Our colleague and friend Jim Hargrove passed away recently.

An accomplished insurance law attorney and litigator with a deep background in the insurance industry, Jim was a native of Indiana and long-time resident of Gloucester.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in theater, had remarkably wide-ranging interests, and was an avid and experienced sailor.

Curious, earnest, and engaging, Jim was generous with his thoughts, loved to collaborate with his colleagues in the Firm, and was always ready to lend a hand.

Jim, we are so glad to have known you and to have worked closely with you. You will be missed.

by Wheeler Cowperthwaite, from The Patriot Ledger

A Boston attorney is threatening to sue the state over what he says are racially gerrymandered house districts that dilute Randolph’s diverse voting power.

Attorney Paul DeRensis said he wants Randolph to be in one house district. Before the new maps were signed into law last week, Randolph’s voting power was split into three districts. Now, it’s in two districts, dividing the vote of Black and other minority voters. He said he is representing Randolph voters.

“What the new districts do is they divide the Black community between two white districts,” he said.

Elected town officials say the redrawing of political maps, done every 10 years following the census, has always hurt Randolph. The town is a majority-minority community and incumbent legislators consistently work to protect their districts to avoid running against each other.

Breaking News

July 14, 2020 at 3:00 p.m., in US District Court for the District of Massachusetts in a hearing involving litigation filed by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology challenging DHS’s July 6, 2020, international student guidance, DHS has agreed to fully rescind the July 6, 2020, ICE guidance and the July 7, 2020, Frequently Asked Questions, and rescind all implementing guidance. The status quo based upon the agency’s March 13, 2020 guidance will remain in force.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ICE’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) instituted a temporary exemption regarding online study policy for the 2020 spring and summer semesters. This policy permits F-1 and M-1 foreign students to take more online courses than normally allowed for purposes of maintaining a full course of study to maintain their non-immigrant student visa status during the COVID-19 emergency. Then, on July 6, 2020 ICE announced a change in policy for the fall 2020 semester: “Students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States. The US Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will US Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States. Active students currently enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures…Students attending schools operating under normal in-person classes are bound by existing federal regulations. Eligible F students may take a maximum of one class or three credit hours online…  Students attending schools adopting a hybrid-model…will be allowed to take more than one class or three credit hours online…” Harvard and MIT petitioned the federal court for a temporary restraining order pausing the enforcement of this policy. They were joined by fifty-nine more schools which filed an amicus brief. The Trump administration agreed to rescind these rules today.

The Presidential Order

On Monday night shortly after 10:00 p.m., President Trump wrote in a Twitter feed that he will sign an executive order temporarily suspending all immigration to the U.S. in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump’s Twitter announcement came hours after his administration extended orders for 30 days that have already closed the U.S. borders to nonessential travel. The president did not offer any further details on the upcoming executive order, including what categories of immigration would be affected and what the order might mean for foreign persons legally in the United States.

Update on Customs and Border Patrol

Yesterday, US Customs and Border Patrol (US CBP) issued a nation-wide policy to grant the status of “satisfactory departure” to those persons who could not safely depart the USA for their homes at the end of their visas because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior Governmental Action in Response to COVID-19

Over the past ninety days, US consulates around the world have suspended routine services due to the coronavirus pandemic.  President Trump also halted travel from China in late January and later from Europe where the pandemic had taken hold. US citizens and the parents and/or spouses of US citizens may return to the United States despite this travel ban (if they can find international travel arrangements). Other persons who have a compelling humanitarian reason to travel to the USA may be permitted to travel, too.

Essential Workers and Others

During this same  time, the federal government has sought to ease the visa process for foreign agricultural workers and foreign doctors to assist the U.S. during the pandemic. The US Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) continues to accept and process visa petitions and requests to extend or to change US visa status for employers, families, and foreign persons legally in the USA. There has been a recognizable increase in employment-based “green cards” granted without personal interviews in the past two weeks.

Margaret Holland Sparages concentrates her legal practice in Immigration Law and procedure, specifically including securing employment visas and green cards on behalf of individuals and employers.   If you have questions as to your visa status or ability to extend status, or travel internationally, Margaret is available for a “virtual” meeting, or call.  Margaret can be reached at: mhsparages@bdboston.com, or (857) 930-4065.