According to an article published on the Houston Business Journal's website, a report from the Department of Commerce indicates that the number of overseas visitors coming to Houston increased 22% from 2012 to 2013, the largest increase of any city in the United States. The report did not include visitors from Canada and Mexico.

Today is World Refugee Day.

In a blog posted in the Economics section of the Wall Street Journal detailed the contents of a report by the National Foundation for American Policy, a research group, arguing that immigrant contributions have increased since the 1960s, when restrictions on immigration were lifted and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was passed. From 1960-2013, Nobel Prizes were awarded to three times more immigrants to the United States than were from 1901-1959. The report also noted foreign nationals' increased enrollment in graduate-level STEM degree programs. The report also notes that between 2006 and 2012, 92 companies with venture backing that became publicly traded had at least one immigrant founder, including Google, eBay, LinkedIn and Tesla Motors.

The Supreme Court issued its holding in Scialabba v. Cuellar De Osorio holding that children who turn 21 during their immigration process - or their parents' immigration process - must go to the "back of the line" and wait all over again to immigrate. The Court split 5-4 in favor of the U.S. Government's position that people who have waited years, sometimes over a decade, for a greencard have to go back to the beginning of that process and start over if they "age out," or turn 21 before they are eligible to apply for greencards. This decision is especially disheartening in light of severe backlogs in the family immigration system and makes the need for reform of both our family and employment-based immigration systems even more acute.

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2014/06/06/dearth-of-work-visas-slow-houstons-tech-scene.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2014-06-06&u=6U0sa9rpGlKjfcrt24NWjA0aa2ddf0&t=1402085706&page=all

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington has held that a grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an "Admission" for purposes of Adjustment of Status - the process of applying for Permanent Residence or a "green card" in the United States.

On May 30, 2014, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Revised Use of Force Policy Handbook providing "guidance and parameters under which force may be used." This Handbook was issued along with a Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Report commissioned by CBP to review the use of force by CBP officers and agents. All CBP use of force policies, equipment, tactics, and training were reviewed along with all deadly force events from January 2010 to October 2012.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced last week that beginning June 1, 2014, it will limit the validity period for all Forms I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, to one year from the date of submission to USCIS. This new policy applies to any Form I-693 filed with an application that USCIS adjudicates on or after June 1, 2014