Bribes for Visas Ho Chi Minh City Style

As reported in a story by the McClatchy Washington Bureau, a foreign service officer, Michael T. Sestak, who was head of the nonimmigrant visa unit in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam has been charged criminally for allegedly making millions of dollars accepting bribes in return for issuing visas.  While graft is exceedingly rare in the U.S. State Department, it is striking that these allegations implicate HCMC, which is widely regarded as one of the worst possible consulates for genuine visa applicants to apply for visas on the planet.  In fact, I filed a class action lawsuit in 2010 alleging that the HCMC Consulate General engaged in arbitrary and capricious adjudication resulting in unreasonable denials, and then failed to give the applicants any opportunity to rebut the consular allegations of sham marriage.  The consular officers and their local staff are immune from any review by the "Doctrine of Consular Nonreviewability", a court doctrine from the 1800's which cuts off any oversight of the visa denial process whatsoever, even if the petitioner is a U.S. citizen.  The lawsuit was dismissed under this antiquated Doctrine by the federal court in 2011, and in 2012 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that, due to all of the visa applicants being granted visas by HCMC the second time around, the case was moot.  The charges brought against Sestak should be a wake up call to the State Department and Congress that the Doctrine of Consular Nonreviewability not only erodes our basic form of government, but it also generates the kind of demand for access to visas that Mr. Sestak is alleged to have fulfilled, for a price.  The time for the Doctrine to be abolished has come.

Our Firm Gets Top Ranking Again

Chambers and Partners, the London-based international legal rating company, has once again given our firm a top ranking, stating, "This compact boutique has a stellar reputation as one of the state's best immigration practices. The team counsels domestic and international clients from a variety of industries in immigration matters, such as visa issues and immigration compliance."

Most Favor Roadmap to Citizenship

A recent poll shows that a large majority of the American public favors a roadmap to citizenship for aspiring Americans who have been contributing members of society but lack immigration status.  Since the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration bill to create an immigration process for new Americans this week, Senators will need to heed the will of the majority of voters when the bill comes to the Senate floor in June.  It is time to recognize that all people have rights, and those who show a commitment to our country and who contribute to our culture have a place here.  America deserves a common sense immigration process - one that includes a roadmap to citizenship for New Americans who aspire to be citizens.