Monday, March 19, 2007
WET-FOOT, DRY-FOOT NOT A VALID DEFENSE IN BASEBALL PLAYER SMUGGLING CASE, JUDGE RULES
The "wet-foot, dry-foot" policy that permits Cubans who enter the country illegally to file for permanent residency was ruled to be an invalid defense for sports agents accused of smuggling baseball players in to the country. Defense attorneys in the case are hoping to put US immigration policy on trial. Attorney Stephen Salter had this to say about the case:
"The defense is entitled to ask the jury to consider the impact of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 and the controlling Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy on the issue of the defendant's intent," states the defense motion filed last week.
"Because the Cuban national baseball players identified in the indictment are Cuban nationals who arrived on U.S. soil, the effect of the Cuban Adjustment Act is the significant ingredient in this case that underlies the very essence of the charged crimes and the defendant's constitutional right to contest those charges."
Defense also argued that, contrary to prosecutors' assertions, Cuban refugees do not have to notify immigration officials of their presence in the United States before seeking admittance under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:50 PM
Thursday, March 15, 2007
YOKO ONO'S DRIVER ALLOWED TO VOLUNTARILY
The Associated Press reports
Yoko Ono's former driver, who pleaded guilty to trying to extort money from her, can leave the United States voluntarily rather than be deported, a federal immigration judge decided Wednesday.
Koral Karsan can return to his native Turkey without further legal proceedings under an order signed by Judge Alan A. Vomacka. Karsan must leave the U.S. by April 13. He has a plane ticket to Turkey for March 23, lawyer Jonathan Avirom said.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:00 PM
YOKO ONO'S DRIVER ALLOWED TO VOLUNTARILY LEAVE
The Associated Press reports
Yoko Ono's former driver, who pleaded guilty to trying to extort money from her, can leave the United States voluntarily rather than be deported, a federal immigration judge decided Wednesday.
Koral Karsan can return to his native Turkey without further legal proceedings under an order signed by Judge Alan A. Vomacka. Karsan must leave the U.S. by April 13. He has a plane ticket to Turkey for March 23, lawyer Jonathan Avirom said.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:00 PM
MEXICAN DUE HIT BY US VISA WOES
Work visa problems for Mexican heavy metal duo Rodrigo y Gabriela have led to the the cancellation of several performances. The delay is due to Rodrigo Sanchez having a name identical to a wanted criminal in the US.
According to the Washington Post:
"Rodrigo had nothing on his file," said Chris Tetzeli, a Charlottesville, Va.-based partner at ATO Records, the duo's music label. "He's absolutely clean. It's just this name confusion."
The duo canceled shows at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, and a festival in Florida, Tetzeli said. Their Web site said they have postponed upcoming shows in Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., and Washington.
"There was a lot of anticipation going into these dates," Tetzeli said. "The timing is pretty rough."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:29 PM
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
METS' PARK OUT WHILE WAITING ON VISA
Yet another Major League Baseball player whose immigration problems are causing headaches for his team.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:00 AM
Saturday, March 3, 2007
SAUDI FILMMAKER'S VISA PROBLEMS LEAD TO FESTIVAL ABSENCE
Put this one in the irony department. Abdullah al-Muheisin, the director of a Saudi Arabian film (rare since that country produces few movies), missed the New York Arab and South Asian Film Festival in New York which is showing his film this evening. al-Muheisin applied three weeks ago for the visa and was initially told to wait seven weeks for a visitor visa. Attempts to expedite processing proved unsuccessful.
The New York Times reports
“I am sad that I could not be able to be in the United States to bridge the gap between the culture of our two societies, to know the people, and explain what is needed to be explained during my projection,” the director, Abdullah al-Muheisin, said in a telephone interview from Riyadh. His film, “Shadow of Silence,” is set in an unnamed Arab country, and follows the travails of a woman who enlists a group of Bedouin tribesmen to free her husband from a state institution set up, according to the festival summary, to “manufacture unthinking citizens.”
