Month: February 2021

Eb-5 Visa Investment Level Increase

EB-5 Investor Visa Reauthorization in June 2021. What you need to know.

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The EB-5 Regional Center program is facing reauthorization in June 2021. This has resulted in some uncertainty for current and future clients. Although we do not predict issues for people who file before June 30, there are ways to mitigate your risk:


1. If you are a D&A client, your case was recently approved and you reside outside of the US, we have already contacted the EB-5 unit at USCIS asking them to expedite the transfer of your file to the NVC so that visa processing can begin as soon as possible 

2. If your case was recently approved and you live in the US, we should file your Adjustment of Status application as soon as possible  

3. If your Form I-526 petition is still pending, you may wish to consider a Writ of Mandamus (more on this below)

Click here to learn more about the EB-5 Investor Visa
Click here to contact us to discuss your case directly

Background to Current EB-5 Situation

The EB-5 Regional Center program is currently authorized on a temporary basis.  This means that the program is authorized for a discrete period of time and then it expires unless the temporary authorization is extended.

The EB-5 RC Program is currently authorized through June 30, 2021.  This June 30 date is different than those prior authorization end dates because this is the first time that the EB-5  Program authorization is not tied in with the Federal budget appropriations bill.  In the past, when the budget bill would pass, it would mean the EB-5 RC Program would automatically be extended.  In December 2019 Congress decoupled the EB-5 RC Program authorization from the budget, so that means Congress needs to pass a separate bill to extend the EB-5 RC program.  
 
Senators Grassley and Leahy have a bill drafted that will extend the EB-5 RC Program permanently but it will need receive the approval votes of a majority of Senators to pass.  We are optimistic that it will pass in some format and thus there will be no interruption in the EB-5 RC Program.  However, until it passes, there is obviously some uncertainty on what might happen after June 30.  

USCIS has not given any clarity about what will happen (1) if there is a gap between June 30 and when a new EB-5 RC law is passed or (2) if Congress never passes a new EB-5 RC law and the EB-5 RC Program authorization permanently expires on June 30.  

Our View on Reauthorization of EB-5 RC Program

We are optimistic that in the scenario where there is a gap in time between June 30 and when a new law is passed it will not impact any EB-5 petitions that were filed prior to June 30, 2021.  There have been periods of time in the past when the federal budget did not pass in a timely manner and thus the EB-5 RC Program experienced short periods when it was unauthorized—those short periods of time when the EB-5 RC Program experienced a gap in authorization did not have any impact on the EB-5 applications that were pending with USCIS at the time.  We are also optimistic that even in the unlikely event that Congress never passes a new law that reauthorizes the EB-5 RC Program that USCIS will continue to process all EB-5 related benefits for those who had pending or approved Form I-526 petitions as of June 30.

IIUSA’s View on EB-5 RC Program Reauthorization

In the last two weeks a well-known and respected EB-5 lawyer presented IIUSA’s view on the EB-5 RC Program reauthorization. This view is that if the EB-5 Regional Center Program is not reauthorized, then anyone who is not in the United States on a “conditional green card” on June 30, 2021 will have their EB-5 application terminated and will then have to re-apply all over again (probably with fresh funds) if and when the program comes-back.

How This Impacts My Case

1.         What if I have not filed my EB-5 petition (I-526) before June 30, 2021?:

If the program is allowed to expire in June 2021, then you will be unable to obtain a U.S. green card through the EB-5 RC Program and you would have to wait to see if the EB-5 RC Program is brought back in the future.


2.         I have filed an I-526 but it is awaiting adjudication:

Although the risk may be small, under the IIUSA view your case would be terminated and you would have to make a fresh application in a new project in the future.



3.         I have an I-526 approval but I am awaiting a consular interview:

In this circumstance we believe that the risk to you is lower, although under the strict IIUSA view your case would still be terminated.
 

Writ of Mandamus

 If your Form I-526 petition is still pending, you may want to file a complaint against USCIS in Federal court as soon as possible to ask the court to issue a Writ of Mandamus (WoM) that will order USCIS to make a speedy decision on your case.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss this Writ of Mandamus option further.

While our firm has traditionally counselled clients that there is no guarantee with a WoM and that filing a WoM may in fact have no impact on their I-526 case until the I-526 filing has been pending for two years, the June 2021 reauthorization issue changes our views of the risks involved. Please note, filing a WOM requires an additional fee to be paid. 


