Last updated: September 2018

The American Immigration Council, Inc. (the Council) is a Washington, D.C. based non-profit corporation that maintains the following Websites: www.AmericanImmigrationCouncil.org; www.J1Journeys.org; www.ImmigrationImpact.com; and www.ImmigrationJustice.US (the Websites).

When you use these Websites, you agree to all terms listed below (Terms). Please read them carefully. Also check these Terms of Use periodically because the Council updates them from time to time. All updates become effective when posted.

Using these Websites means you agree to review and follow the:

• Terms of Use.
• Privacy Policy.
• All updates.
• Other policies and rules posted on the Websites.

Together, these Terms, the Privacy Policy, updates, and other policies and rules form the complete agreement between you and the Council. The most recent version of these Terms always supersedes any previous version, whether oral or written.

General

These Websites provide information, not legal advice. Use of these Websites does not make you the Council’s client. The purpose of these Websites is to provide information on immigration policy, trends, immigration-related news, and research, as well as the Council’s daily blog, publications, litigation docket, practice advisories, fundraising campaigns, events, and any topics and work related to the Council’s mission. The Websites also provide information regarding the Council’s role as a J-1 visa sponsor, as well as links to online platforms used in conjunction with the J-1 Exchange Program.  When you use these Websites, you do not have an attorney-client relationship or other fiduciary relationship with the Council. 

We do not warrant or guarantee that the information provided on these Websites or by Council staff is accurate or up-to-date. We do not warrant or guarantee any results based on your use of these Websites. When you use these Websites, you do so at your own risk.

These Websites do not and cannot:

• Give you advice, opinions, or recommendations about your rights or your case.
• Apply the law to the facts of your case.
• Represent or protect you or your interests.

By using these Websites, you agree that:

• If you decide to rely on information received from these Websites, you do so at your own risk.
• You do not have the right to make a claim that you were harmed because you used these Websites.
• Your use of these Websites does not create any attorney-client relationship or any other fiduciary relationship between you and the Council.
• You will use these Websites in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction where you are located.

Who May Use These Websites

To use any part of these Websites, you must be:

• Thirteen (13) years of age or older.
• Legally able to agree to the terms of using these Websites or use these Websites with a guardian or other representative who is able to legally agree to the terms of using these Websites.

You may use these Websites if you:

• Do not use it for any commercial purpose.
• Credit the Council as the source of any information from these Websites, either by copyright or attribution.
• Consent to having any information you provide to the Council, including personal information, transferred to and processed in the United States.

Not for Commercial Use

You may not use these Websites for any commercial purpose. Unless the Council gives you its written permission, you may not reproduce, copy, change, publish, display, or distribute any part of these Websites, except as allowed herein.

No Illegal Activity

The Council may investigate complaints and reported violations of these Terms. If we suspect illegal or inappropriate activity, we may report it to law enforcement officials, regulators, or other parties. We may disclose user information of anyone or any entity involved in that activity to the extent necessary, including, but not limited to: user profiles, email addresses, usage history, submitted or uploaded materials, internet protocol (IP) addresses, and traffic information. If possible, we will take reasonable steps to minimize the disclosure of confidential information of users who are not the target of the investigations, such as by redacting confidential information.

You must not use these Websites in any way that would be considered illegal under any state, federal, or international laws that applies to your use of these Websites.

Do not use these Websites to:

• Upload content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, invasive of someone’s privacy, hateful, racially ethnically objectionable, or wrongful in some other way.
• Harm a child in any way.
• Misrepresent your affiliation with a person or agency or impersonate a person or agency, including the Council or its staff.
• Upload content that you do not have a right to transmit, including information from fiduciary relationships, such as inside, proprietary, and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements.
• Upload content that infringes, misappropriates, or in any way violates a party’s patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other proprietary rights.
• Stalk or harass someone.
• Use any function of these Websites to collect or store personal data about other users unless the Council and the user(s) have authorized you to do so.