Mr. Muheisin added: “Our good relationship is too long to be damaged by somebody who is an alien to Saudi society — Bin Laden or whoever tried to spoil that relation. It is sad. We are paying the price for the mistake of somebody else.”
The Times reports that an Iraqi national who starred in the popular film United 93 was denied a visa to attend last year's premiere of the Academy Award nominated film.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:55 PM
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"The defense is entitled to ask the jury to consider the impact of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 and the controlling Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy on the issue of the defendant's intent," states the defense motion filed last week.
"Because the Cuban national baseball players identified in the indictment are Cuban nationals who arrived on U.S. soil, the effect of the Cuban Adjustment Act is the significant ingredient in this case that underlies the very essence of the charged crimes and the defendant's constitutional right to contest those charges."
Defense also argued that, contrary to prosecutors' assertions, Cuban refugees do not have to notify immigration officials of their presence in the United States before seeking admittance under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:50 PM
The Associated Press reports
Yoko Ono's former driver, who pleaded guilty to trying to extort money from her, can leave the United States voluntarily rather than be deported, a federal immigration judge decided Wednesday.
Koral Karsan can return to his native Turkey without further legal proceedings under an order signed by Judge Alan A. Vomacka. Karsan must leave the U.S. by April 13. He has a plane ticket to Turkey for March 23, lawyer Jonathan Avirom said.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:00 PM
YOKO ONO'S DRIVER ALLOWED TO VOLUNTARILY LEAVE
The Associated Press reports
Yoko Ono's former driver, who pleaded guilty to trying to extort money from her, can leave the United States voluntarily rather than be deported, a federal immigration judge decided Wednesday.
Koral Karsan can return to his native Turkey without further legal proceedings under an order signed by Judge Alan A. Vomacka. Karsan must leave the U.S. by April 13. He has a plane ticket to Turkey for March 23, lawyer Jonathan Avirom said.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:00 PM
MEXICAN DUE HIT BY US VISA WOES
Work visa problems for Mexican heavy metal duo Rodrigo y Gabriela have led to the the cancellation of several performances. The delay is due to Rodrigo Sanchez having a name identical to a wanted criminal in the US.
According to the Washington Post:
"Rodrigo had nothing on his file," said Chris Tetzeli, a Charlottesville, Va.-based partner at ATO Records, the duo's music label. "He's absolutely clean. It's just this name confusion."
The duo canceled shows at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, and a festival in Florida, Tetzeli said. Their Web site said they have postponed upcoming shows in Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., and Washington.
"There was a lot of anticipation going into these dates," Tetzeli said. "The timing is pretty rough."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:29 PM
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
METS' PARK OUT WHILE WAITING ON VISA
Yet another Major League Baseball player whose immigration problems are causing headaches for his team.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:00 AM
Saturday, March 3, 2007
SAUDI FILMMAKER'S VISA PROBLEMS LEAD TO FESTIVAL ABSENCE
Put this one in the irony department. Abdullah al-Muheisin, the director of a Saudi Arabian film (rare since that country produces few movies), missed the New York Arab and South Asian Film Festival in New York which is showing his film this evening. al-Muheisin applied three weeks ago for the visa and was initially told to wait seven weeks for a visitor visa. Attempts to expedite processing proved unsuccessful.
The New York Times reports
“I am sad that I could not be able to be in the United States to bridge the gap between the culture of our two societies, to know the people, and explain what is needed to be explained during my projection,” the director, Abdullah al-Muheisin, said in a telephone interview from Riyadh. His film, “Shadow of Silence,” is set in an unnamed Arab country, and follows the travails of a woman who enlists a group of Bedouin tribesmen to free her husband from a state institution set up, according to the festival summary, to “manufacture unthinking citizens.”
Mr. Muheisin added: “Our good relationship is too long to be damaged by somebody who is an alien to Saudi society — Bin Laden or whoever tried to spoil that relation. It is sad. We are paying the price for the mistake of somebody else.”
