YOUR OPTIMAL IMMIGRATION SOLUTION !

– DF Immigration & Nationality law firm –

E-2 visas are based on a relatively small investment and citizens of countries that have a Treaty with the U.S. can apply. For a full list of countries that apply click on this link https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/fees/treaty.html

The E-2 visa are very favorable and grants the following benefits:

• • Usually issued for a period of five years (depends on the country) and can be renewed indefinitely as long as the investment is maintained and still fulfills the requirements.
  • Spouse and unmarried children (up to 21 years old) can accompany the Investor (beneficiary).
  • Two-year stays every time you come into the country.
  • Social security number to work legally in the US (for beneficiary and spouse).
  • Investor and spouse can work legally in the US.
  • Investor and spouse re able to get drivers’ license.
  • Investor´s children can attend public school.

E-2 visas are granted to investors who invest in a real and operating enterprise with amounts that are “substantial”. Whether an amount is “substantial” or not depends on the size of the business where the investment is made. For instance, $100,000 to open a small coffee shop may be considered more than enough, but not enough for a McDonald’s restaurant.

If the amount you will be investing is higher than $100,000 you may qualify for an E-2 visa with your qualifying passport.

We can gladly help you with your E-2 visa case. Due to the many details involved for this type of visas, it is better to discuss this in further detail at a courtesy appointment or on a conference call. Please click here to schedule it.

L1 visas are for managers or executives that have worked for at least one year during the last three in a foreign company and that are coming to work in the same type of position (managerial or executive) in a company in the USA that is related to the foreign company (one company owns 51% or more of the other, both companies have the same majority owner or both companies have the same owners with the same percentage of ownership.)

Initially USCIS grants the visa for 1 year, and later in 2-year periods for a maximum of 7 years. However, after the first renewal, if all conditions are met, the beneficiary can apply for a green card.

One of the most important aspects of convincing the Immigration Service that the beneficiary worked abroad and that it will work here in a managerial or executive position is the amount of personnel that person supervises. Ideally it would be a total of 8 + employees (including two professionals). In case of a newly established U.S. company those employees need not be hired from day one, but they should be already on payroll before the first-year renewal.

We can gladly help you with your L-1 visa case. Due to the many details involved for this type of visas, it would be better to discuss this in further detail on a courtesy appointment or on a conference call. Please click here to schedule it.

If you have extraordinary abilities in science, education, business, athletics or arts, you might be able to obtain a green card. To qualify for an EB-1 immigrant visa you need to have national or international acclaim and must be coming to the United States to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability. Extraordinary ability in the fields of science, education, business or athletics means a level of expertise indicating that you are one of the small percentage who has risen to the very top of your field of endeavor.

You must meet 3 out of the 10 listed criteria below to prove extraordinary ability in your field:

• Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence
• Evidence of your membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achievement of their members
• Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media
• Evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others, either individually or on a panel
• Evidence of your original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field
• Evidence of your authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media
• Evidence that your work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases
• Evidence of your performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations
• Evidence that you command a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field
• Evidence of your commercial successes in the performing arts

We can gladly help you with your EB-1 visa case. Due to the many details involved for this type of visas, it would be better to discuss this in further detail at a courtesy appointment or on a conference call. Please click here to schedule it.

This is a temporary, nonimmigrant work visa for the individual who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.

Extraordinary ability in the fields of science, education, business or athletics means a level of expertise indicating that you are one of the small percentage who has risen to the very top of your field of endeavor. you, etc.

Extraordinary ability in the field of arts means distinction. Distinction means a high level of achievement in the field of the arts evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition substantially above that ordinarily encountered to the extent that a person described as prominent is renowned, leading, or well-known in the field of arts.

You must meet 3 out of the 10 listed criteria below to prove extraordinary ability in the fields of sciences, education, business, or athletics (not including the arts, motion pictures or television industry):

• Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor;
• Membership in associations in the field for which classification is sought which require outstanding achievements, as judged by recognized national or international experts in the field;
• Published material in professional or major trade publications, newspapers or other major media about the beneficiary and the beneficiary’s work in the field for which classification is sought;
• Original scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions of major significance in the field;
• Authorship of scholarly articles in professional journals or other major media in the field for which classification is sought;
• A high salary or other remuneration for services as evidenced by contracts or other reliable evidence;
• Participation on a panel, or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or in a field of specialization allied to that field for which classification is sought;
• Employment in a critical or essential capacity for organizations and establishments that have a distinguished reputation.

To qualify for an O-1 visa in the motion picture or television industry, the beneficiary must demonstrate extraordinary achievement evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition significantly above that ordinarily encountered to the extent the person is recognized as outstanding, notable or leading in the motion picture and/or television field.

We can gladly help you with your O-1 visa case. Due to the many details involved for this type of visas, it is better to discuss this in further detail at a courtesy appointment or on a conference call. Please click here to schedule it.

If you have an offer from a U.S. Company (sponsor), we can help you with a Labor Certification process or PERM. This is a process that usually lasts more than one year, but the end result is a green card.

You do not need to be a professional to qualify, but your experience and credentials must match the sponsor´s needs.

We can gladly help you with your Labor Certification / PERM case. Due to the many details involved for this type of process, it would be better to discuss this in further detail at a courtesy appointment or on a conference call. Please click here to schedule it.

Allocated to individuals who invest or are actively in the process of investment of a requisite amount of capital in a single new U.S. commercial enterprise that has been either established after Nov. 29, 1990 or an enterprise that has been restructured and expanded.

The investment must create/preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers within a two-year period, excluding those of the investor and his/her immediate family members. The Permanent Resident status is given on a conditional basis for 2 years. In the end of the two-year period (within 90 days before expiration) investor must file petition to remove the condition and receive unconditional permanent residence. Investor must demonstrate legitimate source of funds.