The Council’s Ownership Rights

These Websites are protected by trademarks and other proprietary rights and laws. The Council alone owns its copyrights to these Websites’ layout, graphics, navigation design, source code, the collective and compiled copyrights in its databases, and all other content created by the Council employees, contractors, consultants, and contributors to these Websites.

You may not use or alter any of the information or content on these Websites in any way, except that you may use the Websites and print copies of it for personal, non-commercial use. Any print-outs from these Websites must retain all copyright, trademark, and other proprietary notices.

You may not use the Council’s trademarks, service marks, or trade dress in any way, including in:           

• Services or products not owned by the Council.
• A way that causes confusion or implies that the Council sponsors, endorses, or is connected to your own activities, products, or services.
• Hidden or embedded text in web pages.
• A way that is critical of the Council or these Websites.

Follow the Council's Rules

To use these Websites, you must follow these Terms unless you get the Council’s express written permission to do otherwise.

Do not:

• Interfere with these Websites or the servers and networks connected to these Websites.
• Disobey any requirement, procedure, policy, or regulation of a network connected to these Websites.

You must not use any part of these Websites, its content, or its underlying programs to:

• Decompile, extract, or disassemble our source code.
• Copy, change, reproduce, republish, distribute, display, or transmit for commercial, non-profit, or public purposes any part of these Websites, its content or its software, except as allowed by other terms of this agreement.
• Rent, lease, loan, sell, sublicense, or create derivative works from these Websites, except as allowed by the terms of this agreement.
• Use software or other methods to monitor or copy our Websites.
• Determine the Websites architecture or extract information about usage, users, or their identities.
• Use, export, or re-export any part of these Websites or its content in violation of U.S. export control laws.

You must not use any material owned by the Council or licensed to the Council by a third party for any use, especially not for any commercial use. This includes:

• Text, forms, documents, images, graphics, logos, or button icons.
• Any other material or information you get from a Council’s contributors.
• Other content or copyright material owned by the Council or a Council contributor.
• Any Council trademark, service mark, or logo.

Communications with the Council & Privacy

You may communicate with the Council by email.

To use these Websites you must agree to the Council’s Privacy Policy, located here.   The Council takes reasonable steps to keep your information confidential. By using the Websites you agree that your personal information that you provide shall not: (a) be false, inaccurate, or misleading; (b) violate the rights of any third party, including without limitation privacy and proprietary rights; (c) be fraudulent; (d) violate any law, statute, ordinance, or regulation; (e) be defamatory, trade libelous, unlawfully threatening, or unlawfully harassing; (f) contain any malware, viruses, or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage, interfere with, hold for ransom, intercept, or expropriate any system, data, or personal information; or (g) create liability for the Council.

Links

These Websites may list links to other websites. We do this for your convenience only. When you click on a link to other websites, you leave these Websites. Those links are not a recommendation or approval of those websites or their owners. Such third-party websites, even if cobranded with the Council’s logo, are not under the Council’s control. We are not responsible for those websites, the information, services, or products they may offer, or any loss or damage you may have at those websites.

You may not link to the Council’s Websites from another website for commercial purposes. Any links to the Council’s Websites from other websites do not imply any affiliation between the Council and those other websites.

Disclaimer

When you use these Websites, you do so at your own risk. The Council does not provide support to users of these Websites. These Websites are provided to you “as is, and as available.” The Council does not guarantee or warrant these Websites or its content to always be available, correct, up-to-date, reliable, free of viruses or other defects, or that any problems or inaccuracies will be corrected.

The Council is not responsible for any loss, injury, claim, liability, or damage related to:

• The hardware or software you use to access these Websites.
• Your use of these Websites or its content for any purpose, including related to legal advice.
• Any errors or omissions in the content at these Websites or other Websites you are directed to from these Websites.
• The unavailability of these Websites or its content.

The Council makes no guarantee that any material on these Websites is:

• Suitable for any special purpose.
• Free of any claim of ownership by a third party.

