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IMMIGRATION BASICS

IMMIGRATION BASICS. How may I serve you as your Immigration Attorney?. U.S. IMMIGRATION LAW HAS FOUR BASIC COMPONENTS: . Temporary visas (non-immigrant visas), such as a student (F-1), tourist (B-2), or professional worker (H-1B ) Permanent resident status (green card) for immigrants

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IMMIGRATION BASICS

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  1. IMMIGRATION BASICS How may I serve you as your Immigration Attorney?

  2. U.S. IMMIGRATION LAW HAS FOUR BASIC COMPONENTS: • Temporary visas (non-immigrant visas), such as a student (F-1), tourist (B-2), or professional worker (H-1B) • Permanent resident status (green card) for immigrants • U.S. Citizenship • Removal/Deportation and inadmissibility of those who are not legally permitted in the U.S.

  3. TEMPORARY VISASNonimmigrant Visas Classifications

  4. COMMON NON-IMMIGRANT (TEMPORARY) VISAS • B-1 Visas • B-2 Visas • The Visa Waiver Program • F-1 Visas • E1 and E2 VISAS for Traders & Investors • H-1B VISAS for Professionals • L1 VISAS for Intra-company Transferees • TN VISAS for Canadian & Mexican Professionals

  5. FAMILY-SPONSORED PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS • Family sponsored immigration includes parents, spouses, children, and siblings of adult U.S. citizens and spouses and unmarried children of permanent residents. • For some categories there are long waiting times because the 226,000 visa numbers are insufficient for demand. • Two-Step Process • Petition – I-130 • Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing • Preference Categories and Visa Bulletin • “Immediate Relatives” – the parents, spouses, and minor children of U.S. citizens – are exempt from the visa number requirement, and can immigrate as soon as the visa petition and adjustment or immigrant visa can be processed.

  6. PREFERENCE CATEGORIES AND VISA BULLETINA Visa number is required for: • F1: Family preference – unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens • F2: Family preference – spouses and unmarried children of green card holders • F3: Family preference – married children of U.S. citizens • F4: Family preference – siblings of U.S. citizens.

  7. JULY 2012 WAITING LIST FOR FAMILY BASED VISAS:

  8. Employment-Based Immigrant The employment-based (EB) preference system contains five (5) preferences: • The first employment-based preference (EB-1) is available to persons of “extraordinary ability,” “outstanding professors and researchers,” and certain “executives” and “managers” of multinational organizations • The second preference (EB-2) is for people in the “national interest” and those sponsored for a labor certification, and have a master’s degree or bachelor’s degree plus 5 years of work experience (or greater) • The third preference (EB-3) is for all other workers who usually must be sponsored for a labor certification issued by the Department of Labor to prove worker shortage • The fourth preference (EB-4) is principally for religious workers • The fifth preference (EB-5) is for investors

  9. Employment-Based Immigrant PROCESS: • Labor Certification • The Immigrant Visa Petition – USCIS Form I-140 • Adjustment or Immigrant Visa • Employment Visa Backlogs

  10. INVESTOR IMMIGRANT VISA Money Can’t Buy You Happiness, but Can It Buy You a Green Card? • Are green cards for sale? Not exactly, but if you have an entrepreneurial spirit and $500,000 to one million dollars, then obtaining a green card through investment may be your ideal immigration strategy. • Each fiscal year the government allots approximately 10,000 immigrant visas to eligible entrepreneurs who are able to invest money into a new commercial enterprise that benefits our economy and generates at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers. This program is known as the Immigrant Investor Program and is more commonly referred to as the EB5 program.

  11. EMPLOYMENT VISA BACKLOGS

  12. INVESTOR IMMIGRANT VISA What are the qualifications for an EB-5 Visa? • An entrepreneur must invest a minimum of $1 million in a new commercial enterprise, an existing “troubled” business, or into expanding an existing business or $500,000 if investing within a targeted employment area. • The capital must have been lawfully obtained and considered “at risk” once invested into the enterprise. • The enterprise must create or preserve 10 full time jobs for U.S. workers, legal permanent residents, asylees and refugees. • The investor must maintain an active role at the enterprise either through daily management or policy formulation.

  13. INVESTOR IMMIGRANT VISA What is a Targeted Employment Area? • Of the 10,000 available immigrant visas 3,000 are set aside for entrepreneurs willing to invest within a targeted employment area. • A targeted employment area is a rural area or an area experiencing unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average rate. • If investing in a targeted employment area, the minimum capital investment requirement is reduced to half a million dollars while the rest of the conditions remain the same. What is a Regional Center? • For investors looking for a more passive role in the process, immigrant visas are available through the EB5 Pilot Program to those who invest the same amount of capital in an EB5 Regional Center. • An EB5 Regional Center is defined as any economic entity, public or private, which is involved in the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation and increased domestic capital investment. • Such investors are not required to be involved in the daily management of the enterprise or participate in policy formulation. Another benefit is that the job creation requirement is less stringent and that the direct and indirect creation of jobs through the Regional Center is sufficient.

  14. INVESTOR IMMIGRANT VISA PROCESS: • To get the Immigrant Visa the entrepreneur must file a Form I-526 petition with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. • Once the I-526 is approved an entrepreneur can immediately apply for a green card. • The entrepreneur will be granted conditional permanent resident status valid for two years. • During this two-year period, the commercial enterprise must continue to operate. • Before the green card expires, the applicant will need to show that the enterprise is still in existence by filing an I-829 Petition to Remove Conditions of Residence.

  15. INVESTOR IMMIGRANT VISAEB-5 Green Card Benefits • Become a permanent resident (green card) in as little as seven months and 5 years later a U.S. citizen • Immigration to the United States quickly • Bypass lengthy family and employment based immigration processes in which others often wait years for a green card • Spouse and children under 21 are able to immigrate with the investor • Required investment of $500,000 plus a management fee for investment in Regional Centers (Canada now requires $800,000 to immigrate there) • Live anywhere in United States • Freely travel in and out of the United States • Enjoy retirement, attend school, or run another business • No net worth disclosure is required

  16. US Naturalization and Citizenship Reasons to Naturalize: • U.S. citizens can vote, serve on juries, hold political office, and qualify for government jobs. U.S. citizens travel freely (whereas green card holders may lose their residency if they spend long periods of time abroad) • U.S. citizens cannotbe deported • U.S. citizens may petition for their parents, married sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters to become permanent residents in the U.S. Also, their close relatives may immigrate more quickly • U.S. citizens may be subject to fewer restrictions on estate taxes • U.S. citizens who retire abroad receive full social security benefits (whereas permanent residents receive only 50%)

  17. THE BASICS • Permanent residence for 5 years, or 3 years if married to a U.S. citizen • 50% of the 5 or 3 years of required residence in the U.S. • Good moral character • Passing an English and History test • Oath of Allegiance to the U.S.

  18. Laura J. Roman, Esq. ROMAN LAW FIRM, LLC 11555 Lake Underhill Road Orlando, Florida 32828 Phone: (407) 551-9711 Toll Free: (855) USROMAN Email: romanlawfirm@hotmail.com Your U.S. Immigration Attorney

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