Covid

Know the Latest Updates from USCIS: COVID-19 Form I-9 Flexibilities Ending Soon!

COVID-19 temporary flexibilities for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, will end on July 31, 2023. U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced that employers must complete in-person physical document inspections for employees whose documents were inspected remotely during the temporary flexibilities by August 30, 2023. 

This new announcement gives employers additional time to complete in-person physical inspection of identity and employment authorization documents, and annotate the Form I-9 for this population. These flexibilities were initially announced in March 2020 and updated in March 2021. See I-9 Central Questions and Answers for more information. 

DHS published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for alternative procedures allowing remote document examination for Form I-9 last year.  DHS anticipates publishing a Final Rule in the Federal Register that will implement this proposal.  

Click here for more information:
https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-related-news/dhs-ends-form-i-9-requirement-flexibility


Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world. 

This article has been written by Verdie J. Atienza, Esq., Senior Immigration Attorney, Head of E-2 and L-1 Visas Practice Team at Davies & Associates, New York Office.

Verdie J. Atienza is a Senior Attorney in charge of the firm’s L-1 and E-2 visa practice. He is a dual qualified lawyer in New York and in the Philippines and is qualified to practice immigration law in any state in the United States. 

 


Canada E2 Visa

5-YEAR E-2 VISA APPLICATION APPROVED FOR A CANADIAN BASED ON PURCHASE OF AN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY

Did you know that the purchase of a business to apply for E-2 Treaty Investor Visa can be made contingent on the approval of the visa? There is a way to meet the irrevocability of investment requirement under the E-2 Treaty and at the same time minimize the risk on the part of the investor.


Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world. 

This article has been written by Verdie J. Atienza, Esq., Senior Immigration Attorney, Head of E-2 and L-1 Visas Practice Team at Davies & Associates, New York Office.

Verdie J. Atienza is a Senior Attorney in charge of the firm’s L-1 and E-2 visa practice. He is a dual qualified lawyer in New York and in the Philippines and is qualified to practice immigration law in any state in the United States. 

 


Vaccine Requirement for US Travel

MESSAGE FROM A SATISFIED E-2 CLIENT

“I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for all the hard work and dedication you put into our E2 visa application process. We received our visa today, and we are overjoyed with the outcome. Throughout the entire process, your professionalism, expertise, and guidance were invaluable. You kept us informed of the progress of our application, answered all the questions promptly, and made the entire process as smooth as possible. I appreciate your attention to detail, your willingness to listen, and your commitment to ensuring that my application was successful. Without your guidance

and support, I would not have been able to achieve this result. Once again, thank you so much for all your efforts. I am truly grateful for your help, and I will certainly recommend your firm to anyone seeking legal assistance in the future.”


Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world. 

This article has been written by Verdie J. Atienza, Esq., Senior Immigration Attorney, Head of E-2 and L-1 Visas Practice Team at Davies & Associates, New York Office.

Verdie J. Atienza is a Senior Attorney in charge of the firm’s L-1 and E-2 visa practice. He is a dual qualified lawyer in New York and in the Philippines and is qualified to practice immigration law in any state in the United States. 

 


Italian National - US Immigration E2 visa, L1 Visa

E2 TREATY INVESTOR VISA FOR AN ITALIAN NATIONAL

Italians are eligible to get a 5-year E-2 Treaty Investor visa which would allow them to be in the U.S. to develop and direct their E-2 company. For every entry on a valid E-2 visa, one can get a period of authorized stay of 2 years. E-2 visa applications are filed directly with the Embassies and Consulates unlike other visa categories, which require prior approval of a petition by USCIS. For a period of time after COVID, applicants had to wait for up to a year to get an appointment for the interview. Now, it appears that they are slowly getting back to normal. For our most recent client, the wait time was around 3 months only from the time of submission of the application.

Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world. 

This article has been written by Verdie J. Atienza, Esq., Senior Immigration Attorney, Head of E-2 and L-1 Visas Practice Team at Davies & Associates, New York Office.

Verdie J. Atienza is a Senior Attorney in charge of the firm’s L-1 and E-2 visa practice. He is a dual qualified lawyer in New York and in the Philippines and is qualified to practice immigration law in any state in the United States. 

