The White House Blog: The President

New Visa Legislation Enables Israeli Investors to Create American Jobs

Last week, President Obama signed into law H.R. 3992, bipartisan legislation introduced by Rep. Howard Berman (CA28), which would further open America to direct investment by Israeli investors, provided Israel reciprocates with similar opportunities for American investors. The law adds Israel to a list of 80 countries whose citizens are eligible for E-2 investor visas.  

E-2 visas are temporary visas granted to investors from a particular list of treaty countries. To qualify for this visa, foreign national investors must intend to come to the United States to develop and direct the operations of a business in which the foreign national must have invested — or be in the process of investing — a substantial amount of capital in the enterprise.  In Fiscal Year 2011, the United States issued 28, 245 visas for this purpose.  

Israel is a significant trade partner with the United States. In 2011, bilateral trade with Israel totaled $26.9 billion, and it is among the U.S.’s top 10 largest per capita export markets. Israel is a world leader in security and defense technologies, medicine, agriculture and clean energy.  As we work to build an America Built to Last, and get our economy back on track, the Obama Administration is focused on supporting and generating investment in these and other critical industries. 

Deferred Action Process for Certain Young People: Smart and Sensible Immigration Policy

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House, June 15, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

Secretary Janet Napolitano’s announcement this morning reaffirms President Obama’s commitment to smart and sensible immigration policies that prioritize immigration enforcement toward individuals who pose a threat to public safety. Young deserving people who are Americans in every way but on paper are not this Administration’s priority for removal. These young people came to this country as children. As the President has said many times, it makes no sense to remove productive young people to countries where they may not have lived or even speak the language. They have become productive members in our communities. They have grown up swearing allegiance to our flag. Yet they live in the shadows of America, without the possibility to realize their dreams.

This new policy is the latest in a series of steps the Department of Homeland Security has taken to improve upon the use of prosecutorial discretion. The point of this strategy is to ensure that our immigration enforcement can focus on high-priority individuals instead of clogging the system with low priority cases. The young immigrants who will be eligible under this policy are earnest, productive young people ready to contribute back to America in the fullest possible sense.

From the Archives: Presidents as Fathers

As you celebrate Dad this weekend, consider giving a nod to the Presidents who helped give him his own national holiday. On this day in 1966, Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first Presidential Father’s Day Proclamation. It set aside the third Sunday in June in celebration of fathers. Six years later, it became a permanent holiday by order of President Richard Nixon. Each year since then, the Presidents have issued yearly Father’s Day proclamations.

Presidents have enjoyed the day as fathers themselves, and over the years many children have enlivened the White House. Some presidents enter office as grandfathers, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt who had 13 grandchildren. Others, like current President Obama, are fathers to school age children.

In celebration of fathers everywhere, here’s an album of Presidents with the people who know them simply as “Dad” and “Granddad.” These photos are from the holdings of the Presidential Libraries of the U.S. National Archives. 

View the full size gallery here

West Wing Week: 6/15/2012 or "The Fatherhood Buzz"

This week, the President welcomed the Girl Scouts, the Presidents of the Philippines and of Israel, the New York Giants, local tv anchors from around the country, and Betty White. He also kicked off the Fatherhood Buzz Campaign, urged Congress not to let interest rates double on student loans, and visited One World Trade Center.