We would like to wish you and your families happy holidays and all the best in the new year. What are your new years resolutions? We would love to hear them. Thank you for trusting our office to handle your immigration needs. If you would like to learn more about the services we offer please visit our website. To schedule a first time consultation, please contact our office.
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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick sits down with Real Talk San Diego to discuss our diverse immigration practice. Our office specializes in all aspects of immigration and nationality law. We assist entrepreneurs and investors who wish to come to the United States to set up and start their businesses in this country, foreign spouses and fiances of US Citizens who wish to immigrate to the United States, as well as students, engineers, athletes, musicians, hospitality workers, nurses, and other foreign workers who wish to live and work in the United States for a temporary period of time. We also specialize in assisting foreign workers obtain permanent residency through their employers. But that’s not all. To discover all that we have to offer please visit our website. If you are interested in exploring your options please contact our office to schedule a first time consultation. Our attorneys and staff members are fluent in Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Hebrew, French and Russian.
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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick speaks with personal injury attorney Mitch Jackson and gives viewers insights on how to secure a job in the United States as a foreign worker, how to penetrate the market, and stand out from the crowd.
Overview:
For more tips please keep watching.
To purchase Jacob’s book My American Job please click here.
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Breaking news, a federal judge for the District of Columbia, issued a ruling in the lawsuit, National Venture Capital Association, et.al. v. Duke, et. al, overturning the government’s delay of the International Entrepreneur Rule. This means that international entrepreneurs may now apply for parole under the rule as of Friday, December 1, 2017. The caveat, however, is that since the ruling was just handed down on Friday, no application has yet been released to apply under the rule, and the current parole application is not suited for the rule. It is expected that the government will soon issue a statement regarding the court’s decision and provide further guidance on what form to use.
In its decision, the judge ruled that the Department of Homeland Security unlawfully delayed enforcement of the rule, when it postponed the rule from going into effect just days before the rule was set to go into effect on July 17, 2017, without following the appropriate notice-and-comment procedure required by the Administrative Procedure Act.
Entrepreneurs must keep in mind that the the Trump administration may appeal the federal judge’s decision, or continue with their plans to rescind the rule, but as it now stands the government must accept applications for the international entrepreneur rule, even if the administration continues with their plans to rescind the rule.
What is the IER?
The rule makes it easier for eligible start-up entrepreneurs to obtain temporary permission to enter the United States for a period of 30 months, or 2.5 years, through a process known as “parole,” for the purpose of starting or scaling their start-up business enterprise in the United States. The decision about whether to “parole” a foreign entrepreneur under this rule will be a discretionary determination made by the Secretary of Homeland Security on a case-by-case basis (INA Section 212(d)(5), 8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)).
“Parole” will be granted to eligible entrepreneurs who can demonstrate that their company’s business operations are of significant public benefit to the United States by providing evidence of substantial and demonstrated potential for rapid business growth and job creation. Such demonstrated potential for rapid growth and job creation may be evidenced by: (1) significant capital investment from U.S. investors with established records of successful investments or (2) attainment of significant awards or grants from certain Federal, State, or local government entities.
In this post, Attorney Jacob Sapochnick Esq, gives you his tips for a successful K-1 Fiancé Visa Interview.
Processing Times and Procedure:
Since a K-1 visa can take anywhere from 6 months or longer, it is imperative that you submit an application well in advance of your intended date of travel. This will provide you with a buffer should your application take longer than expected.
Although a K-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa, the application process is very lengthy due to its inherent benefit of conferring immigrant status to the foreign fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen. As a result, it is important to begin the process as early as you possibly can. This is especially critical, because United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processes applications on a first-come-first-served basis. Given that there are different stages involved in the K-1 visa process, this can potentially increase your overall wait time for the visa. For example, to begin the K-1 process, your U.S. fiancé(e) must first file a Form I-129F petition with USCIS, and it may take a couple months before USCIS approves the petition, depending on the number of cases ahead of yours.
To learn more about the K-1 Fiancé visa please click here.
Read our K-1 Fiancé visa guide here.
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In this video, attorney Jacob J. Sapochnick sits down with international business students studying at INSEAD, a graduate business school in France. Jacob asks them a burning question: Despite all of the obstacles foreign workers face in immigrating to the United States, and the President’s hard-line stance on immigration, are foreign workers still interested in living and working in the United States? Click here to join the conversation.
To learn more about the different visa services we offer please visit our website.
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In this video, attorney Jacob J. Sapochnick discusses the most popular visa options for hospitality workers. For more information just keep on watching.
Overview:
The top visas used by Hotels and Restaurants to bring foreign workers to the United States are the J-1, H-3, H-2B, L-1, E-2, TN, and H-1B visas. Whether transferring employees between international properties or employing management trainees, immigration is an integral part of the hospitality industry. The appropriate visa type will largely depend upon the foreign worker’s qualifications and the type of position the worker will be occupying.