1. EB-5 – $1,000,000 (Standard)

•  The requisite amount of capital is $1,000,000.
• Investment must create 10 direct identifiable full-time jobs for U.S. citizens, “green card” holders, conditional residents, asylees and refugees within the commercial enterprise into which the investment was made.

2. EB-5 – $500,000 (TEA)

• Capital investment must be made in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) which is either an area with 150% unemployment rate of the national average or a rural area of less than 20,000 population
• Requisite capital amount is $500,000.

3. EB-5 – $500,000 (RC)

• Regional Center Pilot Program established in 1992 and recently extended provides for investments that are affiliated with an economic unit known as a “Regional Center” (RC).
• RC is a business entity that coordinates foreign investment within that area with the EB-5 statutory and regulatory framework.
• Requisite investment amount is $500,000.
• Allows for counting of “indirect jobs” created through investment towards the requisite number of full-time employees.
• RCs must focus of a region in the U.S.; promote economic growth in the area; create jobs directly and indirectly; and commit sufficient funds to promote and oversee capital investment opportunities in the RC.

We can gladly help you with your EB-5 case. Due to the many details involved for this type of process, it would be better to discuss this in further detail at a courtesy appointment or on a conference call.Please click here to schedule it.

Asylum is a protective form of immigration benefit granted to individuals who meet the definition of a “refugee”, but are physically present in the U.S. at the time of filing or asking for refuge.

A refugee is person who because of a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a social group is unwilling or unable to return to his country of origin and is unwilling or unable to avail himself of the protection of that country.

Affirmative asylums (before US Immigration services) must generally be filed one year of arrival to the U.S., unless extraordinary circumstances prevent applicant from doing so. However, asylum, along with withholding of removal, and withholding of removal under the U.N. Convention Against Torture (CAT), which can be sought before US Immigration Court.

We can gladly help you with your Asylum case. Due to the many details involved for this type of process, it is be better to discuss this in further detail at a courtesy appointment or on a conference call. Please click here to schedule it.

U.S. Immigration law allows US citizens and legal permanent residents to reunite with their loved ones, who in turn can themselves obtain permanent resident status or “green card”.

Not all family relationships serve as a basis to apply for LPR (lawful permanent resident) status.
There are a few basic categories:

IMMEDIATE RELATIVES

Immediate Relatives include the following relatives of U.S. citizens:

•  Spouses
• Minor unmarried children (under 21 years of age)
• Parents, provided the citizen petitioner is at least 21 years of age.

WIDOWS AND WIDOWERS

A widow or widower of a deceased U.S. citizen is eligible to petition for her- or himself and her or his children (under 21 years of age) if:

• Alien had been a spouse of a U.S. citizen for at least two years;
• Alien was not legally separated from the U.S. citizen at the time of the U.S. citizen’s death;
• Alien has not remarried at time of petition;
• Immigrant Relative Petition is filed within two years of the U.S. citizen’s death.

PREFERENCE IMMIGRANTS:

• First Preference: Unmarried sons or daughters of U.S. citizens (i.e., those who are 21 years of age or older)
• Second Preference:
  2A: Spouses or children of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence; or
  2B: Unmarried sons or daughters of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
• Third Preference: Married sons or daughters of U.S. citizens.
• Fourth Preference: Siblings of U.S. citizens, if such citizens are at least 21 years of age.

Each of these categories require different application procedures and have different processing times. Due to the many details involved for this process, it is better to discuss this in further detail at a courtesy appointment or on a conference call. Please click here to schedule it.

FAMILY-BASED VISAS

K-1/K-2; K-3/K-4: The K visa includes the fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen and his or her un-married children under 21 years of age as well as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and his or her unmarried children under 21 years of age. The K nonimmigrant is allowed to enter the United States and apply for permanent residence.

Removal of Conditions for Married Couple (Second “green card”).

If a couple has been married for less than two years at the time residency is granted, the alien will acquire conditional residence (CR) and will be required to later remove this condition.
A conditional resident (CR): may remove the condition on permanent residence by jointly filing a petition (Form I-751) with the U.S. citizen spouse within a 90-day period prior to the expiration of the second-year anniversary of the grant of conditional residence. The petition must be accompanied by evidence of a valid marriage.

In the event that the noncitizen spouse is unable to jointly file a petition to remove conditions (for example in a case of divorce), he or she may file the petition with a request for a waiver of the joint-filing requirement. Three such waivers exist, and may be granted if the noncitizen spouse can demonstrate any one of the following:

• Extreme hardship would result if the noncitizen spouse were to be removed;
• Qualifying marriage was entered into in good faith by the noncitizen spouse, but the ?qualifying marriage has been terminated (other than through the death of the citizen spouse);
• Marriage was entered into in good faith by the noncitizen spouse, but the noncitizen spouse was abused or subjected to extreme cruelty during the marriage.

Violence Against Women Act petitions – Permanent Residence for victims of domestic abuse.

If you or someone you know has been a victim or domestic violence or abuse, do not despair. There is a solution. The VAWA legislation allows spouse of US citizens or green card holders get permanent resident status in the United States through self- petitions if they have been subjected to extreme cruelty or battered by the US/LPR abuser spouses. If you are victim of domestic violence or abuse, you DO NOT have to suffer and DO NOT be afraid to call the police. Our firm has a n outstanding track record helping the victims of domestic violence obtain legal status in the US. Notably, an individual who obtained permanent resident status under VAWA may apply for naturalization (citizenship) only after 2 years and 9 months instead of the usual 4 years and 9 moths. Due to the many details involved for this type of application, it would be better to discuss this in further detail at a courtesy appointment or on a conference call. Your confidentiality is guaranteed. Please click here to schedule it.