immediate effects on people traveling to the United States, but also has a long term impact on individuals with visas and permanent residence in the United States today.     First, this Order specifically restricts any and all visa-issuance for individuals from   Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Somalia , and   Iran,   e.g.  “Nationals of Countries of Particular Concern”. Additional countries could be included at a later date.  What this means is that the USCIS and the Department of State cannot grant lawful permanent residence, or issue approvals for status changes, or issue visas to people   born   in these countries for the duration of the Executive Order, likely for at least 90 days.  In addition, this means that Customs and Border Protection cannot "ad...

Children are bearing the brunt of the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria.   Can you adopt a Syrian orphan?  According to the US embassy in Damascus, several attempts by U.S. prospective adoptive parents have failed.  I think this is because I wasn’t their lawyer!  Like many other Muslim countries Syria’s personal status law does not recognize the concept of adoption however; Syrian courts will grant guardianship decrees and these can be used as the basis for an orphan visa petition.  The State Department often places a moratorium on adoptions from war zones because it is almost impossible to verify which children might fall under the definition of orphan and which don’t. There is no such moratorium in place in Syria. That said, anyone considering an adoption in Syria should be prepared to submit A LOT of evidence to the US immigration authorities that the child they wish to adopt falls under the definition of orphan.  Even more encouraging, US immigrat...