Ask Sophie: What changes are in store for PERM?
Sophie is passionate about transcending borders, expanding opportunity, and connecting the world by practicing compassionate, visionary, and expert immigration law.
Would you provide an update on what we should look out for in the new year when it comes to the PERM process?
Now, let me provide a bit of context about where things currently stand with the PERM process before diving into the changes you should look out for that will — or will not :) — impact PERM.
If you’d like additional detail about the nuts and bolts of the PERM process, take a look at this previous Ask Sophie column.
Sophie is passionate about transcending borders, expanding opportunity, and connecting the world by practicing compassionate, visionary, and expert immigration law.
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Yes, the International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP) program remains available, but the time it takes for the U.S.
“The [IEP] program requires private venture capital firms to justify their track record and that they’ve made good investments,” says Newbold.
Let me describe how the IEP program works and dive into how to qualify for IEP and offer alternatives.
Spotify is pulling support for two music festivals in protest against a controversial new tax directed at music-streaming platforms operating in France, and threatened more action will follow in the coming months.
While all the major music-streaming platforms have come together in opposition to the new law, including Apple, Google’s YouTube, and local player Deezer, Spotify has been the most vocal.
In the wake of the announcement last week, Spotify said that the move was a “real blow to innovation,” and that it was evaluating its next moves.
The company later pulled a 180-degree turn when the government gave assurances that music-streaming platforms wouldn’t be expected to cover any extra costs resulting from the law.
“Spotify will have the means to absorb this tax, but Spotify will disinvest in France and will invest in other markets,” Monin said in an interview with FranceInfo last week.
More recently, the potential use of weaponized robots by law enforcement has been a political lightning rod in places like Oakland and San Francisco.
Earlier this week, I spoke about the bill with Massachusetts state representative Lindsay Sabadosa, who filed it alongside Massachusetts state senator Michael Moore.
Does the bill apply to law enforcement as well?
And what we’ve heard from law enforcement repeatedly is that they’re often used to deescalate situations.
We haven’t had law enforcement weaponize robots, and no one has said, “We’d like to attach a gun to a robot” from law enforcement in Massachusetts.
The bill also mandates biometric verification for subscribers and restricts the number of SIM cards each subscriber uses to limit fraud.
The legacy of the old scammers in the telecom sector will be left behind, and arrangements will be made through this bill to make the telecom sector a sunrise sector,” Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Indian telecom minister, said while introducing the bill in the parliament.
Interestingly, the telecom bill excludes the term “OTT,” available in its initial draft last year, indicating regulations for over-the-top (OTT) messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram.
“The bill is regressive as it enhances the government’s colonial-era powers to intercept communications and shut down the internet.
It undermines end-to-end encryption, which is crucial for privacy,” said Namrata Maheshwari, Asia Pacific Policy Counsel at Access Now, in a prepared statement.
An international group of law enforcement agencies have seized the dark web leak site of the notorious ransomware gang known as ALPHV, or BlackCat.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized this site as part of a coordinated law enforcement action taken against ALPHV Blackcat Ransomware,” a message on the gang’s dark web leak site now reads, seen by TechCrunch.
According to the splash, the takedown operation also involved law enforcement agencies from the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.
Spokespeople for the FBI and the U.K.’s National Crime Agency did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s requests for comment.
The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware gang has been one of the most active and destructive in recent years.
Even the courts cannot agree on whether geofence warrants are legal, likely setting up an eventual challenge at the U.S. Supreme Court.
While Google is not the only company subject to geofence warrants, Google has been far the biggest collector of sensitive location data, and the first to be tapped for it.
Although the companies have said little about how many geofence warrants they receive, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo last year backed a New York state bill that would have banned the use of geofence warrants across the state.
The data showed Google received 982 geofence warrants in 2018, then 8,396 geofence warrants in 2019, and 11,554 geofence warrants in 2020 — or about one-quarter of all the legal demands that Google received.
But there is hope that Google shutting the door on geofence warrants — at least going forward — could significantly curtail this surveillance loophole.
Can we transfer green cards too?
Sophie is passionate about transcending borders, expanding opportunity, and connecting the world by practicing compassionate, visionary, and expert immigration law.
Our I-140 EB-2 green card petitions have been approved, but we’re waiting for our priority dates to become current for our green cards.
Your startup will have to file a new I-140 to sponsor you for an employment-based green card or you will have to self-petition for an EB-1A extraordinary ability green card or EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card.
I recommend consulting an immigration attorney about transferring your H-1B and green card options that meet your plans and goals.
Can we transfer green cards too?
Sophie is passionate about transcending borders, expanding opportunity, and connecting the world by practicing compassionate, visionary, and expert immigration law.
Our I-140 EB-2 green card petitions have been approved, but we’re waiting for our priority dates to become current for our green cards.
Your startup will have to file a new I-140 to sponsor you for an employment-based green card or you will have to self-petition for an EB-1A extraordinary ability green card or EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card.
I recommend consulting an immigration attorney about transferring your H-1B and green card options that meet your plans and goals.
Can we transfer green cards too?
Sophie is passionate about transcending borders, expanding opportunity, and connecting the world by practicing compassionate, visionary, and expert immigration law.
Our I-140 EB-2 green card petitions have been approved, but we’re waiting for our priority dates to become current for our green cards.
Your startup will have to file a new I-140 to sponsor you for an employment-based green card or you will have to self-petition for an EB-1A extraordinary ability green card or EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card.
I recommend consulting an immigration attorney about transferring your H-1B and green card options that meet your plans and goals.
