Visa Lawyer Blog

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The O-1 visa is quickly becoming a popular immigration solution for talented entrepreneurs who have already started or are about to start a new business in the United States. Many of Silicon Valley’s top companies owe their creation and success to foreign-born entrepreneurs, including Google, Intel, and Yahoo. In fact, more than 40 percent of American Fortune 500 companies were founded by an immigrant or child of an immigrant.

In order to obtain an O-1 visa, one must show that he or she is an alien of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. This visa allows individuals to come to the United States for up to three years, with extensions available after that period has elapsed if the applicant is able to prove that he or she is still outstanding in the field. This is a great option for those in technology-related fields.

The O-1 visa has proven to be a better option for many entrepreneurs than the more popular H-1B visa. This is especially true for those entrepreneurs who do not qualify for the H-1B visa or when the H-1B visa cap has already been met, as there is no cap to the number of O-1 visas granted each year. In addition, unlike most H-1B visas, the O-1 visa does not require a college education. This is an important difference, since there are many young and innovative entrepreneurs who bypassed formal education in order to begin their careers. Another benefit of the O-1 visa over the H-1B visa is that it does not tie the immigrant to any employer or sponsor or have any of the other strict requirements, such as a prevailing wage. An O-1 visa applicant can be sponsored by his or her own U.S. company. This gives the entrepreneur more freedom to conduct their business as they choose, including investing any profits early on back into the business instead of paying themselves the prevailing wage salary. The O-1 visa is also a better option than the E and EB “investor visas” for many entrepreneurs, as the O-1 visa does not require any particular amount of capital to be invested into the business.

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By Lupe Lopez

Rosario and her son Alan came into our office a few weeks ago.  Rosario had entered the country without inspection (illegal entry) many years ago.  Her son Alan was born in the United States and just turned 21.  They came in hoping that Alan would be able to help his mother obtain her green card.

We asked Rosario the usual questions.  When and how did you enter the U.S.?  Have you ever been detained or deported?  Have you committed any crimes in the U.S. or in your country?  The list goes on.  We first need to determine if Rosario will be admissible to the U.S. before we begin any paperwork.

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Bill was a world renowned and very accomplished sculptor and 3d artist in his country. In 2009, Bill decided to make his first visit to the United States. It was here, in the land of opportunity, that he was able to develop his craft further and had the unique opportunity to study animation, the marketing of sculptural art, and technologies in film production. Having already been working for a famous television station in his country, it was only fitting for him to expand his studies in these fields. As a professional artist with extraordinary skills, our client was eligible to file an O-1 visa and could very well obtain his permanent residency through this avenue. After seeking legal advice, Bill decided to go forward with the process of applying for an I-129 Petition for an alien with extraordinary abilities in the arts. While his application was pending, Bill decided to visit his aunt and cousins in Los Angeles. It was through his cousin that Bill would meet his future wife, Elizabeth. After various phone calls and emails, the two decided to meet, and it was indeed love at first sight for the pair. The couple found that they shared similar interests, had a similar background, traditions, and customs.

During the following months, the couple went on frequent outings together as well as with their family members. All seemed perfect. Bill was ready to pop the question and did so in a magical way in Laguna Beach, California. Elizabeth’s parents were not only supportive of Bill’s professional work; they welcomed him into their family as a son, and allowed him to live with Elizabeth in their home during their marriage. A few months after marrying, Elizabeth and Bill decided to file for Bill’s Adjustment of Status. Elizabeth was very enthusiastic about petitioning for Bill because she felt the process would be much quicker than that of the I-129 petition that was pending. Bill completely put his trust in Elizabeth and allowed her to take the reins on his adjustment of status application.

During their marriage, Bill began to see that his wife was not the person he believed her to be. She refused to work and would spend her days chatting with friends and playing computer games until the morning hours. He also began to realize that she had no regard for his financial situation and would spend the money he earned from his family and from freelancing, on luxurious items that were unnecessary expenses. A few months later, Bill heard that his father had been diagnosed with cancer and was fighting for his life. About this time, Bill was fortunate enough to have received his permanent resident card, so he was able to travel internationally without preoccupation. Devastated, Bill traveled to his country alone to support his inconsolable mother and help his family financially. Elizabeth had chosen to stay behind with her family. While he was back in his country dealing with the stress surrounding the terminal nature of his father’s condition, Bill began to receive unrealistic and threatening demands from Elizabeth.

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By Yingfei Zhou, Esq.

The B-1 business visitor visa allows foreign businesspersons to be admitted into the U.S. so that they may engage in certain temporary business activities. B-1 business visitors are not required to obtain work authorization prior to being admitted because they are not entering the U.S. labor market and they are admitted to the U.S. without Numerical limit.

