Self-sponsored Green Cards, Especially for L-1 Visa Holders

I meet with many potential clients who are on an L-1A or L-1B visa and want to get a green card. Sometimes, however, their employer will not sponsor them for a green card. This is especially true if they work for a giant multi-national company. In such cases, I often will suggest the EB-1 extraordinary worker green card, which does not require employer sponsorship.

To qualify, an individual needs to have some superb accomplishments in their work history, and have a few people willing to write a reference letter talking about their accomplishments. They do not need a letter from their employer. We simply need to show, among other things, that the person played a critical role for a business with a distinguished reputation. Plus, if the person had original business-related contributions of major significance in the field, this too, is compelling evidence.

So, workers who are employed or were employed by a large company, will often easily meet the requirement of a company with a distinguished reputation. Moreover, if they were part of a team, they likely will meet the requirement of original business-related contributions.

There is the FAQ about whether this work needs to have been done in the U.S., and the answer is, “no.” In fact, the applicant is not required to have ever been in the U.S. So, no USA experience is required.

This category of immigration allows for a green card for any worker, anywhere in the world, who has worked at a large company, or has created his own company with success, or has been part of a team at a company, as long as they meet the regulatory requirements to be considered extraordinary in their field.

For further information, this Houston immigration lawyer and Miami immigration lawyer can be contacted at 713.850.0066, 305.538.6800 or bruce.coane@gmail.com.

This Week’s Visit to Twitter Headquarters

 

I had the opportunity to visit the San Francisco headquarters of Twitter today, and got to meet the Twitter founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey.

For those of you who know me well, I am a big fan of social media, so what a tremendous honor to meet the leader of Twitter and to hear about all the innovations in the works at Twitter and his vision for the future.

As an immigration lawyer, it was also nice to see the mix of workers at Twitter, including immigrants as well as American-born employees. The General Counsel, herself, of Twitter, is an immigrant  (now a citizen) just like many of my clients. Thanks to the H-1B visa and EB-1 and EB-2 green card status, high tech companies have been able to recruit the best and the brightest to work at their companies, along with the best and brightest American workers.

 

About the author: Bruce Coane is an attorney who specializes in employment law and immigration law, with offices in Florida and Texas. He may be reached at bruce.coane@gmail.com, 713-850-0066 or 305-538-6800.  

EB-1 Green Card for Individuals with Extraordinary Abilities

 

One of my favorite immigration topics is the EB-1 extraordinary worker green card. The great part of this is that it is a law which permits a foreign national to sponsor themselves for a green card. No American sponsor is necessary and no one signs the forms except the foreign national.

One other important point is that the foreign national is not even required to be in the U.S. In fact, there is no requirement that the person has ever been to the U.S. I have done a number of cases where the person lived in Asia or the Middle East and had never been to the U.S., yet we got their green card case approved.

To be qualified, the person must have some accomplishments in life, which could be in science, business, sports, art/music, etc. If they also have some notoriety in their own country or elsewhere, that is helpful, but not required.

In this short video, I talk about the EB-1 green card  immigration process based on extraordinary skills in art.

 

 

 

Alternatives for H-1B Visa Cap

Within the first 5 days of April 2017 U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it reached the annual 85,000 H-1B visa cap. Although, USCIS did not make the number of applications received public, the computer generated lottery to select petitions to process will continue. Those applicants selected and approved can begin working for their U.S. employer under the H-1B Visa on October 1, 2017.

The Trump administration is making many changes to the immigration laws in order to put American workers first. In a news release that USCIS issued on April 3, 2017 they announced that, “The H-1B visa program should help U.S. companies recruit highly-skilled foreign nationals when there is a shortage of qualified workers in the country. Yet, too many American workers who are as qualified, willing, and deserving to work in these fields have been ignored or unfairly disadvantaged. Protecting American workers by combating fraud in our employment-based immigration programs is a priority for USCIS”. They also mentioned site visits across the country to worksites of H-1B employees. Most of the USCIS site visits will occur in cases where, USCIS cannot validate the employer’s basic business information through commercially available data; H-1B-dependent employers (those who have a high ratio of H-1B workers as compared to U.S. workers, as defined by statute); and employers petitioning for H-1B workers who work off-site at another company or organization’s location.

Since the H-1B window has closed for employers and foreign nationals seeking to apply in 2017, there are alternative Visa options. The following Visas have no cap and are available throughout the year.

• EB-1 Visa: For foreign nationals of extraordinary ability who have achieved national and international recognition for extraordinary achievements in their field of endeavor.
• L-1 Visa: For intracompany transferees who have worked for a foreign entity for one year and are seeking to transfer to a U.S. subsidiary, affiliate, parent, or branch office in the U.S. in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity
• TN Visa: For Canadian and Mexican citizens employed in certain professional categories seeking to engage in U.S. employment. Examples of qualifying TN professional occupations include, but are not limited to Engineer, Accountant, Architect, Computer Systems Analyst, Geologist, Geophysicist, Graphic Designer, Management Consultant, Scientific Technician, Engineering Technicians, and many occupations in the medical and allied health field.
• H-3 Visa: For foreign nationals coming to the U.S. to engage in a course of training.
• E-3 Visa: For Australian citizens who will be employed in a specialty occupation in the U.S. (similar requirements to the H-1B visa).
• E-1/E-2 Visa: For international investors or traders from certain treaty countries looking to engage in substantial trade between the U.S. and their foreign country or to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which the foreign national has invested. The E-1/E-2 visa is a great option for foreign entrepreneurs seeking to work in an essential capacity for their U.S. entity.

My law firm does many self-sponsored EB-1 green card cases for petroleum engineers and others upstream and downstream in the oil and gas business. This has become an effective way to get a green card in an environment where the employers will not sponsor their workers for a green card.

About the author: Bruce Coane is an attorney who specializes in labor and employment law and immigration law, with offices in Florida and Texas. He may be reached at bruce.coane@gmail.com, 713-850-0066 or 305-538-6800.