While the restrictions and narrowing of U.S. immigration laws and policies need no help convincing foreign born workers to leave the U.S.—the tax laws also are a factor for firms trying to employ the best and brightest the world has to offer. The Internal Revenue Service recently reported that the number of U.S. taxpayers renouncing their citizenship more than doubled to 1,534 in 2010 from 742 in 2009. A recent article entitled More U.S. Citizens Toss Passports as IRS Seeks Hidden Assets, on Bloomberg.com, cites research by international tax attorney Andrew Mitchel that shows more taxpayers renounced their U.S. citizenship in 2010 than in the previous three years combined, or in any year since at least 2003.

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On December 12, 2010, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was featured on Meet The Press, where he continued his crusade against the invisible fence that our government is building. The Mayor argued that the U.S. is keeping the wrong people out, and reiterated his campaign to liberalize the restrictions on immigration for highly skilled workers. He realizes they will bring innovation to the U.S. and help improve the U.S. economy, and espouses that the U.S. open its doors for those who have the skills from around the world.

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The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has posted an entry on its blog, “USCIS: You Can Help the Economy,” which is written by the leadership of the organization. It talks about another L-1 case that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) denied for someone who had already invested in the U.S., started a business, and created 10 jobs.

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The inconsistent adjudication and unpredictability of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is highlighted in a recent case I handled regarding an L-1A visa petition for senior level employees of a large multinational company based in South Africa with an office in California. This dilemma has plagued that firm for months. Now that it has been resolved, I can share some of the details.

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Cynthia B. Hemphill explains that in keeping with the theme of the invisible fence, click to read more to find an article by Attorney and Shareholder, Cynthia Hemphill. It demonstrates how the inconsistencies in decision making by the immigration service are making it difficult for performing artists to come to the United States to perform and entertain. It is in the interest of the United States to have performing artists such as dancers, artists, singers, musicians, among others, come to perform in the U.S. and share their talents as it adds to the culture of our society. It is also in our economic interest to allow them to come into the U.S. as their performances or shows can fill large and small venues, generate ticket sales and merchandise, and other trickle down items that help our economy. Again, the restrictions on visas for these people, as well as the inconsistent decision making that often causes these performers to miss deadlines and show dates in the U.S., are keeping the wrong people out!

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Immigration has been an even hotter topic than usual since April 23 when Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law Arizona Senate Bill 1070, Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act In fact, almost everyone, it seems, has an opinion about the law — including
Miss America Pageant contestants. Just last month, a pageant judge asked the runner up contender from Oklahoma whether she thought the law was, in essence, about ethnic profiling. She said, “I’m a huge believer in States’ Rights. I think that’s what is so wonderful about America, and think it’s perfectly legal for Arizona to create that law. But I’m against illegal immigration, but I’m also against racial profiling, so I see both sides of this issue.” View her response on YouTube. Here in the nation’s capitol, a second grader in Maryland asked First Lady Michelle Obama, who was visiting her school, what would happen to her mother if she doesn’t have the right papers.

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The immigration debate is an emotional topic with many people on both sides of the issue. So in this first blog entry, I’d like to provide some perspective on the type of issues we are dealing with at Trow & Rahal. First, let’s consider where we are as of the spring of 2010. The photo (right, by Arasmus Photo) was taken on May 1, 2010, shortly before leaders of the immigration reform movement were arrested in Washington DC at the end of a peaceful demonstration at Lafayette Park. The leaders vowed not to move from their spot across from the White House until an immigration reform law was passed — or they were arrested. In fact, police arrested the volunteers in a calm, civil pro-forma manner while the surrounding crowds called on President Obama to take the lead in implementing immigration reform. Needless to say, the immigration debate is back in the news. How does what we do at Trow & Rahal differ from this heated public debate?

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