 


Extension of L2 status for the spouse and child of an L1 Executive

Did you know that USCIS used to extend courtesy premium processing for the extension of status applications of dependents and applications for Employment Authorization Document concurrently filed with Form I-129? During the Trump administration, USCIS stopped extending courtesy premium processing for the applications of the dependents and this resulted in lengthy processing delays. Since January 25, 2023, USCIS resumed its practice of adjudicating L-2 applications for requests to extend status at the same time as the principal’s Form I-129 petition. This is based on a settlement agreement in Edakunni v. Mayorkas, a case pending in federal district court in Washington State. The change will be in effect for two years after the date of the settlement.

Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world. 

This article has been written by Verdie J. Atienza, Esq., Senior Immigration Attorney, Head of E-2 and L-1 Visas Practice Team at Davies & Associates, New York Office.

Verdie J. Atienza is a Senior Attorney in charge of the firm’s L-1 and E-2 visa practice. He is a dual qualified lawyer in New York and in the Philippines and is qualified to practice immigration law in any state in the United States. 

 


E2 Visa Romanian Citizen

Are E-2 Dependents (Spouse and Children below 21 years old) required to be nationals of a treaty country?

Did you know that the dependent spouse and children of an E-2 Treaty Investor do not need to have the same nationality. The spouse and children qualify for E-2 derivative visas even are citizens of a country with no E treaty with the U.S. While our client is a Romanian citizen, she and her family resides in Italy. Due to the longer wait times in Rome, we advised our client to file their E2 applications at the US Embassy in Bucharest, Romania.

Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world. 

This article has been written by Verdie J. Atienza, Esq., Senior Immigration Attorney, Head of E-2 and L-1 Visas Practice Team at Davies & Associates, New York Office.

Verdie J. Atienza is a Senior Attorney in charge of the firm’s L-1 and E-2 visa practice. He is a dual qualified lawyer in New York and in the Philippines and is qualified to practice immigration law in any state in the United States. 

 


US E2 investor visa Slovenian Citizen

CHANGING STATUS – F-1 TO E-2

E2 Treaty Investor Visa Application of a Slovenian Citizen Approved Our client from Slovenia was on F-1 status and came to us during his OPT period. He sought our assistance in applying to change status from F-1 to E-2 Treaty Investor. Our client made a substantial investment in his own consulting company as well as in a cookie store franchise. His change of status application was approved and USCIS gave him a 2-year period of authorized stay on E-2 status. Prior to the expiration of the two-year period, he had to go back to Slovenia to visit family. We assisted him in applying for the visa at the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana in Slovenia. It should be noted that Embassies and Consulates are not bound by the decision of USCIS. An approval of a change of status application to E-2 does not guarantee the issuance of the E-2 visa and the E2 visa application will be treated as a new application.

 

Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world.

 

This article has been written by Verdie J. Atienza, Esq., Senior Immigration Attorney, Head of E-2 and L-1 Visas Practice Team at Davies & Associates, New York Office.

Verdie J. Atienza is a Senior Attorney in charge of the firm’s L-1 and E-2 visa practice. He is a dual qualified lawyer in New York and in the Philippines and is qualified to practice immigration law in any state in the United States. 

 


US Visa application - Immigration lawyer

E-2 TREATY INVESTOR VISA RENEWAL FOR ANOTHER 4 YEARS FOR AN AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN AND E-2 DERIVATIVE VISAS FOR HIS SPOUSE AND CHILD

Did you know that the validity of an E-2 visa depends on a reciprocity schedule? For most E-2 Treaty Countries, the visa validity is 5 years. For Australians, it is 4 years.

For countries like Egypt, Jordan and Bangladesh, the reciprocity schedule only provides for an E-2 visa validity of 3 months. Even if the visa validity is only three months, the E-2 Treaty Investor and family will still get a period of authorized stay of two years.

For every entry on a valid E-2 visa, an E-2 visa holder gets a full two year period of authorized stay in the U.S.

Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world.

This article has been written by Verdie J. Atienza, Esq., Senior Immigration Attorney, Head of E-2 and L-1 Visas Practice Team at Davies & Associates, New York Office.

Verdie J. Atienza is a Senior Attorney in charge of the firm’s L-1 and E-2 visa practice. He is a dual qualified lawyer in New York and in the Philippines and is qualified to practice immigration law in any state in the United States. 


