VA Properly Denied Voter Registration, Court Rules
Recent Cases
The Department of Veterans Affairs was fair in its denial of a Democratic group's attempt to register voters at one of its buildings, the 9th Circuit ruled.
Judge Graber found that the district court erred when it ruled Steven Preminger and the Santa Clara County Democratic Committee lacked standing to bring the lawsuit.
However, the VA prevailed, because the Democrats failed to prove that the VA had violated their First Amendment rights.
A nurse at the VA's Menlo Park nursing home called the VA police after one of the Democrats showed up for the voting drive wearing a John Kerry button.
Since the nursing home building is not a public forum, the VA is allowed to make a "reasonable" restriction on free speech, in this case a prohibition of "partisan activities."
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USCIS Issues Clarifying Guidance on NAFTA TN Status Eligibility for Economists
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is clarifying policy guidance (PDF, 71 KB) on the specific work activities its officers should consider when determining whether an individual qualifies for TN nonimmigrant status as an economist.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) TN nonimmigrant status allows qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to temporarily enter the U.S. to engage in specific professional activities, including the occupation of economist. The agreement, however, does not define the term economist, resulting in inconsistent decisions on whether certain analysts and financial professionals qualify for TN status as economists.
TN nonimmigrant status is intended to allow a limited number of professionals and specialists to work temporarily in certain specifically identified occupations in the United States. This updated guidance provides USCIS officers with a specific definition of one such category – economists – allowing them to adjudicate applications in a way that complies with the intent of the agreement. This policy update clarifies that professional economists requesting TN status must engage primarily in activities consistent with the profession of an economist. Individuals who work primarily in other occupations related to the field of economics — such as financial analysts, marketing analysts, and market research analysts — are not eligible for classification as a TN economist.