Please note, EB-5 applications related to direct investment in a company (meaning NOT done through a Regional Center) are not impacted at all by this June 30 reauthorization date.Copyright © *2020* *Davies & Associates*, All rights reserved.


 This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.

Obtaining an E-2 Treaty Investor Visa Despite Travel Complexities of Covid-19: Case Study

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E-2 Treaty Investor Visa Approved for a Canadian National who applied at the US Consulate General in Sydney during the pandemic

By Verdie Atienza, Head of L-1 & E-2 Visa Practice

Prior to the lockdown, D&A started to work on an E-2 visa application for a Canadian national who was temporarily in Australia for a vacation. The original plan was to apply at the US Embassy in Toronto where new E-2 applications for Canadians are filed and processed. It is worth noting that the Department of State encourages nonimmigrant visa applicants to apply at the US Embassy or Consulate in their home country as they are in a better position to determine the ties to the home country.

Due to safety concerns, travel restrictions and lockdowns, our client decided that she wants to apply for the E-2 visa in Australia instead of traveling back to Canada. For this to be possible, we had to advise the client to apply for extension of temporary stay in Australia. The request was granted and so we prepared, finalized and submitted the application at the US Consulate in Sydney. While the applicant had to wait a little longer, she was scheduled to appear for interview and her application was approved at the end of the interview.

While the Department of State cautions applicants of higher chance of getting a denial by applying at the Embassy or Consulate other than the one in the home country, D&A successfully demonstrated the applicant’s ties to the home country. D&A prepared a strong E-2 application which meant that the client had a smooth interview experience.

What was the E-2 Business?

Our client is a Chief Executive Officer of a cosmetics company based in Hawaii. The company specializes in developing and selling sun care products to be used before, during, and after sun exposure. The E-2 Company is dedicated to developing innovative sunscreen formulas that meet the ever changing and evolving skin and sun care needs. The Company’s formulas combine effective cosmetic active and beneficial natural ingredients to create products that achieve the sustainable beauty, health, and wellness goals of modern women.

The E-2 Company’s products are developed in collaboration with a third-party contract manufacturer. The Company carefully selects high-quality ingredients to be used in the manufacturing process in order to develop high-quality, effective sun care products that will simultaneously help users achieve their tanning goals in a sustainable and healthy way.

What is the E-2 Treaty Investor Visa?

The  E2 Investment Visa allows a person to move to the US to set up or acquire a business. Applicants must come from a country that holds an E-2 Treaty with the United States. Both Canada and Australia hold E-2 Treaties with America.

People from countries that do not have an E-2 Treaty with the US have to first become citizens of E-2 Treaty countries, like Grenada or Turkey. Citizens of India, China and Vietnam are not directly eligible for an E-2 Visa.

There is no fixed investment requirement for an E-2 visa, but it is usually expected to be in excess of $100,000. Ultimately, however, the investment amount needs to be appropriate for the business being proposed. A business plan is required as part of the application and the consular officer will assess the E-2 application on the basis of this plan.

E-2 is a non-immigrant visa, which means it does not offer permanent residency. It can, however, be renewed permanently provided the underlying business continues to operate successfully.

National Interest Exception

This case study raises the issue of travel difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic. The United States border has been closed to people who have been in countries with especially bad outbreaks of the virus. This includes Schengen countries, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Davies & Associates has been able to obtain travel waivers for L-1 and E-2 visa clients from these countries. By building the case that it is in the economic interest of America to admit these people, the US authorities have granted special permission to travel.

Read more about National Interest Exceptions.

This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.

End of US Travel Ban Releases Pent-Up Demand from Nigeria

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President Biden’s decision to reverse President Trump’s travel ban has released pent up demand for US immigration services from Nigeria.

Nigeria was hit with a US travel ban in February 2020 after President Trump introduced new restrictions as part of his ongoing immigration reforms. The move added Nigeria and five other countries to what was widely referred to as a “Muslim Ban” that dated back to the start of his administration.

In Nigeria, where around half the population are Muslim, the ban specifically targeted those seeking permanent residency in the United States. This hit particularly hard in the family-based immigrant (Green Card) categories, but also effectively put a halt to the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program in the country.

EB-5 Visa Nigeria

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program had been growing rapidly in popularity in Nigeria over the past few years, albeit from a low base. In 2016, 38 EB-5 visa were issued to Nigerians, and by 2018 that number had jumped to almost 100.