Who qualifies as a business visitor?

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On Saturday, September 6th, the White House announced that the President would be holding off on taking executive action, to bring about immigration reform, until after November elections. Although president Obama announced that he would take executive action in June, mounting pressure from Senate Democrats prompted president Obama to abandon ship on such promises until later this year. Democrats fighting for a seat in the Senate had been fearful that if President Obama would act on the promise he had made earlier this summer, they would lose their re-election bids, and overall bargaining power in the House and Senate. White House officials expressed that if the president were to act on such a promise, before the November elections; the decision might jeopardize the sustainability of the policy and might have negative repercussions on comprehensive immigration reform as a whole. While some have considered President Obama’s move to be strategic, others have seen the decision as another empty promise and failed attempt by the Obama administration to bring about comprehensive immigration reform. In a recent interview with NBC, president Obama reiterated that he would act on immigration reform, because he feels it is the right thing. According to him however, it would be most effective to act if the public understands the facts on immigration. According to white house officials, after November elections, the pressure to act on immigration reform would take on a whole new meaning. The house and senate would be re-energized and the topic would no longer be as politicized. Within this frame of mind, Republicans and Democrats alike could maximize the odds of bringing about immigration reform by coming together with integrity on the issue, rather than at each other’s throats prior to the elections. For further updates, please continue to visit our blog. 

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What is the purpose of filing an I-751 Petition for Removal of Conditions?

If you were granted conditional residence based on your marriage to a U.S. Citizen or legal permanent resident, you must file the I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on your Permanent Resident Card. This form allows the conditional resident to request USCIS to remove the conditions on their residence. For conditional residents who are still married, the petition must be filed jointly with your spouse through with you gained your conditional residence.

But what happens when the marriage ends in divorce, annulment, or other factors?

The conditional resident can request for waiver of the joint filing requirement IF any of the following applies:

  1. You entered the marriage in good faith but your spouse died
  2. You entered the marriage in good faith, but the marriage was later terminated through divorce or annulment
  3. You entered the marriage in good faith, but were battered or the victim of ‘extreme cruelty’ by the spouse with whom you gained conditional residence
  4. Your conditional resident parent entered the marriage in good faith, but you have been battered or the victim of ‘extreme cruelty’ by your parent’s U.S. Citizen or permanent resident spouse or by your conditional resident parent or
  5. The termination of your conditional resident status and removal would result in extreme hardship 

For the purposes of this segment, we will focus on what must be proven when a conditional resident’s marriage ends in divorce or annulment.

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By Marie Puertollano, Esq.

When an immigrant gets married with a U.S citizen, the immigrant can obtain a green card either through consular processing, if the immigrant is outside the United States, or through adjustment of status within the United States, if the immigrant entered with a visa and is present in the United States. This article will focus on the interview that will be the last step of the adjustment of status and will take place at a USCIS field office within the United States.

Why are we interviewed?

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On August 23rd the Chief of the Department of State’s Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting Division, Charles Oppenheim, made an important announcement regarding significant changes made to the EB-5 preference category. Oppenheim announced that for the first time since the creation of the EB-5 category, the EB-5 preference category would become unavailable to Chinese applicants for the 2014 fiscal years.

What does it mean for the EB-5 preference category to become unavailable? 

What the department means is that, the maximum number of EB-5 immigrant visas available to Chinese applicants for the fiscal year of 2014 have already been issued. Thus, there are no longer any available EB-5 immigrant visas for the 2014 fiscal year.

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You are a H-1B visa holder from a country with a backlogged employment based category and you are currently living and working in the United States. You have applied for permanent residence through your employer. You have been working for the same employer for years and have extensive experience in your field. Despite all of these factors, you are still waiting in line for your priority date to become current, and what’s more, your spouse has not been eligible to apply for their employment authorization due to the restrictions on their visa. What, if anything, can be done to receive your permanent resident card sooner?

Thousands of immigrants are in the same hypothetical situation. Comprehensive Immigration Reform is necessary not just for undocumented immigrants living in the United States, but also for such specialty workers who regularly contribute to our economy and society, but are stuck in limbo awaiting their permanent residency. Comprehensive immigration reform is also necessary because specialty occupation workers often run out of their H-1B status while they are in line for their priority date to become current. If the specialty occupation worker is married, chances are their spouse has not had the opportunity or privilege to legally obtain employment while the primary applicant has been in line waiting to adjust their status. Many immigrants who have found themselves in similar situations fear international travel due to the risk they may run in not being able to return to the United States.

Bypassing the Quota System

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