The Times reports that an Iraqi national who starred in the popular film United 93 was denied a visa to attend last year's premiere of the Academy Award nominated film.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:55 PM
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Yoko Ono's former driver, who pleaded guilty to trying to extort money from her, can leave the United States voluntarily rather than be deported, a federal immigration judge decided Wednesday.
Koral Karsan can return to his native Turkey without further legal proceedings under an order signed by Judge Alan A. Vomacka. Karsan must leave the U.S. by April 13. He has a plane ticket to Turkey for March 23, lawyer Jonathan Avirom said.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:00 PM
Work visa problems for Mexican heavy metal duo Rodrigo y Gabriela have led to the the cancellation of several performances. The delay is due to Rodrigo Sanchez having a name identical to a wanted criminal in the US.
According to the Washington Post:
According to the Washington Post:
"Rodrigo had nothing on his file," said Chris Tetzeli, a Charlottesville, Va.-based partner at ATO Records, the duo's music label. "He's absolutely clean. It's just this name confusion."
The duo canceled shows at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, and a festival in Florida, Tetzeli said. Their Web site said they have postponed upcoming shows in Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., and Washington.
"There was a lot of anticipation going into these dates," Tetzeli said. "The timing is pretty rough."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:29 PM
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
METS' PARK OUT WHILE WAITING ON VISA
Yet another Major League Baseball player whose immigration problems are causing headaches for his team.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:00 AM
Saturday, March 3, 2007
SAUDI FILMMAKER'S VISA PROBLEMS LEAD TO FESTIVAL ABSENCE
Put this one in the irony department. Abdullah al-Muheisin, the director of a Saudi Arabian film (rare since that country produces few movies), missed the New York Arab and South Asian Film Festival in New York which is showing his film this evening. al-Muheisin applied three weeks ago for the visa and was initially told to wait seven weeks for a visitor visa. Attempts to expedite processing proved unsuccessful.
The New York Times reports
“I am sad that I could not be able to be in the United States to bridge the gap between the culture of our two societies, to know the people, and explain what is needed to be explained during my projection,” the director, Abdullah al-Muheisin, said in a telephone interview from Riyadh. His film, “Shadow of Silence,” is set in an unnamed Arab country, and follows the travails of a woman who enlists a group of Bedouin tribesmen to free her husband from a state institution set up, according to the festival summary, to “manufacture unthinking citizens.”
Mr. Muheisin added: “Our good relationship is too long to be damaged by somebody who is an alien to Saudi society — Bin Laden or whoever tried to spoil that relation. It is sad. We are paying the price for the mistake of somebody else.”
The Times reports that an Iraqi national who starred in the popular film United 93 was denied a visa to attend last year's premiere of the Academy Award nominated film.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:55 PM
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# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:00 AM
Put this one in the irony department. Abdullah al-Muheisin, the director of a Saudi Arabian film (rare since that country produces few movies), missed the New York Arab and South Asian Film Festival in New York which is showing his film this evening. al-Muheisin applied three weeks ago for the visa and was initially told to wait seven weeks for a visitor visa. Attempts to expedite processing proved unsuccessful.
The New York Times reports
The Times reports that an Iraqi national who starred in the popular film United 93 was denied a visa to attend last year's premiere of the Academy Award nominated film.
The New York Times reports
“I am sad that I could not be able to be in the United States to bridge the gap between the culture of our two societies, to know the people, and explain what is needed to be explained during my projection,” the director, Abdullah al-Muheisin, said in a telephone interview from Riyadh. His film, “Shadow of Silence,” is set in an unnamed Arab country, and follows the travails of a woman who enlists a group of Bedouin tribesmen to free her husband from a state institution set up, according to the festival summary, to “manufacture unthinking citizens.”
Mr. Muheisin added: “Our good relationship is too long to be damaged by somebody who is an alien to Saudi society — Bin Laden or whoever tried to spoil that relation. It is sad. We are paying the price for the mistake of somebody else.”
The Times reports that an Iraqi national who starred in the popular film United 93 was denied a visa to attend last year's premiere of the Academy Award nominated film.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:55 PM
XML newsfeed
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