Here is our latest edition of our Monthly Newsletter “Know your Rights”. In this edition we will discuss investors and work visas. How do you come to the United States legally and invest to benefit you and your family?

There are three types of visas that can allow you to do that, which are:

E-2 Treaty Investor Visa:

• It is a renewable type of visa that you can renew every two years.
• It allows you to be in the country legally, work, and travel outside of the United States at any time.
• It requires your home country to have a commerce treaty with the United States. If you want to know more about whether your country has one or not, you can contact us for more information.
• You must have a substantial investment in that business in order to qualify. Additionally, you must develop and direct the business; this does not mean to create it from the ground up. Because of this, purchasing an existing business is an attractive option.
• Funding for the investment must come from a legitimate source.
• You may be able to bring employees along with you for this type of visa.
• It will extend to your immediate family: spouse and children (if any).

L-1 Visa:

• Unlike the E-2 Visa, this is not for investors, but rather it is a work visa.
• This work visa allows for the transfer of employees from one company to the other, in this case to the United States.
• It can be used to open a branch of an existing business. Let’s say you have a branch of the company in a foreign country and you want to open a new branch in the U.S, you can do that through the L-1 Visa.
• One of the key requirements is that the employee must have worked for the company for at least 1-3 years before the person arrives in the United States.
• The employee must have a managerial or executive capacity in the company or must have a specialized knowledge in the company.
• The visa is also renewable. But the difference between this one and the E-2 is that it opens a path to permanent residency. It is very attractive to business people who would like the possibility of living permanently in the U.S along with their family.
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EB-5 Visa:

• The E-B5 Visa is also called the millionaire visa. Why? Because it requires a very large investment of at least $500,000.
• What does that visa offer you? It allows you to have permanent residence within the first two years.
• In addition to the investment, it requires the creation at least 10 jobs.
• One aspect that attract so many people is that you can be a passive investor or an active entrepreneur where you deal and direct the enterprise.
• After being approved you will receive a conditional residence for two years and after two years you can have your permanent residence in the United States.

If you have any comments or want us to cover a certain topic please let us know.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter.

Sincerely,

Christian Veras, Esq.

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this article is for educational  use only. The information contained in it does not constitute legal advice and an attorney-client relationship is not created by reading this post.

You can also see our Youtube video on these visas by visiting the link below.

 

 

 

Here is our latest edition of our Monthly Newsletter “Know your Rights”. You can find all prior editions by visiting our blog here. In this edition we will discuss the results of the new asylum application policy on people seeking protection.

New Asylum Application Procedure

On December 2017, immigration announced a new method for processing new asylum applications: basically, new applications will be processed first and those with pending applications would be moved down the line.

This has resulted in asylum interviews scheduled 30 to 40 days from the receipt of the applications. Many clients were surprised by the new procedure since they are not ready to be interviewed: some because they don’t have the necessary evidence and others because they are simply not mentally ready to go through the interview. What has been the result? Unrepresented clients do not receive the approval and their cases are referred to an immigration judge.

Once referred to an immigration judge, a deportation process is started and this is usually the client’s last chance. It is a lot harder to win an asylum case in front of an immigration judge compared to a local asylum officer. Additionally, the stakes are higher: in the event the case is denied a Judge will order the person deported on the spot.

Consult with an immigration attorney before filing an asylum application so that we can evaluate when is the best time to file. It is important to have all of the evidence on hand in order to get an approval before an officer rather than a judge.

Immigration Judge Required to Meet Case Quotas:

This week, the Department of Justice, who is responsible for appointed immigration judges, announced that it will now require judges to meet annual case quotas, meaning closing a number of cases per year, or face consequences. The consequences include being transferred to another jurisdiction or possible termination. This new measure will increase the fast deportations that the government prefers and will only limit people from properly defending themselves against a deportation.

Despite the fact that the deportation process is very similar to our criminal justice system, a deportation process doesn’t offer the sames protections that the criminal justice system provides. Although people are arrested, jailed and sometimes placed under electronic supervision (just like the criminal justice system), immigrants have no constitutional right to an attorney or right to a bond. With the new quota requirement for judges, immigrants are going to have even less time to defend against a deportation.

Federal Judge Demands Immigration Accept Late Asylum Applications:

A Federal Judge in Washington ordered immigration to accept late asylum applications if they meet the following conditions:

• The person was under the custody of immigration.
• The person expressed fear to return to his/her home country.
• The person was released from custody.
• Immigration failed to advice them of the one (1) year deadline to apply for asylum.

If you meet these requirements, you are eligible to apply for asylum even if it is passed the one (1) year deadline.

EVENTS:

• On March 22 and 23, 2018, we attended the American Immigration Lawyers Association, South Florida Chapter, Annual Conference
• On March 2, 2018 we attended the 17th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono CLE in Broward County, FL.
• On February 28, as a member of the AILA South Florida Asylum Committee, we participated in the Miami Asylum Office Stakeholder Meeting at the Miami Asylum Office.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If you have any comments or want us to cover a certain topic please let us know.

Sincerely,

Christian Veras, Esq.

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this article is for educational  use only. The information contained in it does not constitute legal advice and an attorney-client relationship is not created by reading this post.

Law Office of Christian Veras, LLC
5951 NW 173rd Drive, Suite 1
Miami, FL 33015
Ph: (786) 408-3077
chris@veraslaw.net
www.veraslaw.net

July 2017 Edition

​Here is our latest edition of our Monthly Newsletter “Know your Rights”. We have updates regarding the visa application process abroad and exiting news from our company.

First, the Department of State approved this month a tougher visa application process for anyone applying for a visa outside of the U.S. As part of the new measures, visa applicants may be required to provide the following:

• All social media handles for the past 5 years. Think about all the social media accounts you may have created in the past five years, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest.
• Biographical information for the past 15 years. This is likely the hardest one to swallow. With this new measure, you may be required to provide your past addresses, e-mails, phone numbers, work and travel history for the past 15 years.
• Prior passport numbers.
• All of this at the discretion of the consular officer.

You may ask yourself, what is the danger is providing all of this information? As a visa applicant, you are required to truthfully answer all questions and provide all pertinent information. If you omit any information or simply make a mistake you may be denied your visa if a consular officer discovers information not provided or wrongly provided.

Be aware of these new measures and make sure you are working with an immigration attorney when applying for a visa, whether it is abroad or when making a family or employment petition.

IN-HOUSE NEWS:

• We are very proud to announce our new office location: we have moved from our Miami Lakes space to a new and spacious office just East of Miami Lakes. Our new office address is 5951 NW 173rd Drive, Suite 1, Miami, FL 33015.
• Our General Partner, Christian Veras, has been admitted to practice in federal court in the Middle District of Florida. This court oversees cases filed in Ft. Myers, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando and Ocala. Mr. Veras was already a member of the Southern District of Florida.
• Due to extreme demand for our immigration services, next month we will be holding special consultations directly in the Dominican Republic to personally serve our clients living in the Island. If you are interested in reserving a spot, contact us for more details.

EVENTS:

• On May 10th, 2017, Mr. Veras, as a member of the AILA South Florida EOIR Committee, participated in a EOIR Stakeholder meeting hosted by EOIR Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Christopher Santoro.

If you want to read our prior edition, where we covered how to confront immigration officers if they come knocking your door, you can find it here.

Sincerely,

Christian Veras, Esq.

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this article is for educational  use only. The information contained in it does not constitute legal advice and an attorney-client relationship is not created by reading this post.​