THE COUNCIL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

Limited Liability

THE COUNCIL PROVIDES ALL CONTENT ON THESE WEBSITES ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS.  TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE COUNCIL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE. THESE WARRANTIES INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 

BY YOUR USE OF THESE WEBSITES, YOU AGREE TO WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE USE OF THE WEBSITES OR ITS CONTENT, WHETHER SUCH CLAIMS ARE AGAINST THE COUNCIL OR ANY OTHER PERSON WHO HAS SUPPLIED CONTENT TO THE WEBSITES. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY SHALL THE COUNCIL OR ANY OTHER PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE WEBSITES BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ATTORNEYS' FEES) IN ANY WAY DUE TO, RESULTING FROM, OR ARISING IN CONNECTION FROM YOUR ACCESS TO, USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE THESE WEBSITES. TO THE EXTENT THE FOREGOING LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS PROHIBITED OR FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE, THE SOLE OBLIGATION OF THE COUNCIL OR ANY OTHER PERSON WHO HAS SUPPLIED CONTENT TO THE WEBSITES TO YOU FOR DAMAGES SHALL BE LIMITED TO $100.00. NO ACTION, REGARDLESS OF FORM, ARISING OUT OF THESE TERMS MAY BE BROUGHT BY YOU MORE THAN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE EVENT UNDERLYING THE CAUSE OF ACTION HAS OCCURRED. THE TERMS OF THIS SECTION WILL SURVIVE ANY TERMINATION OF THESE TERMS AND YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITES. IN JURISDICTIONS THAT RESTRICT LIMITATION OF LIABILITY PROVISIONS, THE COUNCIL’S LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. THE FEES (OR LACK THEREOF) CHARGED FOR ACCESS TO THE WEBSITES OR THE SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEBSITES HAVE BEEN CALCULATED BASED ON THESE LIMITATIONS.

Governing Law

These Terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia, without regard to its conflict of laws’ provisions. You consent to the jurisdiction of the federal courts located within the District of Columbia and waive all objections to such jurisdiction and venue.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Council and any third party providing content to these Websites, from any and all claims, losses, expenses, damages, and costs, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys' fees, arising as a result of your use of these Websites.

Enforcing the Council's Rights

When you use these Websites, you agree that any use that violates these Terms may cause irreparable injury to the Council. If you do not follow these terms, you agree that the Council will:

• Have the right to non-monetary relief, including a court order requiring you to stop or to perform any relief a court may impose.
• Not have to post any bond or other security.

Third Party Rights

The Council and any contributor or other third party submitting materials to the Websites have the right to enforce this agreement’s provisions with regard to Disclaimer, Liability, and Indemnification against you on its own behalf.

Severability

If any part of these Terms is found invalid or unenforceable, the Council and you agree that:

• All other parts of this agreement are valid.
• The intended meaning of the invalidated part will be replaced with language that closely matches the Council’s original intent.
• This agreement remains valid.

Even if a term of this agreement goes unenforced, the Council does not waive any part of this agreement, unless it does so in writing.

Notification of Alleged Copyright Infringement

The Council reserves the right to remove any content that allegedly infringes a third party's copyright or otherwise violates the rights of any third party, or for any reason whatsoever, and to prohibit further use of the Websites by the individuals responsible for said infringement or violation. The Council also reserves the right to pursue any party that submits an erroneous declaration. If you believe that any content appears on these Websites in violation of your copyright or other proprietary rights, you should send a notice to the Council by first-class mail, return receipt requested, at the following address: American Immigration Council, 1331 G Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C., 20005. Such notice should include the following:

• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.
• Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity. Include information reasonably sufficient to permit the Council to locate the material.
• Information reasonably sufficient to permit the Council to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an email address.
• The signature of the complaining party.
• Include the following statement: "I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above as allegedly infringing is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law."
• Include the following statement: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."

Integration

The version of these Terms, currently available on the Websites, incorporating by reference any supplemental rules, terms, or policies posted on these Websites constitutes the complete statement of the agreement between you and the Council for your use of the Websites.

Modification to Terms of Use

Updated versions of the Terms of Use will appear on these Websites and are effective immediately. Your continued use of these Websites after any update constitutes your agreement to be bound by the updated Terms of Use. You are responsible for regularly reviewing the Terms of Use.