EB-1, E-2 Visa for NIEs during Covid

Biden Administration Announces Plan to Improve Visa Processing Times

The Biden Administration has announced that it is prioritizing the need to grapple with visa waiting lists. To that end, it plans stricter internal processing targets, as well as the expansion of premium processing whereby applicants pay extra for a swift adjudication. Waiting times have extended because of Trump-era policies combined with the Covid-pandemic shutdowns.

Premium Processing

Premium Processing is an expedited option open to certain visa applicants who pay extra (currently $2,500) to secure a quicker adjudication (within fourteen business days). The planned expansion of premium processing would include anyone applying as a non-immigrant worker under Form I-129 – this includes the O-1 Visa, the H-1B Visa, the L-1 Visa, etc. Although, some of these visa categories covered were already eligible for premium processing.

Premium processing will also now apply to anyone seeking a Green Card through the EB-1 Visa (Extraordinary Ability Visa), EB-2 Visa (Advanced Degree Visa, Extraordinary Ability Visa) and EB-3 (Skilled Worker Visa). The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will make a phased introduction of the new rules and will work to ensure that the expansion of premium processing does not adversely affect the processing times of non-premium-processing applicants.

Internal Visa Processing Improvements

New internal targets are being introduced with the aim of speeding up processing times for all visas. The Administration hopes to utilize improved technology and increased staffing as a way to reduce waiting lists. According to USCIS, the new internal targets should be met by the end of 2023.

The commitment to reduce waiting lists represents a significant shift in tone from the US government and is great news for aspiring immigrants across the board. A more nimble, better staffed USCIS, assisted by better technology, will mean a smoother immigration process for all. Of course, Administrations change and clients are advised to keep up to date on US politics so that they understand how things can change over time.


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.


Immigration in Food Industry

O-1 Talent Visa Petition Approved for Chef of Michelin-Guide Recommended Italian Restaurant in NYC

By Verdie Atienza, Senior Immigration Attorney, Davies & Associates

I am delighted to announce that my team has secured the approval of an O-1 Petition for an Italian Executive Chef.

The Petitioner is an award-winning and Michelin Guide-recommended authentic Tuscan Italian restaurant in New York City. The restaurant is one of the most highly rated and recommended Italian restaurants in the city, which happens to be one of the most competitive gastronomy markets in the world. It has achieved one of the highest distinctions in the international gastronomy industry: a Michelin Guide Recommendation as a top restaurant in New York City.

The Beneficiary will be working as the Executive Chef. He is a Top Chef and Culinary Artist who has worked in a leading and critical role for some of the most prestigious restaurants in the culinary world in the Italian cuisine industry.

The O-1 Visa is a non-immigrant visa for people with exceptional talent in the fields of business, arts, entertainment, sciences, education and more. The chef received an O-1B Visa for people with extraordinary ability in the arts.

My team also welcome another L-1A Visa approval for an Executive from India. The new office petition was approved with no RFE (Request for Evidence). 

The beneficiary works for a company in India which specializes in providing medical transcription services, medical scribing services, medical billing services, and IT-enabled services. It offers a variety of related services with the goal of enhancing its clients’ operations by minimizing  avoidable losses and expenses, as well as increasing revenues.

It primarily offers its services to clients in the United States. Consequently, it has established and grown a strong client base in this country. The company offers its services to healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, private medical practices and clinics, and physicians within the United States. The company furnishes medical practice supporting services that include remote realtime medical scribing, medical transcription, and revenue cycle management solutions. By offering a full range of professional medical services,  it has excelled in helping healthcare institutions and companies focus on minimizing preventable expenses and substantively improving their revenue as a result. Now, that they have established presence in the US, they aim to reach more customers and provide better services.

The L-1A Visa is a non-immigrant option for managers and executives to relocate to the existing or newly established US branch of their overseas company. The visa is valid for up to seven years, after which time it is possible to transition to a Green Card under the EB-1C Visa.


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.


Technology Visas

L-1A Petition Approved for Tech Company Managers

Davies & Associates is pleased to share another approval of an L-1A Visa petition, this time for an Armenian national. The beneficiary is the second executive to be transferred to the the US company from the Armenia firm.

We initially secured approval of the L-1 Visa new office petition for its CEO and now we have secured approval of the petition for the second beneficiary who will assume the position of Vice President for Customer Success.

The L-1A Visa is a non-immigrant category for multi-national managers and executives who are transferring to the existing or newly established US office of their foreign company. The visa is valid for up to seven years, during which time it is possible to apply for US permanent residency (Green Card) under the EB-1c Visa route.

The client’s foreign company is based in Yerevan, Armenia and it is involved in data center and telecommunications industries. It has developed an intent-based lifecycle management platform for open networking. The US company is a subsidiary of the foreign company. The subsidiary was set up in the US to replicate the foreign company’s success in the US and have access to a bigger market. 

Prior to the approval of this second petition, we also had the CEO’s L-1A status extended. The extension petition and the petition for the second executive of the US company were both approved without a “Request for Evidence” RFE).

He is interested in pursuing EB-1C Visa, which is a Green Card option for International Executives & Managers.


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 Investor Visa

What is the Latest on EB-5 Investor Visa Reauthorization?

The EB-5 Regional Center program lapsed last summer pending reauthorization by the United States Congress. Potential reauthorization could come as early as this week if it is combined with spending legislation due to be passed before this Friday, 11 March.

If EB-5 Regional Center reauthorization is added to the spending bill, and if the spending bill is passed, the EB-5 program will return, but with likely new rules.

What are the likely new EB-5 rules?

The most significant change in a reformed EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program would be the investment amounts. The minimum investment requirement for EB-5 will increase to $800,000 in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) and to $1,050,000 outside of these designated areas.

The program would also be reauthorized for five years, providing longer-term certainty for both investors and the industry as a whole.

Some visas would be reserved for certain investors, including 20 percent for those investing in a rural areas, 10 percent for those investing in areas of high unemployment, and 2 percent for those investing in infrastructure projects.

There are not yet any guarantees on this. This is the nature of the democratic process and we will keep you updated as soon as we find out more. The Direct EB-5 Visa option currently remains open at the $500,000 minimum investment level. However, the window for applying under the current terms is fast closing – presuming the legislation is enacted.

What is EB-5?

The EB-5 investor Visa offers a pathway to US Permanent Residency (a Green Card) via an investment that creates ten jobs. A qualifying family unit can each receive Green Cards under a single investment, but parents need to carefully plan to avoid their children “ageing out” of the process.

Many thousands of people have moved to the United States under the EB-5 Visa program over the past three decades. EB-5 has created hundreds of thousands of jobs and brought in billions of dollars of foreign investment at no cost to the American taxpayer.

This is an evolving situation, please keep checking our blog for more information. We will be holding as series of webinars on this subject as soon as the future of EB-5 becomes clear.

Click here to read more about the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program


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.