The travel ban coincided with an increase in the minimum investment amount for EB-5 to $900,000 and then the outbreak of Covid-19. So a temporary dampening of demand in 2020 was likely with or without the travel ban.

But now EB-5 reopens and the pent-up demand is able to unleash. There are just over 700 EB-5 visas available to each country each year. This means Nigeria has a way to go before it hits its annual cap. But if its EB-5 growth trajectory resembles other countries like India, things could move fast.

The EB-5 program provides a fast route to a Green Card for a minimum $900,000 investment that creates ten jobs. Most people invest with an EB-5 Regional Center to help ensure compliance, but it is also possible to make the investment yourself through Direct EB5. A single investment can cover the primary applicant, a spouse, and any children under 21.

L-1 Visa Nigeria

Where we are seeing the most interest right now from Nigeria is the L-1 Intracompany Transfer Visa. Technically Nigerians were not prevented from applying for this visa as part of the travel ban, but it made the whole process much harder.

Then in June 2020, President Trump announced a worldwide ban on the L-1 visa among many other visas as part of his plans to contain the economic impact of Covid-19. The L-1 visa is only just reopening as Trump’s ban expires. The pent up demand has built up quite a queue worldwide, so it is a good idea to get started on an application.

The L-1A visa allows an international manager or executive to move from the Nigerian office to the US office of the same company. If you are looking to expand your business to the US, you can use the L-1 visa to move to the US to oversee the set-up and growth of the new office. The L-1B visa permits you to transfer an employee with “Specialized knowledge” to the US.

The L-1A visa is limited to a maximum of seven years and the L-1B for a maximum of 5 years. But you would not get the full amount in one go. Nigerian L-1 visas are issued up to a maximum of 2 years, at which time you would need to apply for a renewal. After the maximum period, you must switch to a different visa or return to Nigeria.

E2 Treaty Investor Visa Plus CBI

The other visa a lot of potential Nigerian clients ask us about is the E-2 Treaty Investor Visa. The E-2 visa allows a person to move to the US for the purposes of owning and operating a business. People use it to buy restaurant franchises or gas stations, but the business opportunities are much broader than this. You no longer even need physical premises.

The visa is hugely popular, but there is one catch for Nigerians. Nigeria does not hold an E-2 Treaty with the USA. This means that Nigerians seeking an E-2 visa need to first become citizens of a country that does have a treaty. The process is known as E-2 + CBI.

The two E-2 countries with the cheapest and fastest routes to citizenship are Turkey and Grenada. Turkish citizenship can be obtained with an investment in real estate from $250,000 or bank deposits worth more than $500,000. Grenadian citizenship can be obtained with a donation from $150,000 or a real estate investment from $220,000. Citizenship of both countries can be obtained in a matter of months.

The extra step can seem like a hassle, but we have helped clients through this prcoess and it is simpler than it sounds. Plus, for many, the E-2 visa is worth the effort. Spouses of the primary applicant can apply for a separate US work permit, investment requirements are relatively low, and the visa can be renewed forever – provided the business is still in good operation.

The combination of Covid-19 and a travel ban has hit Nigerian immigration to the United States hard. But the travel ban is lifting and the vaccination program is underway. The 2020s look set to be brighter for Nigerians hoping to move to the United States.

This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.

EB-5 Source of Funds for Italians Webinar

EB-5 Source of Funds for Italians. Webinar.

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Join Mark I. Davies, our chairman, and Matteo Tisato, Senior Immigration analyst in our Italy Practice for a webinar with EB5AN today at 2pm EST / 8pm Italy. Click the link below to register & the same link to view a recording after the event.

Register Here

Source of Funds for EB-5

In order to ensure the integrity of the EB-5 Investor Visa Program, applicants must be able to document where the funds used to pay for their Green Cards come from. An applicant must demonstrate that they are the owner of the funds being invested and that they came by these funds through legal means.

Since the total investment requirement for EB-5 is a minimum of $900,000, many of our clients need to pull together funds from multiple different sources. This can include wages, the sale of property, capital gains on investments, gifts from friends and family, as well as loans.

In reality this can be quite complicated, and your EB-5 immigration attorney will play a vital role in helping you to make strategic decisions about which funds to use for your EB-5 investment.

For example, you will need to prove that all taxes have been paid on the sources of income and that there is appropriate collateral against any loans.

