William A Stock

September 20, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

One shortcoming of the current ­immigration system is the lack of visa options appropriate for ­early-stage businesses. Nationals of some countries can be granted visas under bilateral investment treaties if they are starting a business, but those visas cannot be based on U.S. angel or venture capital ­investments. Other employment-related visas are not explicitly limited to larger businesses, but have regulatory requirements that may be difficult for startup businesses to meet. In some cases, foreign students receive a technical education at U.S. universities, but then have to take their job-creating companies to Canada or other countries because U.S. law lacks an appropriate mechanism to allow them to stay and create their companies here.

By William A. Stock

11 minute read

August 16, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

We all know the picture: the proud athlete, standing on the podium, often with tears of joy, listening to the strains of his or her national anthem playing as their country's flag is raised to honor a gold medal achievement. It is a moment of intense national pride for the athlete and for fans in that country, a peak moment of international sporting ­achievement.

By William A. Stock

9 minute read

July 25, 2016 | Connecticut Law Tribune

The genius of the United States' immigration policy is that it welcomes high-potential individuals who came to the United States as refugees or family-based immigrants.

By WILLIAM A. STOCK

10 minute read

July 19, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Last month, I wrote about the genius of the United States' immigration policy, in that it welcomed high-potential individuals who came to the United States as refugees or family-based immigrants. While it is often mentioned that Sergei Brin, co-founder of Google, was an immigrant, what is less known is that he entered as a child with his family, who were granted refugee status from Russia. At the time we made that admission decision, we had no idea what would become of young Brin.

By William A. Stock

9 minute read

June 15, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

America is currently going through one of its periodic episodes where the advocacy of immigration ­restriction is fully on display. We hear discussions of walling off our country, of immigrants being vilified as criminals and security threats, and of immigration as a cause of economic decline, not economic renewal. Some politicians call for rejection of refugees, a refusal to allow resettlement of those fleeing persecution because of fear of those doing the persecuting.

By William A. Stock

9 minute read

May 18, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Donald Trump has made a promise to enact immigration restrictions a central part of his appeal for the Republican presidential nomination, from increasing physical barriers on the border to his call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration. On the Democratic side, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have made promises that they will provide temporary protection from removal for an even larger category of immigrants without status than President Obama's currently enjoined Deferred Action for Parents of Americans or "DAPA" program would.

By William A. Stock

13 minute read

April 20, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Texas, No. 15-674, an appeal of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit's decision to enjoin the centerpiece of President Obama's 2014 executive actions on immigration enforcement.

By William A. Stock

11 minute read

March 16, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Since 1947, international students in the United States have been given employment authorization to engage in "practical training" within their field of study. This work authorization allows international students to obtain practical experience in their field of study as they launch their careers. Since a significant percentage of the students studying technical fields come to the United States on student visas from other countries, recruiting and retaining those students is a ­significant issue for employers hiring ­entry-level technical workers.

By William A. Stock

6 minute read

February 19, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

This week the legal world paused to mark the passing of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, acknowledged by all as a brilliant legal mind and a towering influence on the U.S. Supreme Court's jurisprudence for the last 30 years. His characterization as a "conservative" justice might lead to the conclusion that he always took the side of the government against immigrant petitioners to the high court, but that conclusion would be false. Scalia was a reliable vote in favor of deference to administrative agencies on denials of relief to immigrants, and dissented from many of the key immigration cases decided during his time on the bench. He was, however, a reliable vote in favor of legal immigrants facing loss of their permanent resident status because of the interaction between criminal convictions and the overbroad and sometimes poorly drafted immigration statutes relied on by the government as the basis for removing their green card status and deporting them.

By William A. Stock

7 minute read

January 20, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

In November 2014, President Obama announced a package of proposals he termed the Immigration Accountability Executive Action plan, in response to the failure of his efforts to get Congress to pass a legislative comprehensive immigration reform.

By William A. Stock

6 minute read