Malini Skandachanmugarasan speaks about boxing champion in immigration limbo
Malini Skandachanmugarasan speaks about boxing champion in immigration limbo
10 May 2019
Head of LDS’ Appeals and Human Rights team, Malini Skandachanmugarasan, speaks on the Vanessa Feltz breakfast show about detained 31 year old amateur boxing champion, Kelvin Bilal Fawaz, who has been trying to establish his nationality since the period of discretionary leave he was granted as a child expired when he turned 18.
Listen to the discussion on the BBC Radio London website. Skip to 07:18 for comments.
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Step by step guide to submitting an in-country leave to remain application
Step by step guide to submitting an in-country leave to remain application
2 May 2019
In November 2018, the process of submitting applications for leave to remain in the UK was overhauled. Under the new service, applicants are required to submit applications online, upload supporting documents and attend an appointment at a service point to enrol their biometrics.
A step by step guide to submitting an in-country application created by Zeena Luchowa and Ludovica Bello provides guidance on the new process here.
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E-2 visa available to Israeli citizens from 1 May 2019
E-2 visa available to Israeli citizens from 1 May 2019
1 May 2019
The long-anticipated rollout of the E-2 investor visa, enabling Israeli citizens to invest and work in the US, has finally taken effect from today. Israeli citizens will be able to utilize the visa to invest in an enterprise (new or existing) or hire Israeli managerial, supervisory, executive or essential employees into the US enterprise.
Visa applications are accepted directly at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv without the requirement for any prior USCIS approval.
How we can help
We offer tailored advice on a wide range of US visa services, including E-2 investors. If you would like to know more about how we can help you and your business, please contact your usual LDS lawyer or enquiries@lauradevine.com.
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LDS pro bono support for Street Child Cricket World Cup
LDS pro bono support for Street Child Cricket World Cup
24 April 2019
LDS is immensely proud to be involved with the 2019 Street Child Cricket World Cup.
Pulling together such an event with 80 street children from across the world is fraught with difficulty, “these children are often without birth certificates. By coming to a Street Child World Cup and obtaining a passport, they become someone for the very first time”.
With almost half of LDS’ fee earners working with Street Child United and handling the visas on a pro bono basis, the task of collating supporting documentation has been extremely complex. “We deal with immigration cases daily and you almost assume someone will have a passport. That brings a different angle to things.”
Read the full article on the Evening Standard website here.
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Review: Inspiring RBG documentary
Review: Inspiring RBG documentary
23 April 2019
Laura Devine Solicitors hosted an exclusive screening of the inspiring documentary RBG, recounting the US Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s, rise to become one of the most notorious female legal figures in the United States. The private showing at the Soho House Hotel on 3 April was attended by women and a few men from all corners of the legal industry in the UK.
The moving film details Ginsberg’s start in law, including the challenges she faced as a woman entering the legal profession, and the support she received from her husband, Marty, until his death. It portrays a determined, intellectual woman with strong convictions on gender and race discrimination and a true love of law. As the second woman nominated to the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsberg has become a cultural icon for liberals, rightfully earning her the nickname “Notorious RBG.”
The documentary is not without surprises, however. Justice Ginsberg’s unique relationship with Justice Antonin Scalia may surprise viewers, as the two justices’ positions on key legal issues could not be more politically opposite. Also, as a US Supreme Court Justice, maintaining a neutral position in the political landscape is paramount and Justice Ginsberg has allowed her opinion on President Trump to slip on at least one occasion.
Although the film does not wade deeply into a political dialogue, it is clear that the filmmakers sought to chronical Justice Ginsberg’s life and the importance her liberal feminist views have had on shaping the legal framework in the US. It was a fascinating and inspiring film for both women and men, lawyers and non-lawyers.
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Sophie Barrett-Brown outlines the rights safeguarded by the EU Settlement Scheme
Sophie Barrett-Brown outlines the rights safeguarded by the EU Settlement Scheme
3 April 2019
Senior Partner and Head of the UK Practice, Sophie Barrett-Brown, provides an overview of the EU Settlement Scheme application process, including who should apply and how best to do so. The new scheme has been heavily publicised by the UK Government in recent weeks, and Sophie goes into detail about the rights this scheme will secure for EU applicants and their family members.
Read the full article on the Rights Info website here.
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Immigration Services
Sophie Barrett-Brown quoted in SHRM on rise of non-EU migrants since Brexit referendum
Sophie Barrett-Brown quoted in SHRM on rise of non-EU migrants since Brexit referendum
2 April 2019
Britain is undergoing the biggest shake-up to its immigration system in a generation as a result of Brexit, which may result in more migrants from countries outside the European Union (EU) working in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Human resources experts say Brexit—the withdrawal of the U.K. from the EU, which is delayed for now until April 12—is already having an impact on the U.K.’s talent pool, even though the country’s departure from the bloc has not yet taken effect.
“The number of EU migrants is decreasing, while the number of non-EU migrants is increasing,” said Sophie Barrett-Brown, senior partner and head of U.K. practice of Laura Devine Solicitors in London. “These patterns have emerged since the British public voted to leave the EU in 2016.”
Read the full article here.
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Immigration Services
Laura Devine quoted in Gazette discussing impact of hostile environment policies
Laura Devine quoted in Gazette discussing impact of hostile environment policies
1 April 2019
It is nearly a year since the full scale of the Windrush generation scandal broke – and dismay is palpable among practitioners who say the ‘callousness’ of Home Office policies is seeping into all areas of immigration. With 3.5 million EU nationals being brought into the immigration regime post-Brexit, they warn the potential for Windrush-style errors, coupled with the negativity created around migration, is damaging the government’s aspirations for a ‘Global Britain’.
Managing Partner, Laura Devine adds ‘the hostile environment measures have, in many ways, damaged relations within communities, harmed the UK’s reputation as a migrant-friendly and outward-looking nation open for business, and, ironically, helped to create a hostile environment for many of the very migrants who would benefit the UK.’
Read the full article here.
Laura Devine
Managing Partner
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Immigration Services
Sophie Barrett-Brown on LBC radio - how EU settlement scheme will operate
Sophie Barrett-Brown on LBC radio - how EU settlement scheme will operate
30 March 2019
The EU Settlement Scheme was fully launched on 30 March. Senior Partner and Head of UK Practice, Sophie Barrett-Brown, discussed how the scheme will operate on Andrew Castle’s breakfast show on LBC radio.
Listen on catch up from 7:57am here.