Crucially, it is important that the relevant documents are translated into English. Therefore, it is very helpful to work with law firms with in-house Italian language capabilities. Matteo Tisato, our Senior Immigration Analyst, works with our Italian clients in this respect.

Davies & Associates Source of Funds team across the United States is highly experienced. They have dealt with hundreds of cases and have a 100% success rate in this aspect of the application.

What is EB-5?

The EB-5 visa grants a person US permanent residency (Green Card) in exchange for a minimum $900,000 investment. A single application and investment can include the primary applicant, their spouse, and any children under the age of 21.

In addition to documenting the Source of Funds, the other key requirements of EB5 are are

  • invest in a New Commercial Enterprise
  • create at least ten jobs
  • invest at least $900,000 in a Targeted Employment Area or $1.8 million outside of these areas.

To help ensure compliance with the rules and to minimize risks to the Green Card, the vast majority of EB-5 investors elect to work with a Regional Center, but it is possible to make and manage the investment yourself in so-called “Direct EB-5”.

Webinar

On today’s webinar, Mark and Matteo will be joined by Sam Silverman and Michael Schoenfeld, cofounders and managing partners of EB5 Affiliate Network (EB5AN). a leading EB-5 consultancy and Regional Center network.

Our appearance alongside EB5AN is in no way an endorsement of their work or projects. As a law firm we offer our clients impartial due diligence on their chosen Regional Center projects. Our attorneys assist clients with identifying the risks to both their Green Card and the return of their capital – whichever Regional Centers they shortlist.

The webinar is scheduled for Thursday, February 18, 2021 and will share valuable information on the challenges EB-5 investors face with respect to of source-of-funds documentation. The webinar will break down this complicated issue for an Italian audience, with Matteo from our Italy team on hand to provide translation into Italian where necessary.

The EB-5 program faces reauthorization at the end of June 2021. The likelihood is that the program will continue, given the large number of jobs it creates and the billions of dollars in investment it brings to the United States. Yet, nothing can be taken for granted. Anyone considering the program should consider acting before the end of June. Given the time it takes to document Source of Funds to prepare an application, the time to start is now.

Please click here to register for the webinar, or to view a recording of the webinar.

This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.

FEMA-Compliant Immigration: Remitting Funds from India at the Beginning & End of the Financial Year

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The Indian government limits the amount of money a person can take out of the country each year, which can present hurdles to emigration. But a quirk of the system offers an opportunity at the end of the tax year in March.

Since 2015, the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) introduced by the Royal Bank of India under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) limits the amount of money a person can take out of India each financial year to a maximum of $250,000. Whilst this is a vast sum of money for most, these limits can actually be too low for people seeking investment and business immigration.

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa from India

Citizenship and residency by investment programs usually require considerably more than $250,000. For example, the United States EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, requires a minimum investment of $900,000 per family.

Theoretically, it would take four financial years for a single person to remit the necessary funds to pay for EB-5. But in practice, most applicants get friends and families to use their annual remittance allowance to build up the necessary funds in a shorter period of time.

This has implications for documenting the Source of Funds used to pay for EB-5. Each dollar needs to come from legitimate sources and should be adequately accounted for. Any funds being gifted by a relative need to go through the same rigorous scrutiny as your own.

Read more EB-5 Visa for Indians

Split Remittances

Yet some of our Indian clients adopt a different approach. The financial year in India resets on April 1. This means it is possible to transfer $250,000 in March and a further $250,000 a month later in April. That brings the total to $500,000 per person in a short space of time.

Many of our EB-5 clients move with a spouse who would be part of the same investment and application. (A single application and single investment leads to Green Cards for the primary applicant, any spouse and children under the age of 21). So, if both spouses remitted in this way, the applicant family is at $1,000,000 without the need to involve extended family.

The majority of our remaining clients are younger adults, often recent graduates hopeful of staying in the US, but concerned with H-1B or having used up the maximum time allowable on this visa. They often have parental support. Again, using the March/April time period, allows the applicant and a parent to make up the necessary funds.

E-2 Treaty Investor Visa from India

Demand for EB-5 visa from india has become more stable after skyrocketing over the past five years. It is now the turn of the E-2 visa to become the new frontier in Indian immigration to the United States.

