Green Card applicants will now face extra hurdle under Trump’s immigration policy.

Under President Trump’s ‘extreme vetting’ of immigrant policy, Green Card applicants will now be required to go through an interview in order to obtain permanent residence. Although Green Card applicants have always been required to be interviewed under the law, in the past, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has always waived such interview for broad categories applicants and focus its resources on higher-risk cases.

According to the USCI, the new policy is designed to combat on illegal immigration and put restrictions on who can enter the US. The new policy will come into effect on 1 October this year, and Green Cards applicants who based their applications under employment or for refugee and asylum will now be subject to a face to face interview. The administration explains in-person interviews will allow officers to verify the application and further discover new relevant information as well as assessing the credibility of the applicant. As a result, this would enhance and strengthen the integrity of the Nation’s immigration system.

It is unknown how many people will be affected by the new policy, but it is certain that it will inevitably add burdens on the system and Green Card applicants will have to overcome an extra hurdle in order to obtain permanent residence.

(Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/28/politics/trump-administration-green-cards-interviews/index.html)

Second Revised Draft for Review of Anti-Unfair Competition Law Issued For Public Comments

Recently, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law (Second Draft for Review) (“Revised Draft”) has been deliberated at the Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress. The first draft for review had been issued for public comments in 2016.

Anti-unfair competition is always one of the most important issues for foreign enterprises in China. As a result, it is necessary to look into the Revised Draft even at this early stage.

The current effective statue relating to unfair competitive business is the Anti-Unfair Competition Law which was promulgated in 1993 (“1993 Version”). Over past 20 years, this legal loophole is made up, to a large extent, by the regulations issued by governmental authorities. Also, local governments have enacted related local ordinances relating to commercial bribery and illicit competition.

Compared with the 1993 Version, the Revised Draft provides further clarity regarding the definition and scope of a “market confusion act” (Article 6); commercial bribery” (Article 7);”trade secret” (Article 9); and “false or misleading propaganda” (Article 8).

Besides being more precise, the Revised Draft is keeping up with the trends of time. For example, the business operator shall be prohibited to promote any product with a lottery award with a top prize of more than 5000 RMB under the 1993 Version. According to the Revised Draft., the top prize is now 50,000 RMB.

A further example as to unfair competitive behaviour include acts performed through technical approaches on the Internet, the Revised Draft expressly states that the business operator making use of the Internet for business activities should be subject to all provisions in the Revised Draft.

The Legal Service Week of the Jiangsu International Chamber of Commerce has kicked off this week. Today, Ms. Heidi Chui, our Partner and Head of Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department, was invited to deliver a keynote speech on the topic: “Enforcement of the Mainland Judgments and Arbitral Awards in Hong Kong: Latest Cases and Developments”. Ms. Chui shared her experience and insights on the topic including practical strategies for cross-border litigation involving Hong Kong and Mainland China.

The Legal Service Week of Jiangsu International Chamber of Commerce has been a success. The presentation, which was presented on WeChat online platform, enabled all participants to exchange information and have real-time interaction with nearly 400 business leaders, scholars, lawyers and corporate counsels from all parts of Mainland China.

With China’s implementation of the “One Belt One Road” initiative, more Mainland companies are going global. At the same time, when doing cross border business, it is not uncommon that companies encounter debtors who attempt to dissipate their assets. Drawing lessons from the latest and hottest cases, plus her role as the case handler of landmark cases, Ms. Chui shared tips on how to tackle the challenges in cross-border litigations. Ms. Chui’s sharing was well received by the audience.

Ms. Chui is grateful for the invitation by the Jiangsu International Chamber of Commerce. It is a privilege to participate in the event as keynote speaker and to be able to share her insights with business leaders and the legal community of the Jiangsu province.

Please contract our Ms. Heidi Chui for any inquiry or further information.

Would President Trump Let you Immigrate to America?

President Trump expressed his support for a new immigration bill based on a point system which would appear to reduce the number of people that will be allowed to immigrate to the US.

Under the proposed Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act (“RAISE ACT”), applicants will need to acquire points under a number of point-scoring factors including: age; level of education; English ability; salary; investment to be made in the US; whether the applicant has won any Nobel Prize or any comparable internal award; whether the applicant has won any Olympic medal in the past 8 years.

Even with the endorsement of the President, the bill is struggling to get approval from the Congress.

(Source: http://time.com/4887574/trump-raise-act-immigration/)

SW partner Ms Catherine Por attended the IAFL Annual Meeting 2017 held by International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) in Reykjavik, Iceland on 13-17 September 2017. The Annual Meeting was well attended by more than 200 fellows from multiple jurisdictions. The education programme comprised of talks / panel discussions on Asylum and The Hague, hot topics on ethics and parenting. Ms Por has been a fellow of the IAFL since 2004. Our Ms. Wendy Lam and Ms. Janice Chin are also fellows.

About IAFL
Founded in 1986, IAFL is a worldwide association of practicing lawyers who are recognized by their peers as the most experienced and skilled family law specialists in their respective countries.

Please contact our Ms Catherine Por for any enquiries or further information about this event.

Stevenson, Wong & Co. is delighted to announce that we have expanded with a new main office at Gloucester Tower, The Landmark. Our Corporate, Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Private Client Departments have all relocated to the new office. Our office in Central Tower will continue to serve clients for conveyancing, employment, corporate services, intellectual property and immigration matters.

We look forward to seeing and serving our clients at our improved office surroundings.
Should you have any questions on the location of our office, please feel free to contact us.