Let me set the stage.
We got a call for a consultation from Mr.
Investor. He had a rather long and involved
story to tell and needed some help to get
his US immigration status straightened out.
It seems that he had been investing in the
US for over 10 years and owned several rental
properties that made a good living for him
and his family. He initially obtained an E-2,
nonimmigrant treaty investor visa, at the
US Consulate in London and moved with his
family to the US to manage his investments.
He had come to the US about 3 years before
he contacted us. When it came time to extend
his visa he contacted who he thought, based
on their advertising, were immigration specialists
for assistance. He was quickly told that he
did not qualify for an E-2 visa (even though
he was in the US on an E-2 at the time) and
that if he wanted to stay he would have to
switch to another visa category. The "Immigration
Advisors" (it turned out that they were
not even attorneys) suggested that he either
go to work for someone else and get an H-1B,
or purchase a business in the US that he could
then use as a basis for an L-1
visa as a multinational manager.
Mr. Investor told the Immigration Advisors that he had a friend who owned an oil change business that would be willing to hire him as a manager. The Advisors said this would be a great position and that they could get him an H-1B through it even though the position only required a high school diploma and some experience. After several months of trying to get things done with these Advisors Mr. Investor finally called us to get another opinion.
By the time he called us, Mr. Investor
and his wife were out of status, and had been
for several months. He was getting desperate
and didn't know where to turn. We started
with a review of his immigration history in
the US, as well as looking at his assets.
After reviewing his situation with him, and
looking at his investment in the US, we told
him that the E-2 visa was the correct visa
- he did not have to go through all kinds
of gyrations just to be able to stay in the
US.
What VisaPro did for Mr. Investor.
After our initial consultation Mr. Investor sent us what copies he had from his previous E visa filings, as well as balance sheets, copies of purchase documents and tax documents. We put together a complete E visa package showing that he had invested well over $500,000 in the US by that time, and that he was actively involved in the management of his investment
Now we had to deal with the fact that Mr. Investor and his wife were out of status. Thankfully, he had saved copies of all his emails and correspondence with the Immigration Advisors which he forwarded to us. We were able to show a pattern of deception by the Advisors and reliance by Mr. Investor that showed that Mr. Investor had been doing everything that the Advisors had asked of him. The documentation also showed that the Advisors clearly did not know what they were doing, either from an immigration standpoint or a business standpoint.
Because of the serious nature of what we needed
- to get Mr. Investor and his wife back into
status so they would not be subject to the
3 year bar - we spent as much time preparing
this section of the submission as we did the
actual application. Using 8 C.F.R.
§ 248.1(b) we argued that but for Mr.
Investor's reliance on the supposed Immigration
Advisors he would have timely filed his request
to extend his E status. Pointing
to several pieces of correspondence we were
also able to show that Mr. Investor had begun
to question the practices of the Advisors,
asking whether what they wanted to do was
even legal (if it wasn't outright fraudulent
it bordered on fraud).
The outcome.
With the package complete we sent if off to
the USCIS hoping for the best. After waiting
for several weeks, and expecting the worst,
we got a great surprise in the mail. The E
visa status extension request was granted.
The USCIS adjudicating officer had agreed
with us that the Immigration Advisors had
led Mr. Investor down a rosy path only to
abandon him. As for the Immigration Advisors,
they disappeared after we contacted them on
Mr. Investor's behalf requesting a refund.
The next step - Permanent Residence.
While we were working on the E-2 extension
Mr. Investor had been busy looking at additional
investments in the US. Shortly after filing
the extension request he bought a 450+ acre
cattle ranch, and several months later another
210 acre farm just down the road from the
ranch. About a year later he bought another
piece of land not far from Branson, MO and
started developing a restaurant and lounge
with a stage that could be used for overflow
acts from Branson and the Grand Ole' Opry.
With these new investments Mr. Investor's
cumulative investment in the US was now about
$1.2 million, allowing him to meet the threshold
to apply for permanent residence as an immigrant
investor (EB-5):
investment of $1 million dollars (or $500,000
in a rural area) and the creation of at least
10 new jobs for US workers). We are hoping
that he and his family will soon be getting
the green card.
Conclusion
Through creative thinking we were able to assist Mr. Investor to get his E-2 status extended even though he was out of status when we started the process. We were also able to got one daughter into a valid status that allowed her to remain in the US, and gave his other daughter ideas on positions that will allow her to eventually rejoin the family here in the US.
While we were working with Mr. Investor we
found out that his daughter who had come to
the US with him as an E-2 dependant was now
over 21 and married. Because she no longer
qualified as an E-2 dependent we had to look
for other options for her to be able to stay
in the US with her family. Unfortunately,
she was involved in a bad marriage, and he
had refused to file a relative petition for
her. On top of that he had become abusive
and through all the contacts with the police
Mr. Investor's daughter had ended up being
charged with abuse herself. Working with the
daughter's criminal defense attorney we worked
out a strategy that would not adversely affect
her immigration status. We then programmed
to file a petition for her under the Violence
Against Women Act based on the abuse.
We also looked at options for Mr. Investor's
oldest daughter to be able to join the family
in the US. Based on her work experience in
early childhood education and health care
we determined that she would qualify for an
H-1B gave her ideas of what types of jobs
to pursue. Once she finds the right position
we will be able to assist her to come join
the rest of the family
The outcome is clearly dependent on handling the facts of the case creatively, and as demonstrated here, can be successful even when the applicant has been out of status for a lengthy period of time.
Our lawyers have the experience to review and analyze difficult cases and formulate strategies for success. We would be happy to review your case and discuss your options.
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