The E-2 Visa allows a person to move to the US with their family for the purposes of owning and operating a business. The investment level is usually much lower, and regularly falls well under the annual remittance allowance. Broadly speaking, it should be more than $100,000, but the key is to make sure the investment level would support the needs of the business you are buying or starting.

But here is the rub. Indians are not directly eligible because India does not hold a relevant treaty with the United States. Indian have to first become citizens of an E-2 Treaty country to become eligible. It is not as complicated as it sounds, and we have helped a number of Indian clients move to America in this way.

The E-2 country with the fastest and cheapest route to citizenship is Grenada in the West Indies. It requires an investment in real estate from $220,000 or a donation to the public funds from $150,000. Alone, either the investment or the donation route is below India’s annual remittance cap. But, when combined with your E-2 investment, you quickly surpass the annual limit.

Read more about Grenada Citizenship by Investment

Spouses using both their allowances can aggregate their annual allowance to $500,000 which should be sufficient. But where this is not possible, or where more money is required, the March / April split remittances may prove useful.

With the India to Grenada to E-2 route, there is also more room for manoeuvre with the timings. With EB-5 a client is expected to have all the funds pretty much at once depending on the EB-5 Regional Center you are investing with. But with Grenada and E-2, you can neatly divide the process into two sections and pursue Grenada and then E-2 in different financial years.

But note, the whole India to Grenada to E-2 process is fast. It can take less than nine months in total. So, with this in mind, so the March/April window can still be crucial in certain circumstances.

Living Expenses

So far, we have only talked about remitting the funds needed to secure the immigration status. You need a place to live and money to spend on personal expenses and school fees until you have found work or your business is turning a profit.

All these day-to-day expenses would need to be included in the remittance calculations, enhancing the case for splitting payments around the start and end of the financial year.

Wider World

The United States is not the only destination we serve at Davies & Associates, and it is by no means the only place Indians wish to emigrate. Whether you want to move to the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Italy or beyond, you need to consider the limitations posed by the Liberalised Remittance Scheme at the very start of the process.

The window for moving more than $250,000 money in a legally compliant way is now open, but will close again in April. People considering emigrating in the short to medium term may wish to make use of the FY2020-21 remittance allowance to keep their options open over the coming year.

Davies & Associates can help with all of this. Everyone’s circumstances are different. It is best to contact us to discuss your specific situation to work out how your immigration goals can be met in a FEMA-compliant way.

This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.

Business Immigration from the UK to the USA

Business Immigration from the UK to the USA

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Political headwinds have left entrepreneurs and business owners looking for more effective ways to trade. Namely, moving to the source and setting up a business in America.

The United Kingdom is America’s seventh largest trading partner with imports from the UK totalling $125 billion and exports to the UK exceeding $147 billion in 2019.

While bilateral trade grew to an all time high before the pandemic, Trump administration policies have been making things harder for certain sectors. A trade dispute with the European Union over subsidies to Airbus resulted in tariffs being imposed on a number of British products. The Scotch whisky industry, for example, was hit by a 25% tariff on its exports to the US market.

Things should start changing as a result of Brexit and the inauguration of President Biden, but there has not yet been any hurry to remove these tariffs on the US side. Moreover, continued uncertainty around the future of trade and globalization has left many business leaders asking how they can do things differently to hedge against future instability.

As a result, we have seen an increase in the number of people coming to our firm to discuss business immigration options. Not just from Great Britain, but from across the European Union – from Germany, France, the Netherlands and beyond.

There is increased interest in business expansion to the United States, as well as with people wishing to set-up new enterprises. The good news is that, being a land of commerce, the U.S. has multiple options for just such people.

The L-1 Intracompany Transfer Visa

The L-1A Visa allows a manager or executive level employee to move from the British office to the US office of the same company. More than 10,000 L-1 visas were issued to Brits in 2010. Many of them work at large multinationals and move between established offices.

Yet, the L-1 can also be used to set-up and grow a new office in America. Businesses who do not yet have a presence in America can set one up and then transfer a senior-level employee to manage the business on an L-1 visa. D&A’s L-1 Visa can take care of the company formation as well as the immigration work.

The L-1 is a time limited, non-immigrant visa. British people are granted an initial visa of up to a maximum of 60 months (five years). New office L-1s are granted for a much shorter period so the authorities can monitor the progress for the business. Yet, these visas can be renewed – up to a maximum of seven years for an L-1A visa. There is also an L-1B route for people in the company with “specialized knowledge”. This is limited to a maximum of five years. To remain in the United States for longer, an L-1 visa beneficiary must switch to a different visa. The EB-1C and EB-3 visas offer permanent residency and fit well with the L-1 visa.

