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The phone calls keep coming in to our office. From Australia, South Africa, India, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Russia, Lebanon, all from US visa holders who have had their visas revoked without explanation. It appears that the US government has intensified its visa revocation campaign, particularly against Muslims. The problems encountered by Muslims in dealing with US immigration authorities was the topic of a recently published ACLU report about the discriminatory USCIS Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program (“CARRP”). The report highlights how USCIS misidentifies national security concerns; encourages FBI interference and harassment; mandates pretextual denials; and deprives due process of green-card holding applicants, primarily Muslim, during the naturalization process. These thousands are left in legal limbo for years. If there is one glimmer of hope, it is that these applicants at least are able to wage their battles while in the US, where lawyers, courts, and public opinion can at…

The statistics are stunning. Over the past four years, more than four million visa applications have been temporarily denied under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, that is to say, the Department of State collected tens of millions of dollars from visa applicants, only to put their applications on hold. Year 221(g) findings in Immigrant Visa Cases 221(g) findings in Nonimmigrant Visa Cases Total 2009 273,227 616,284 889,511 2010 286,889 694,620 981,509 2011 312,968 837,477 1,150,445 2012 303,166 806,773 1,109,939 More stunning is the wait time that thousands of visa applicants are subject to. The US Embassy in London publishes on its website a list of nonimmigrant visa cases subject to 221(g) administrative processing and the intake dates of the applications. As of October 25, 2013, the list encompasses 141 pages and thousands of applicants. 6 individuals have been waiting for four years for action on their applications. More…

The below article was recently published on the Immigrant Lawyer’s Weekly website — http://discuss.ilw.com/content.php?2398-Article-Bait-and-Switch-Department-of-State-Style-by-Kenneth-White Yesterday, we wrote about how USCIS holds out the lure of green cards to foreign entrepreneurs, only to pull back the bait once the businessman has committed untold hours and funds to the development of a business in the United States. The Department of State is no slacker in the bait-and-switch game. It has used the Diversity Green Card Lottery as a means to reap a windfall by holding out the lure of green cards to those selected in the Lottery, only to turn away thousands of applicants after they have paid substantial application fees. The US Embassy in Tashkent is an excellent case study. After the DV Lottery drawing, the selected “winners” submit application forms to the Department of State’s Kentucky Consular Center (“KCC”). The KCC then invites selectees for immigrant visa interviews. At the…

The below article by White & Associates was recently published on the Immigrant Lawyer’s Weekly website — http://discuss.ilw.com/content.php?2396-Article-Bait-and-Switch-USCIS-Style-by-Kenneth-White Bait-and-Switch, USCIS — Style1 by Kenneth White Reader Quiz: What is the difference between these two regulations? Executive capacity means an assignment within an organization in which the employee primarily: (1) Directs the management of the organization or a major component or function of the organization; (2) Establishes the goals and policies of the organization, component, or function; (3) Exercises wide latitude in discretionary decision-making; and (4) Receives only general supervision or direction from higher level executives, the board of directors, or stockholders of the organization. Executive capacity means an assignment within an organization in which the employee primarily: (A) Directs the management of the organization or a major component or function of the organization; (B) Establishes the goals and policies of the organization, component, or function; © Exercises wide latitude in discretionary…

Attached are our memorandum and exhibits addressed to the Office of Inspector General at the Department of State regarding the Summer Work and Travel Program scandal at the US Embassy in Moscow: Memo — swtletter0001; Exhibits — swtexhibits0001