The J-1 visa
The J-1 visa is a cultural exchange program between the United States and foreign countries bringing foreign workers to the United States. There are 2 types of J-1 visas. The first category is a trainee J-1 visa. To qualify the trainee must have at least 5 years of experience working in the position or a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, with at least 1 year of experience. Workers who come to the United States on a J-1 trainee visa, may work in the United States for a hotel or restaurant for a period of 18 months. The J-1 trainee visa allows the foreign worker to develop their skills, gain experience, and return to their home countries taking those skills with them. The second category is for interns, who are in school in their home country or have recently graduated, and have less than 1 year of experience. Interns may come to the United States for a 1 year period to train in a hotel or restaurant. The work and travel category of the J-1 allows foreign workers to come to the United States for up to 4 months during the summer time. The J-1 visa is generally an easy visa to obtain. It takes approximately 6 weeks for this visa to get approved by the Department of State.
In this Facebook live stream, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses immigration under President Donald Trump, and pressing issues that have recently been the subject of much debate in the news, including the President’s desire to end the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, a program that has come under fire after it came to light that the New York City terrorist Saifullo Saipov gained admission to the United States through this program. In addition, Jacob answers your immigration questions.
Overview:
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program
The Diversity Immigrant Visa program is a program enacted by Congress, which allocates up to 50,000 immigrant visas per fiscal year to a special class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants.” Each fiscal year diversity applicants register for the visa program electronically at no cost. Applicant entries are selected at random through a computerized “lottery” system to allocate the 50,000 available immigrant visas for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Only diversity immigrants who are natives of countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States qualify for the Diversity Immigrant Visa program.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program was established in the 1990s under President George Bush, Sr. for the purpose of making the flow of legal immigration to the United States more diverse. The program sought to give foreign nationals from select countries, the opportunity to gain admission to the United States, provided they were born in countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States, to put them on a more equal footing with foreign nationals with historically high rates of immigration. In this way Congress hoped that the American demographic would become more diverse.
In this post, Attorney Jacob Sapochnick Esq, will explain whether franchises qualify for the E2 Investor Visa.
What is an E2 Visa?
The Treaty Investor Visa (nonimmigrant E-2 classification) is intended for nationals of a foreign country with which a qualifying Treaty of friendship, commerce, navigation, or a similar agreement exists with the United States.
Nationals (individuals or companies) of countries with such Treaties with the United States can obtain visas to work in the USA in order to develop and direct their investment with the USA. E-2 visa is for individuals coming to the U.S. to invest a substantial amount of capital or to direct and develop the business operations of an entity in which the individual has already invested funds.
Do Franchises qualify for E2 Investor Visa?
Yes, most franchises will be a good fit for this type of visa, however not all franchises will qualify. For example, in order for the application to be successful, the investor must assume an active role in the management of the franchise business. If your franchise meets this requirement, then it is possible for your franchise to qualify for the E-2 visa.
Secondly, the franchise must create jobs for U.S. workers. The investor must hire U.S. staff and employees to fill various roles within the franchise. The investor must also hire management staff with the appropriate experience to fill certain key positions in the business.The investor must also ensure that he is involved in some sort of decision making role within the franchise business’s organizational structure.
Third, the amount of money that is required to secure the franchise must be reasonable in order to obtain the E-2 visa. Franchises that require $50,000 or less will likely not satisfy the investment requirements of the E-2 visa. Franchises that require $100,000 or more are more likely to be successful in satisfying such requirements.
Does the investor Need to Buy the Business Before applying for an E-2 Investor Visa?
Establishing a business in the United States is regarded as a key requirement for buyers that are applying for an E-2 visa.
The best course of action is to place the monies that will be used to purchase the business in an escrow account in the United States. In the visa application it is possible to state that the purchase of the business is contingent on the approval of the E-2 Visa and will be finalized once the approval is obtained. It is also important to get all the documents from the Franchise processed, so that a full package can be presented to the US Immigration when filing for the visa application.
For more information click here for our E2 resource page. For legal advice please contact our office. Also remember to follow us on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram
In this video, attorney Jacob J. Sapochnick, explains the process of applying for an E-2 visa and the steps involved in that process. The E-2 visa is a non-immigrant visa type (temporary) that allows foreign entrepreneurs from treaty nations to enter the United States and carry out investment and trade activities.
Overview:
The E-2 ‘investor visa’ is available to an applicant who invests a substantial amount of his own money into a U.S. business, which he can control and direct. This visa type is a great option for individuals who wish to invest their money to purchase an existing business or to start up a new one.
In order to qualify for the E-2 visa, you must be a foreign national of a country that has a treaty-trader agreement with the United States.
The following countries have treaties with the United States that allow qualifying nationals to apply for Treaty Trader status:
Immigration Lawyer Blog