Click here to visit our UK L-1 Visa Page

E-2 Treaty Investor Visa

The E-2 Visa allows a person to move to the United States to operate a business. To qualify for the E-2 visa, a person must be a citizen of a country that holds a relevant treaty with the United States. The United Kingdom holds the oldest such treaty, dating back more than 200 years.

Click here to visit our UK E-2 Visa webpage

Eligibility is determined by citizenship, so if you were born outside the UK and subsequently became a British citizen, you would still eligible. This contrasts favorably with U.S. family-based and employment-based immigrant visa categories, where eligibility is determined by your country of birth.

There is no stipulated investment amount, but it must be credible to support the business plan. Generally speaking, it should be upwards of around $100,000.

Unlike the L-1, the E-2 visa can be renewed indefinitely provided the underlying business continues to trade and meets its targets. The maximum length of time an E-2 visa can be issued for is five years, at which point a renewal is required.

Family of both L-1 and E-2 visa holders can move from the UK to the US with the primary applicant. That includes a spouse and any children under the age of 21. Spouses can apply to work in the United States and often clients arrange their E-2 visa around the spouse’s career ambitions.

Visit our UK E2 Visa Center

E-2 Basics
Application Process
Core Requirements
Finding an E-2 Business
Renewals
UK E-2 Visas

EB-5 Visa

To have true freedom to work in the United States (and indeed study or retire), permanent residency is the best course of action. One of the fastest routes to a Green Card for UK nationals is the EB-5 Investor Visa. It offers a quick path to a Green Card for a $900,000 investment. This is cheaper than the UK’s own investor visa program, which starts from £2 million and increases in value if you wish to reduce the time period before your wish to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

The number of EB-5 visas available to each country each year is just over 700. The United Kingdom is not close to using up its quota, so there is no oversubscription or waiting list for UK EB-5. However, your EB-5 quota depends upon your country of birth. So, for example, an Indian-born British citizen would count under India’s quota. Given India’s population size and the popularity of the United States as a destination, India is often close to its annual cap.

Davies & Associates is one of the most well established EB-5 law firms in India. We have helped many Indian families successfully apply for their EB-5 visas and have been consistently quoted on the subject in the Indian media. Our Russian speaking lawyers and paralegals are also well placed to help the Russian community in the UK with their US immigration goals.

UK Solutions for Americans

Trade cuts both ways and Americans are inevitably also interested in UK visas. The United Kingdom is still gearing up its post-Brexit immigration system, but there are plenty of opportunities for American business owners and entrepreneurs. There is a UK intracompany transfer visa, which is similar to the L-1 Visa. There is a Sole Representative Visa, which has some similarities to the new office type of L-1 visa. The UK also has a start-up and innovator visas designed to attract innovative, scalable and viable technologies to the United Kingdom.

Davies & Associates is uniquely placed to help Brits looking to move to America and vice versa. Our chairman and founder is a Brit who migrated to America many years ago. Our core teams sit in New York, Chicago and London. Contact us today to discuss your specific circumstances.

This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.

Client Q & A on Eb-2 Visa

Switching from an E-2 Treaty Investor Visa to an O-1 Extraordinary Ability Visa: Client Case Study

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By Verdie Atienza, Senior Immigration Attorney, Head of L-1 & E-2 Visa Practice

In 2015, D&A assisted a Romanian national to apply for E-2 Business Visa by investing $100,000 in a start-up company. The company specializes in intellectual property assets technical and financial consulting with a focus in global brokerage and facilitation of Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) addresses and AS Numbers.

Despite having grown into a multi-million-dollar private company, the company has not been able to meet its employment targets within 5 years because it made better business sense to employ independent contractors. The E-2 Visa requires a business plan as part of the application, which helps the authorities with the subsequent evaluation at the time of renewal.

As the E-2 visa was about to expire, we advised the client that renewing the visa prove to be very challenging due to the employment situation. D&A discussed all other options for the client and it was determined that the client may have a good chance of qualifying for the O-1A category based on his credentials and qualifications.

O-1A is for people with extraordinary ability in education, business, science or the arts.

