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Visa and Permanent Residence Options Visa and Permanent Residence Options for the Entrepreneurial Student Kate Kalmykov, Esq. Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer,

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Presentation on theme: "Visa and Permanent Residence Options Visa and Permanent Residence Options for the Entrepreneurial Student Kate Kalmykov, Esq. Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer,"— Presentation transcript:

1 Visa and Permanent Residence Options Visa and Permanent Residence Options for the Entrepreneurial Student Kate Kalmykov, Esq. Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Philadelphia New York 1800 JFK Blvd., 17 th Floor317 Madison Ave., Suite 1518 Philadelphia, PA 19103 New York, NY 10017 215.825.8600 212.796.8840 www.klaskolaw.com

2 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Kate Kalmykov, Esq. Kate Kalmykov, an Associate in the Firm's New York City office, focuses her practice on business immigration and compliance. Kate represents clients in a wide-range of employment based immigrant and non-immigrant visa matters including professionals, managers and executives, artists and entertainers, treaty investors and traders, persons of extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers/ professors and national interest waivers. In addition, Kate assists clients with obtaining J-1 waivers of the two-year home country residence requirement. Kate has extensive experience in preparing immigrant petitions for investors. She regularly develops creative immigration solutions for high net worth individuals and entrepreneurs investing in the United States. Kate is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Bar Association Section of Litigation, Immigration Committee

3 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP 2009 Issues ■ Fewer job offers ■ H-1B quota ■ Effect of TARP requirements on H-1Bs ■ Impact of layoffs ■ Increased opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs

4 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Employment Options for the F-1 Student ■ 20 hours per week on campus ■ OPT after complete studies ■ 90 day rule ■ STEM Extension ■ Options for the entrepreneur  On-campus employment must be services for students  OPT employment must be related to studies  See “Murky F-1 Employment Issues” (http://www.klaskolaw.com)http://www.klaskolaw.com

5 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP H-1B Basic requirements Procedure and processing times Specialty occupation issues Part-time or full-time Length of approval Extensions Portability Travel

6 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP H-1B Quota What is it and what does it mean? Who is not subject to the quota?  Universities  Nonprofit institutions affiliated with universities  Employed “at” university  Nonprofit or government research organization  Previous H-1B under cap  Concurrent employment Strategies and timing

7 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP The H-1B and TARP Recipients American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 requires employers who accept TARP or FRA Section 13 funds to make additional attestations on the LCA when hiring H-1Bs. H-1B employers must attest that they took good faith steps to recruit U.S. workers and that no U.S. worker was displaced by the employment of an H- 1B worker either at the employer's own worksite or at any outside worksite where the employer has placed an H-1B worker.

8 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP The H-1B and TARP Recipients The Federal government is expected to introduce additional programs under FRA Section 13 that will be open to both U.S. entities and qualifying U.S. branches and subsidiaries of foreign entities. One such program is the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), which will offer discounted Federal Reserve loans to eligible borrowers.

9 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP The H-1B and TARP Recipients What we know so far:  This provision does not apply to H-1B extensions  2 year program, ending on February 16, 2011  Does not apply to Change of Status if employee is already working with employer  Cap subject filings for FY2010 must include addt’l attestations  List of TARP recipients is available at http://www.treas.gov/initiatives/eesa/transactions.shtml http://www.treas.gov/initiatives/eesa/transactions.shtml (Note: This Web site lists recipients of TARP funding, but not recipients of direct Federal Reserve credit, so it is not all-inclusive).

10 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP TARP and Student Issues TARP provisions apply only to H-1B employees:  Students working on OPT not affected Some employers are rescinding offers to these students b/c eventually they will need to file H-1B to keep the employee  Other Nonimmigrant visa categories  Negotiating with employers- precautions that employee must take when offering to pay fees $500 Fraud Fee and $1500 ACWIA training fee must be paid by employer

11 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP H-1B Issues for Start-Up Business  Must establish company with employer tax I.D. number  Company can be 100% owned by H-1B employee  Must be W-2 employee  Company separate entity from owner/employee

12 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP H-1B Issues for Start-Up Business Company must prove  Financial ability to pay salary  Profits and/or capitalization  Real job to be done by H-1B  Place of business (cont’d)

13 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP H-1B Issues for Start-Up Business Importance of business plan/financial projections Other employees helpful – not required Prevailing Wage  CEO vs. function-descriptive position (cont’d)

14 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP H-1B Issues for Start-Up Business “Specialty Occupation”  Use of concepts learned in courses H-1B Quota  Past years  2009  What it means  Employment during “cap gap” (cont’d)

15 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Other Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Options Treaty (E) Visas ■ Must be national of treaty country  http://www.travel.state.gov./visa http://www.travel.state.gov./visa ■ Company must be owned at least 50% by treaty country nationals

16 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP (cont’d) Other Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Options Treaty (E) Visas  Visa for 1 to 5 years  Each entry limited to two years  Visa and entry can be extended indefinitely  No quota  Spouse can work

17 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP ■Treaty traders (E-1)  “Substantial” import or export  Majority between U.S. and treaty country  Can be manager, supervisor or “essential skill” employee (cont’d) Other Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Options Treaty (E) Visas

18 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP ■ Treaty investors (E-2)  “Substantial” investment  No exact amount  Varies depending upon type of investment  Relevant issues  Amount of investment  Number of employees  Needs of business  Likely profitability and growth potential  Business plan and financial projections critical (cont’d) Other Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Options Treaty (E) Visas

19 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP ■ Visa applicant can be  Investor or  Manager, supervisor or essential employee (cont’d) Other Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Options Treaty (E)