E-2 Visa approved for a Singaporean national during COVID-19

New Policy Guidance on Employer’s Ability to Pay in I-140 Filings

On March 15, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a policy guidance addressing the analysis of an employer’s ability to pay the proffered wage for certain employment-based immigrant petitions. This guidance, contained in Volume 6 of the Policy Manual, is effective immediately and applies to I-140 petitions filed on or after March 15, 2023. The updated guidance discusses in more detail various types of evidence and explains how USCIS reviews all evidence relevant to the employer’s financial strength and the significance of its business activities.

US employers seeking to sponsor employees under EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 employment-based immigrant classifications that require a job offer must demonstrate their continuing ability to pay the proffered wage to the employee as of the priority date of the immigrant petition. The employer’s/petitioner’s ability to pay the proffered wage stated on Form I-140 is one of the essential elements that USCIS considers in evaluating whether the job offer is realistic.

Regulations require an employer to submit annual reports, federal tax returns, or audited financial statements for each available year from the priority date. An employer can alternatively submit a financial officer statement attesting to its ability to pay the proffered wage if it has 100 or more workers. Additional evidence such as profit and loss statements, bank account records, or personnel records may also be submitted. Many employers satisfy the ability to pay requirement by also submitting payroll records demonstrating that, during the relevant time period, they have been paying the employee at least the proffered wage indicated on the Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (Form I-140).

Here’s what the updated USCIS guidance provides:

  • USCIS reviews all evidence relevant to the employer’s financial strength and the significance of its business activities.
  • Employer must submit one of the three forms of initial required evidence listed in the regulation but may also include other types of relevant evidence.
  • Discussion of each form of initial required evidence listed in the regulation and several other forms of additional evidence employers might submit to establish their ability to pay the proffered wage.
  • Explains how USCIS analyzes evidence and issues relevant to an employer’s ability to pay the proffered wage, such as the petitioner’s current employment of the beneficiary, prorating the proffered wage for the priority date year, multiple beneficiaries, successors-in-interest, and non-profit organizations.
  • Addition of information about types of business structures to help officers better understand the types of petitioning employers and the evidence they may submit to establish their ability to pay the proffered wage

Reference Links

Chapter 4 – Ability to Pay | USCIS

20230315-AbilityToPay.pdf (uscis.gov)

EB1c Visa | EB1c US Lawyer | Davies & Associates (usimmigrationadvisor.com)

Merit Based EB-1A Visa | National Interest Waiver (usimmigrationadvisor.com)

EB3 Visa | Permanent Residency for Skilled Workers | Davies & Associates LLC (usimmigrationadvisor.com)


This article has been written by Zeenat Phophalia, Esq. Of Counsel, Davies & Associates, India Office.

Zeenat Phophalia is qualified to practice law in New York, United Kingdom and India. She practices in the area of U.S. immigration law with a focus on business immigration, and has represented corporate clients including large and medium sized companies and startups across sectors such as IT, consulting, consumer goods, manufacturing and telecommunications.

Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world.


L1 Visa India

How to get L1 Visa for usa from india

To obtain an L1 visa to work in the United States, your employer outside the US must first have a qualifying relationship with a U.S.-based employer based on ownership and control. The qualifying relationship can be parent-subsidiary, affiliate or branch relationship. You must also prove qualifying employment, which means that you have to an executive, manager, or specialized knowledge employee of a multinational company for at least one full year in the past three years. Your employer must also file a petition on your behalf with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Here are the general steps to apply for an L1 visa from India:

1. Check your eligibility: Ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria for the L1 visa category. You must have worked for a qualifying multinational company for at least one continuous year within the past three years.

2. Obtain a job offer: You must have a job offer from a U.S.-based employer with a qualifying relationship with your current employer.

3. File a petition: Your employer must file Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, with USCIS on your behalf. This includes providing evidence of the qualifying relationship between the two companies, as well as your qualifications and job duties.

4. Attend an interview: Once the petition is approved, you will need to attend an interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in India. You will need to bring all relevant documentation, such as your passport, visa application, and supporting evidence.

5. Wait for a decision: After the interview, you will need to wait for a decision on your L1 visa application. If approved, you will receive your visa and be able to travel to the United States.

It’s important to note that the L1 visa application process can be complex and may require the assistance of an experienced immigration attorney.