Openers

Dear Readers:

Last week I issued a commentary that was a departure from our usual format. The Point/Counterpoint discussion with Rob Sanchez, an anti-H-1B visa advocate, was intended to provide a lively discussion that would provoke discussion. And it certainly has. My friends at ILW.com picked up the column, which meant that it was viewed by a much larger pool of readers. I received many letters from people - probably more than in response to any other article I've written in the last nine years for this newsletter. Most people agreed with my views. A few disagreed (interestingly, I received no letters from the anti-immigrant types as you might have expected - was I really that convincing?). What I found most interesting was how many people assumed that my opinions meant that I consider myself a right-winger. Actually, I consider myself neither on the left or the right (though some readers might be surprised to know that I'm a lifelong Democrat). My point in the story was that anyone who loves the free market system should be disturbed whenever the government seeks to impose trade barriers. And capping the H-1B visa is, like it or not, a trade barrier. Many people equate being pro-business with being right wing. That bothers me. A freer economy results in a more robust economy. That means lower unemployment. That means more money to pay to educate our children. It means more money to invest in cleaning up our environment. All priorities of the left that are achieved when an economy booms.

This is an important week for physician immigration. The US Department of Health and Human Services announced it would begin accepting applications for J-1 waiver applications for primary care physicians going to work in health care shortage areas. It is said in the world of policymaking that the perfect is the enemy of the good. And that appears to be the case with this new program. HHS has attempted to address every potential problem with its program. They may have succeeded, but the tradeoff is the creation of a program that is so restrictive and cumbersome that employers who simply don’t want to bother with all of the requirements will no doubt pass it up.  We hope HHS will reconsider some of the most burdensome requirements. We provide an overview of how the program works.

Last week I noted that I was appointed to chair the Physicians Committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and that I am the new technology columnist for AILA's magazine Immigration Law Today. This week, I'm happy to turn the spotlight over to my law partner Lynn Susser. Lynn has been elected as the chair of the five-state Midsouth Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She also assumes a spot on the board of governors for AILA. Lynn will no doubt do a bang up job. Way to go Lynn!

Speaking of AILA, next week is the annual meeting of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. You know you've been a member of AILA for a while when you start to repeat cities for the annual meeting. My first AILA annual meeting was in 1991 in New Orleans. That's where I'll be next week as well for the yearly gathering. When I attended that first AILA meeting, I had just started practicing immigration law and felt utterly lost. I was a 22-year-old lawyer practicing for only a year and trying to teach myself immigration in a city where you could count the number of immigration lawyers on one hand. That AILA meeting provided an intensive education to a novice lawyer and gave me the confidence to stick with it. Some of the friends I made at that meeting are still good friends. I've made every AILA annual meeting in the years since and still find the meeting very worthwhile. For those of you attending, feel free to stop by for my program Wednesday night on immigration case management systems.

Finally, as always, we remind readers that we're lawyers who make our living representing immigration clients. We would love to discuss becoming your law firm. Just go to http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html to request an appointment or call us at 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455.

Regards,

Greg Siskind