Dear Readers:

Happy Thanksgiving Day to our readers. Those of you who read this column know that I try and find an immigration tie-in to just about anything. So this week is not a shocker. For those readers who are not so familiar with the Thanksgiving story, it is basically a holiday where Americans partake in a festive meal and give thanks for the many blessings we have in our lives. It stems from the days when the Pilgrims, English settlers of the 17^th century, invited their Native American neighbors to join them in a feast celebrating a successful harvest. The 17^th century feast sadly was followed by centuries of conflict between the earliest immigrants to America (the native Americans were immigrants as well since they originally came here from Asia) and the European immigrants who arrived later. 

Americans have achieved much when they’ve heeded this lessen of co-existence and extended a welcoming hand to newcomers. And immigrants to this country also benefit when they extend a welcoming hand in return – seeking to participate in their wider communities, learning about the culture and customs of the country, learning English, working hard and creating jobs for Americans, etc. The Pilgrims (unlike other early European settlers) made a point of extending the hand of friendship and, in many respects, are the first model immigrants in a long and positive history of immigration to this country.

We really don’t have a holiday in this country specifically celebrating the contributions of immigrants. But Thanksgiving is certainly close.

Speaking of extending the welcoming hand, we greeted the news cheerily that the Department of Homeland Security is planning on scrapping the Special Registration program for men from Arab and Muslim countries. The program was rife with abuses and will, in my opinion, always be compared with the internment of Japanese-Americans in World War II.

In firm news, we welcome two new people to our firm this week. Salam David is our newest attorney. She has worked for the last several years as the in house immigration attorney for International Paper, one of the country’s largest companies. Salam is an immigrant herself – she’s Lebanese – and brings an interesting perspective to the job. Obviously, as an immigrant, she knows what clients go through during the long journey to citizenship. And as the attorney for her employer responsible for overseeing outside law firms handling immigration matters, she knows what corporate clients need for the successful management of their immigration matters. 

We also welcome Penny Egel. Penny is a recent graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism. Penny will be working on our publications (including this one) and will manage much of our firm’s marketing and public relations activities. I’ve known Penny for years and am very enthusiastic about her joining our firm.

Welcome Salam and Penny!

Finally, as always, we remind readers that we're lawyers who make our living representing immigration clients and employers seeking to comply with immigration laws. 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