Did you know that the foreign and US companies do not have to be engaged in the same type of business or industry? It is common for an L-1A executive or manager to be transferred to the US company that is engaged in the same type of business or industry and have the same duties and responsibilities, but it is possible for the two companies to engage in different types of business as well. For this particular beneficiary, the Vietnamese company is engaged in distribution of imported products in the field of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). On the other hand, the US company ven ..read more

Did you know that USCIS now considers L spouses to be employment authorized based on their valid L nonimmigrant status. Since the November 2021 announcement, the Department of Homeland Security added new Class of Admission (COA) codes to distinguish L spouses and children. As of January 30, 2022, USCIS and CBP began issuing Forms I-94 with L-2S code for L spouses. An unexpired Form I-94 reflecting L-2S code is acceptable as evidence of employment authorization for L spouses. This isa significant development for L spouses because they are no longer required to apply for Employment Authorization ..read more

The Serbian company recently set up a US affiliate to expand operations in the US. The US affiliate then filed the new office L-1A petition for the executive. With a new office petition, the intracompany transferee gets one year of authorized stay to jumpstart the operations of the US company. Click here for more information: https://www.usimmigrationadvisor.com/l1-visas.html Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world.  This article has been written by Verdie J. Atienza, Esq., Senior Immigration ..read more

Did you know that a US company can file a petition for the transfer an executive, manager or specialized knowledge employee of a qualifying foreign company even if the US company has not been in operations for more than a year? The company is eligible to file a NEW OFFICE L-1 PETITION and the beneficiary will initially be eligible for a period of stay of one year. Click here for more information: https://www.usimmigrationadvisor.com/l-1-visa-vietnamese.html https://www.usimmigrationadvisor.com/l1-visas.html Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associ ..read more

COVID-19 temporary flexibilities for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, will end on July 31, 2023. U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced that employers must complete in-person physical document inspections for employees whose documents were inspected remotely during the temporary flexibilities by August 30, 2023.  This new announcement gives employers additional time to complete in-person physical inspection of identity and employment authorization documents, and annotate the Form I-9 for this population. These flexibilitie ..read more

Did you know that the purchase of a business to apply for E-2 Treaty Investor Visa can be made contingent on the approval of the visa? There is a way to meet the irrevocability of investment requirement under the E-2 Treaty and at the same time minimize the risk on the part of the investor. Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world.  This article has been written by Verdie J. Atienza, Esq., Senior Immigration Attorney, Head of E-2 and L-1 Visas Practice Team at Davies & Associates, New York ..read more

“I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for all the hard work and dedication you put into our E2 visa application process. We received our visa today, and we are overjoyed with the outcome. Throughout the entire process, your professionalism, expertise, and guidance were invaluable. You kept us informed of the progress of our application, answered all the questions promptly, and made the entire process as smooth as possible. I appreciate your attention to detail, your willingness to listen, and your commitment to ensuring that my application was successful. Without your guidance and supp ..read more

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Policy Memo of March 2015 (“Memo”) clarifies the L-1B visa “specialized knowledge” standard, providing an authoritative and consolidated guidance on the L-1B program. “Specialized knowledge” under Statutory Laws and Regulations Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA 214(c)(2)(B)), an employee possesses specialized knowledge if he or she has: (1) a “special” knowledge of the company product and its application in international markets; or (2) an “advanced” level of knowledge of the processes and procedures of the company. The correspon ..read more

Italians are eligible to get a 5-year E-2 Treaty Investor visa which would allow them to be in the U.S. to develop and direct their E-2 company. For every entry on a valid E-2 visa, one can get a period of authorized stay of 2 years. E-2 visa applications are filed directly with the Embassies and Consulates unlike other visa categories, which require prior approval of a petition by USCIS. For a period of time after COVID, applicants had to wait for up to a year to get an appointment for the interview. Now, it appears that they are slowly getting back to normal. For our most recent client, the ..read more

Did you know that the validity of an E-2 visa depends on a reciprocity schedule? For most E-2 Treaty Countries, the visa validity is 5 years. For Australians, it is 4 years. For countries like Egypt, Jordan and Bangladesh, the reciprocity schedule only provides for an E-2 visa validity of 3 months. Even if the visa validity is only three months, the E-2 Treaty Investor and family will still get a period of authorized stay of two years. For every entry on a valid E-2 visa, an E-2 visa holder gets a full two year period of authorized stay in the U.S. Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request ..read more