Month: June 2021

We assisted our Chilean client working in the field of astronomy with obtaining an EB-2 Visa. Learn about the process from his perspective.

1. Why did you want to move to America?

This idea to execute a major life change started early in my career when I came to the USA under a Work and Travel program when finishing my studies for electronic engineering. There I learned the American culture embraces people from overseas without any distinction (at least I felt it that way). The society in the U.S. has such a strong basis that allows people to care for themselves and to cooperate with their peers, also, it encourages us to bring the best of ourselves. That simple aspect is something I don’t see quite often in my home country. In terms of career opportunities, America is home for cutting-edge research and development, things that are encouraged in college but later really hard to follow when doing normal jobs in my home country. On the other hand, the main activities in the USA are focused on adding value by creating new products and ideas and not just maintain things working without creating any new value at all. In conclusion, I will be able to fully develop my career in a country where I feel welcomed, cherished, and inspired while enhancing my family’s possibilities.

2. What were the reasons for choosing the EB-2 visa?

The employment-based visa on the second category is the best suited to my credentials since it is focused on bringing to the U.S. highly skilled professional holding advanced degrees (or a combination of degree plus experience). I saw this visa class years ago when I ended college and realize that I would need to demonstrate great qualifications if I would like to be considered for permanent residency in the future. Now 11 years later I recalled this possibility and got the chance to present all my developments through the jobs I performed, and fortunately, they were good enough to be entitled to a U.S. visa.

3. Describe the process for obtaining the EB-2 Visa

First, we started discussing with D&A if my credentials were worthy of being defended by them before the USCIS. The firm studied the content I provided and accepted to represent my case to the USCIS. We then started a process where the firm produced a comprehensive document package that included a detailed introduction to the job field, recommendation letters, government forms, and personal documentation to name the main delivered papers, in short, about a 500-pages long presentation. The document package was reviewed by the USCIS and in about a year they sent their approval notice, allowing us to move forward with the NVC to verify the civil information for each people traveling is in proper shape to produce the visas. Finally, the process culminates with a medical examination and an interview at the consulate where the final checks are performed before proceed stamping the visas on each passport. The whole process from the signature accepting D&A terms until receiving my visa took two years and a half.

4. What obstacles did we encounter along the way and how we overcome these obstacles?

The process in general went smoothly. However, when producing the presentation to the USCIS, we had difficulties documenting my accomplishments of electronic engineering in the field of astronomy since it was way out of the ordinary cases. For this, D&A struggled to bring down to earth all the specifics of showing the things done in the astronomy field. In the end, this extra effort paid off as no request for evidence was issued by the USCIS, saving us a good amount of months preparing additional documents.

5. How did the Covid-19 pandemic impact your application?

Last year, the former U.S. president created several presidential proclamations tackling immigration. One of them specifically targeting employment-based immigration such as my case. The presidential proclamation was lifted at the end of February and my application to the NVC was ready a month before. So I can say COVID-19 delayed my application by one month. Regarding the USCIS, I know they were working with less staff than before, but my immigrant petition processing took more or less than the expected time, which is about a year.

6. Why did you choose D&A?

I did find D&A after searching for immigration attorneys that had a presence in my country, so I could start discussing my possibilities with a local attorney first. I could see through the D&A webpage that this firm has solid expertise in a wide variety of visas, with tailor-made solutions to specific types of applicants according to their nationality. I would say the great experience in obtaining successful cases made me gain enough confidence to seek my chances of obtaining a visa with them.

7. Would you recommend D&A to a friend or colleague?

From my experience in this process, I would undoubtedly recommend my contacts to work with D&A. I was quite impressed to see how deep the firm makes their research to provide a strong background of every project I was involved in, their produce highly appealing recommendation letters based on the experience of each recommender highlighting the professional traits they see in me. Besides, the firm provides further guidance to the entire immigration process, maintaining fluid communication in each step, resolving any inquiries I might have.

8. Is there anything else that you think would be of use to other people considering a similar move to the US.

If you feel your family and professional prospects can be benefited by coming to the U.S, I encourage you to assess your options and contact D&A for assistance in determining what are your best chances to get permanent residency in the U.S. The assessment provided by D&A will be very handy in confirming your visa choice is the best one or if there is a better way to get the desired residency. I can assure you won’t regret working along with D&A.

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.