Since the client has established networks in the US through his E-2 company, it was easy for him to find a petitioning US employer. Since the US employer has been a client of the E-2 company and since they saw how valuable the client us based on his expertise and experience, they did not hesitate in filing a petition for our client.

D&A filed the petition for our client as a person of extraordinary ability to occupy the position of  Global Internet Resources Manager and Facilitator.  In the petition, we carefully outlined as to how the client meets the requirements for an individual to be classified as someone with extraordinary ability in his field.

With a tailor-fit solution, the client no longer has to leave the US despite the inability to renew the E-2 visa. With a change of status application approved, he and his family maintain their lawful nonimmigrant status for an additional period of three years on O-1A status. Should they need to depart the US prior to the expiration of the three-year period, they can apply for the O-1 visa at a US Embassy or Consulate by submitting an application and presenting the O-1A approval notice.

The E-2 Treaty Investor Visa allows a beneficiary to move to the United States to run a business. It is a non-immigrant visa in that it does not offer a Green Card, but our attorneys are able to advise on options for transitioning to a Green Card at a later stage. The visa is also renewable indefinitely provided the underlying business is still operating and meeting its targets.

There are not annual quotas or caps for the E-2 visa based upon country of origin. However, eligibility is determined by the applicant’s country of citizenship. You must hold citizenship of a country with an E-2 Treaty with the United States. If you do not, please contact our attorneys. We have helped people from non-E2-treaty countries like India and Vietnam become citizens of E-2 Treaty countries like Turkey and Grenada.

The O-1 Visa is available to people with extraordinary ability. It is also a non-immigrant visa, which means it does not offer a Green Card. However, it is possible to subsequently switch to a Green Card through the EB-1A Visa. Applicants for EB-1A visa from India and China are subject to a short wait because the category is capped annually by country and both countries are slightly oversubscribed. Please see our most recent blog post on the Visa Bulletin to understand this in greater detail.

This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.

March Visa Bulletin Analysis: EB-5 Visa Wait Times Explained

February Visa Bulletin Analysis: EB-5 Visa Wait Times Explained

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The Department of State has issued its February Visa bulletin detailing the latest shifts in the Final Action Dates for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program among other employment and family-based visas.

For EB-5, the February Visa Bulletin looks much the same as the January Visa Bulletin. As in January, the only change over the previous month is a two week progression in the Final Action Dates of Vietnamese applicants from September 15, 2017 to October 1, 2017. The Final Action Date for Chinese applicants has, once again, remained static on August 15, 2015.

All other countries are listed as “C” or current. This continues to include India, which had been subjected to an EB-5 visa waiting list known as “visa retrogression” as recently as July 2020.

What this means is that there is expected to be an EB-5 visa available in the current annual quota for anyone born outside China and Vietnam. This means an applicant can progress immediately with their EB-5 application.

The reason for the waiting list is that the number of EB-5 Investor Visas available is limited to just over 700 visas per country per year. Your EB-5 quota is determined by your country of birth. So if your country of citizenship has changed since birth, your eligibility is still determined by where you were born and not where you currently live.

Priority Dates

EB-5 applicants are issued with a priority date, which is the date at which their application was received by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

For Chinese and Vietnamese applicants, if your priority date is after the date listed under your country in the visa bulletin, you must continue to wait. Eventually the date listed in the visa bulletin will move to a point at which you can proceed with your application. For example, the latest movements of two weeks in Vietnam would affect a small number of applicants who have their priority dates in a two-week window between September 15, 2017 and October 1, 2017.

The dates listed in the visa bulletin can move backwards as well as forwards. The dates are calculated upon assumptions and an averaging of current demand, success rates, and the numbers of visas per application.

For example, one application can include multiple family members each requiring their own visa. In an extreme scenario, an applicant might have a spouse and ten children. That would mean one application would take up 12 of the visas available in the annual quota.

The new administration of President Biden is looking at whether it is feasible to separate dependent family members out of the annual quotas. This would quickly make a dent in the waiting lists.

Date for Filing

The visa bulletin also contains a second set of dates called “Dates for Filing”. This is when you could submit a visa application to the National Visa Center even though there is not yet expected to be a visa available. This is partly to provide some preparation time, but is especially aimed at applicants already living in the U.S. on other visas filing an Adjustment of Status (AOS). Under such circumstances this may have an impact on the applicants ability to continue working legally in the United States.

