You may have noticed a rather odd fixation in our culture lately, and it's anybody's guess as to what it means: zombies and vampires are all over the recent TV and film offerings, and a cottage industry has grown out of the teen-vampire genre. Even...
In November of 2003, Congress amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to make it easier for foreign nationals serving in the U.S. military to become citizens through the naturalization process. At that time, Congress cut the required length of active-duty military service in peacetime from...
It seems nothing short of a miracle that Detroit-bound Flight 253 was not blown up on Christmas Day 2009, when a Nigerian man tried to detonate a bomb hidden on his person! As we all know by now, the man came alarmingly close to carrying...
Although H1B visas get most of the press, thousands of foreign workers come to the United States each year on two lesser-known programs, the H2A temporary agricultural worker visa and the H2B temporary worker program. Each year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) publishes a...
The Immigration Policy Center, a non-partisan Washington think tank, released statistical summaries that show the political and economic impact of immigrants in each state. (See New Americans in the Old Line State, Immigration Policy Center, Dec 17, 2009.) Here are a few key facts from...
The New York Times has reported that the Army has suspended a program to recruit skilled immigrants to serve in the armed forces, as doctors, dentists, interpreters, and in other high-demand positions. (Thriving Military Recruitment Program Blocked, by Julia Preston, New York Times, 22.Jan.2010) According...
Regular readers of MurthyDotCom will recall that travelers from Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries now must obtain advance approval through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before traveling to the United States. (ESTA Requirements for VWP Travelers Effective since Jan 12, 2009, MurthyDotCom, 23.Jan.2009)...
On New Year's Eve, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John G. Roberts, Jr., issued his 2009 Year-End Report (PDF 98.7KB) on the Federal Judiciary, in keeping with a tradition begun by then-Chief Justice Warren Burger, in 1970. Justice Roberts pronounced his judgment that,...
Less than a week into the new year, the New York Times editorial page called for enactment of comprehensive immigration reform in 2010. (See: Immigration's New Year, Editorial, New York Times, January 6, 2010.) Two recent developments augur well for an immigration overhaul in the...
Comprehensive immigration reform would add $1.5 trillion to U.S. gross domestic product over the next ten years, if enacted, according to a study released recently. It also would increase wages both for native-born and newly-legalized immigrant workers, according to the study by UCLA professor Raúl...
