On September 9, 2015, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced important changes impacting certain individuals in the permanent residence (“green card”) process. This change will allow some individuals to file the last step of the green card process, the application for adjustment of status, even if their priority date is not current. The DOS has been moving steadily towards reforming its process for calculating immigrant visa (“green card”) availability. In July 2015,...

  GRANITO is pleased to announce that over the summer it has been appointed by the Ministry of Economic Development as one of the few expert managers entitled to assist Italian SMEs in connection with new State funds for internationalization. GRANITO, whose core business consists of assisting companies when expanding their business abroad, has been selected as one of the key managers able to provide services which are funded by the so called "vouchers for internationalization", a traditional funding measure issued by Italian...

Portugal's footwear manufacturing sector expects to invest some €160 million between now and 2020 and aims to obtain "formal public recognition" as an industrial cluster, the leather and footwear sector association APICCAPS announced on Tuesday. According to the group, the planned investments with European Union help are to be channeled above all into innovation, with €50 million above all going to explore new techniques, technologies and materials; internationalization, with €70 million; and training, with €36 million. Over the next decade the...

The Robert Bosch Foundation and Cultural Vistas invite US professionals to apply for the 2016-2017 Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program. Bosch Fellows work as consultants in their field of expertise at leading public or private institutions in Germany. Fellows also participate in professional seminars, where they travel to meet and exchange ideas with key figures across Germany and Europe. Fellows are from the fields of business administration, cultural management, journalism, law, non-profit, public policy, and urban planning. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS: High-level work...

Crises that can seriously damage a company’s and/or brand’s reputation are happening more frequently than ever, and thanks to the lightning speed of Internet communications, the news spreads fast. In spite of this, the majority of small and mid-size companies we work with have done little or no advanced planning to help get through a crisis. In addition, many very large international corporations are equally unprepared. Foreign companies are typically less prepared for crises in the U.S. than their...

Download the PDF version of the August 2015 CMBS Delinquency Report The Trepp CMBS Delinquency Rate continued its summer trend of oscillation and inched up slightly in August. The delinquency rate for US commercial real estate loans in CMBS moved up three basis points in August to 5.45%. The increase undid July's three-basis-point improvement. The rate is now 65 basis points lower than the year-ago level and 30 basis points lower year-to-date. In August, $1.3 billion in loans became newly delinquent,...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a policy memorandum aiming to clarify the standard required for L-1B specialized knowledge visas. The memorandum notably begins by reminding adjudicating officers that the L-1B visa category, which allows for the transfer of company personnel with specialized knowledge, is critical in fostering the growth and competitiveness of U.S. businesses in an increasingly global marketplace. By clearly articulating this context, the memorandum may yield some comfort to employers that have had to contend with...

Federal Court Strikes Down STEM OPT Extension Rule but Stays Action Until 2016 As you are likely aware, F-1 students granted 12 months of Optional Practical Training (OPT) following graduation whose underlying degrees are in the field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) may be eligible for an additional period of 17 months of OPT, thanks to a 2008 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulation. That regulation was issued by DHS without first asking the public to comment on...