There was not change to the Date for Filing from the previous month. People from Vietnam can progress ahead, but the date for filing for China-born applicants remains static at December 15, 2015.

Final Action Dates February Visa Bulletin

EB-3 Visa for Highly Skilled Workers

Indians are the main group affected by a waiting list for the EB-3 visa category for highly-skilled workers. The EB-3 is the immigrant (permanent residency) counterpart to the H-1B Visa. Progress remains glacial with little more than a one-week forward movement for Indians from March 22, 2010 to April 1, 2010. The only other country facing visa retrogression is China which moved from December 15, 2017 to January 1, 2018.

The long delay to Indian EB-3 is one of the reasons behind proposals by the Biden administration to remove country caps for employment-based visas. This will significantly assist Indians in the EB-3 Visa category and Chinese in the EB-5 Visa category. This would be great news for applicants who have been queuing for years, but could subject new applicants to long delays.

The annual quota system does not take account of population size. So China and India, with the world’s first and second largest populations, have the same quota as Liechtenstein and San Marino, with fewer than 40,000 inhabitants each. This, combined with a long history of emigration to America, explains why China, India and Vietnam feature so heavily in the Visa Bulletin.

This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.

L-1A Intracompany Transfer Visa Client Testimonial

India L-1 Visa Client Testimonial

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Davies & Associates helped a client from India obtain an L-1A Intracompany Transfer Visa despite the pandemic. The L-1A Visa allows for the transfer of a management or executive-level employee from the overseas office to the US office of the same company. The L-1B Visa allows the same for an employee with specialized knowledge.

It is possible to set-up a new US office and transfer yourself or a member of staff to the U.S. to grow the U.S. operation. L-1 Visa applicants can take a spouse and children under the age of 21 with them. Spouses can apply for work authorization.

The L-1A Visa is limited to a maximum of 7 years and the L-1B visa is limited for a maximum of 5 years. The validity of the initial visa will be less than the maximum and initial validity depends upon country of origin and whether or not the applicant is applying for a New Office L1.

The L-1 has no annual quotas. It is possible to transition to a Green Card. Typically this is through the EB-1C visa but the EB-3 visa is also an applicable option.

Learn more about the L-1 Visa by clicking here.

View our latest L-1 Visa Client Testimonial Here

In the words of the client:

“I am pleased to say that with the help of Davies and associates actually significant amount of help from them we have made a successful application and in the next few weeks i will start my new role with my uh existing uh organization uh nowhere was i felt that you know this is out of depth very very clear expectations in terms of uh personal documents that are needed workplace documents that are needed subsidiary company documents that are needed you know and this is the first attempt from my organization site to uh transfer uh indian workers uh or indian managers i would say uh to the us uh for uh managerial and senior managerial roles it took us some time there were a few road uh roadblocks along the way where um suddenly due to cove 19 the u.s immigration services made a temporary ban on issuance of visa but the organization which is u.s immigration services division associates were very very clear in communicating to me that this is a temporary hurdle and there are uh options available to us right so yes it took us nine months uh with certain changes uh significant changes in the u.s immigration policy and yet nine months later we’ve had a successful application converted to a visa for three years and uh i myself am going to be going back to them uh for a eb1c um later this year so yes overall they’re 10 on 10 in terms of feedback in terms of transparency of the process documentation was up to mark in fact there was a point where i was kind of wondering the amount of documentation that we have generated would somebody actually read through it and they actually read through everything they designed a business plan around the documents that were submitted uh and we moved forward very very quickly uh once everything was you know as per expectation so they kept going back to the drawing board until they were satisfied that the us immigration services will be satisfied with the uh our case application that we have provided and you know that’s the type of people you want in your team uh when you’re making uh an application uh visa application in a challenging uh immigration policy environment that we faced in 2020 so overall i i just want to say thank you and i appreciate all the hard work that uh Davies and associates and their consultants and their lawyers did on my behalf so thank you very much Davies and associates we’re a full service immigration law firm we have a core team of immigration specialists that will guide you through every step of the visa process in addition to that we have a core corporate team our corporate lawyers assist our foreign clients such as investors entrepreneurs foreign businesses seeking to expand or invest into the united states with a full suite of corporate services this can involve company formation and the drafting of key corporate documents establishing the u.s bank accounts and getting the necessary tax id numbers reviewing a commercial lease amongst many other items that our clients find necessary and useful for their business in their early stage operations in the united states”

This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.