Immigration in Los Angeles - Immigrant visa Vs None Immigrant Visa - Interview with Raquel Kuronen

• published: 14 Oct 2014
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http://www.mywestlalaw.com Immigration Visa vs None Immigrant visa. Employment-based immigrant visas An immigrant visa allows an immigrant to obtain legal permanent residency (green card) in the U.S. There are 5 categories (preferences) of employment-based immigrant visas, each with its own requirements and annual limits on the number of visas available. They are: EB-1 preference category This category includes persons of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researches, and executives and managers of multinational employers. EB-2 preference category Those who qualify under this category are persons of exceptional ability and persons whose jobs require an advanced university degree or its equivalent. In most cases, the employer has to obtain U.S. Department of Labor PERM (permanent) labor certification approval before it can sponsor the employee. EB-3 preference category Those in this category consist of professionals, skilled workers and unskilled workers. As with EB-2, the employer must usually get the PERM (permanent) labor certification approved by the Department of Labor before it can sponsor the employee. EB-4 preference category This category is for religious workers and other “special immigrants.” EB-5 preference category Those in this category are investors who are able to invest $1 million (in some case, $500,000) in a new U.S. business. The laws protect U.S. workers by requiring the employer in most of the categories to file an application for labor certification with the Department of Labor that shows there are no U.S. workers able, willing and qualified to fill the position the employer is offering. An employer can demonstrate this by, for example, advertising the position in local or national newspapers or trade journals and showing that no suitable U.S. workers applied for the job. The employer filing the petition must also be able to show the financial ability to pay the offered wage and that the employee meets the minimum requirements to perform the job satisfactorily. Once the labor certification is approved, the employer requests to hire you by submitting it to the USCIS. Then you (the employee) files an application to either “adjust” your status, if you are already in the U.S., or obtain an immigrant visa if you are abroad (this is filed with the U.S. Consulate). Once this application is approved, you will become a permanent resident in the U.S. and can start working in the job for which your employer sponsored you. EB-5 Investors This category is for investors and has different requirements than the other categories. The EB-5 visa is for the Immigrant Investor Program which was created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. It allows permanent residency for investors who invest $1,000,000 ($500,000 if in a rural area or an area with high unemployment) in a new commercial enterprise that employs 10 full time U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are not family members of the investor. People granted visas for this category are given two-year conditional resident status and can file for the removal of conditional residency and obtain legal permanent residency (a green card) before the second anniversary of being granted the visa. All EB-5 investors must invest in a new commercial enterprise (a for-profit activity formed to conduct lawful business, such as, a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation) established after Nov. 29, 1990, or established on or before Nov. 29, 1990, that is purchased and the existing business is restructured or reorganized in such a way that a new commercial enterprise results, or expanded through the investment so that a 40% increase in the net worth or number of employees occurs. The commercial enterprise must also create or preserve (can only be credited with preserving jobs if the business is considered a “troubled business”) at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers within two years (or under certain circumstances, within a reasonable time after the two-year period) of the immigrant investor’s admission to the United States as a Conditional Permanent Resident. Contact us at West L.A. Law, P.C. if you are interested in obtaining an EB-5 visa. We can review all the necessary requirements with you and prepare your application for the EB-5 visa. Employment Based Non-immigrant Visas (Temporary Workers)