20 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Intracompany Transferee (L-1) Visas ■National of any country ■No quota ■Length of visa  Start up 1 year  Established business 3 years  Maximum length 7 years for L-1A/ 5 years for L-1B

21 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Intracompany Transferee (L-1) Visas ■Spouse can work ■Must be “international” business  Business outside U.S. with at least 50% common ownership  Must be employed by that business one year ■Type of employment (in U.S. and overseas companies)  Manager or executive  “Specialized knowledge” employee (cont’d)

22 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Intracompany Transferee (L-1) Visas (cont’d) Start-up issues  Place of business  Employees  Capitalization  Need for “manager”  Business plan and financial projections

23 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Extraordinary Ability (O-1) Visas ■National or international renown ■“One of a few at the top of his peers” ■Must be employer or agent  Can own company ■Length of visa  3 years  1 year extensions  Can extend indefinitely

24 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Permanent Resident Status Family Employment Investment Asylum Lottery

25 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Quotas Per country of birth, per preference category, per fiscal year Filing date is “priority date” EB-1 (extraordinary ability, outstanding researcher, multinational manager)  No quota wait

26 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Quotas EB-2  National interest waiver  Labor certification requiring Masters degree Bachelors degree plus 5 years progressive experience, or Exceptional ability  No quota wait, except China and India EB-3  Labor certification requiring bachelors or 2 years experience  Long quota wait for all countries (cont’d)

27 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Investment (EB-5) http://www.eb5immigration.com http://www.eb5immigration.com No quota delay Amount of investment  $1,000,000 or  $500,000 in “targeted employment area”

28 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Investment (EB-5) Type of investment  Generally cash  “At risk”  Cannot use debt with investment enterprise as collateral (cont’d)

29 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Investment (EB-5) Type of business  Active business  New business or expansion of existing business  40% increase in net worth or number of employees (cont’d)

30 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Investment (EB-5) Employment creation  10 new or 10 additional full-time jobs  U.S. citizens or permanent residents  Saving 10 jobs in “troubled business” (cont’d)

31 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Investment (EB-5) Lawful source of funds  Extensive documentation required  Can be gift Must prove giftor's source of funds  Can borrow money (cont’d)

32 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Investment (EB-5) Nature of investor’s relationship to business  Do not have to be employee (but can)  Do not have to be owner (but can)  Cannot be purely passive  Limited partner ok (cont’d)

33 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Investment (EB-5) Two possibilities  Individual investment  See above  Regional center investment  Approximately 30 USCIS – approved regional centers  Mostly $500,000 investment  Indirect employment creation ok (cont’d)

34 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Investment (EB-5)  Some have long, successful history – some do not  Pilot program  Choosing a regional center  Due diligence list at http://www.eb5immigration.com/choosing-a- regional-center.php http://www.eb5immigration.com/choosing-a- regional-center.php (cont’d)

35 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Investment (EB-5)  Choosing between individual and regional center investment  http://www.eb5immigration.com/regional-centers- vs-individual-eb-5.php http://www.eb5immigration.com/regional-centers- vs-individual-eb-5.php (cont’d)

36 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Permanent Resident Status Employment Employer-sponsored or self-sponsored Labor certification or extraordinary/national interest/exceptional Multiple petitions

37 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Permanent Resident Status Employment Self-Sponsored  Extraordinary ability EB-1 Extensive documentation required Reference letters critical (cont’d)

38 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Permanent Resident Status Employment  National Interest Waiver EB-2 Standard  Exceptional ability or advanced degree  National priority  National impact Extensive documentation required Reference letters critical (cont’d)

39 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Permanent Resident Status Employment Employer-Sponsored  Outstanding Researcher or Professor EB-1 “Permanent position” Similar to extraordinary ability  Multinational Manager EB-1 Same as L-1A except must be manager or executive overseas (cont’d)

40 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Permanent Resident Status Employment  Labor Certification Application (PERM) EB-2 or EB-3 Employer must:  Pay attorney fees and advertising costs  Define “minimum requirements”  Engage in required recruitment (approximately 4-5 months)  Interview U.S. worker applicants  Prove unavailability of qualified, interested, and available U.S. worker  Pay prevailing wage  Not available to owner of business (cont’d)

41 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Permanent Resident Status Employment Timing  Electronic filing  Possibility of audit and supervised recruitment  First of three steps (cont’d)

42 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Permanent Resident Status Employment I-140 Petition  1 st step for EB-1 and national interest waiver  2 nd step for PERM Employee documents education and experience  If adjustment of status, file concurrently with I-485 if quota current  If consular immigrant visa processing, approval sent to National Visa Center (cont’d)

43 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Permanent Resident Status Employment I-485 (Application for Adjustment of Status to Permanent Resident)  Cannot file until quota is current  Importance of filing Do not need to maintain visa status Can file for spouse and child Can get Employment Authorization Document (EAD) (cont’d)

44 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Permanent Resident Status Employment Can get advance parole travel document  Eliminate need to obtain visas  Can still maintain and extend H-1B status Can leave employer if  I-140 approved  I-485 pending 180 days  Similar occupation Permanent resident upon approval Timing and delay issues (cont’d)

45 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Termination of Employment Upon termination, employee loses legal status and may be required to leave the U.S. unless the employee finds a new employer willing to file a new petition on his or her behalf on a timely basis, or is able to obtain a different nonimmigrant status.  No grace period  If employer terminates H1-B employee before the end of that employee’s period of authorized stay, employer is responsible for the “reasonable costs” of return transportation to last country of residence For permanent residence process implications depend on where you are in the process

46 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP Questions?

47 Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP For Further Information Kate Kalmykov Esq. Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP kkalmykov@klaskolaw.com 212-796-8840 (New York) www.klaskolaw.com www.eb5immigration.com


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