Sep
26

By

Does a position shared by several employees count as one full-time job for EB-5 job creation?

Category: Best EB-5 attorney in Phoenix, Best immigration attorney, Best immigration attorney in Scottsdale, Best Investor visa attorney in Phoenix, EB-5 job sharing, EB-5 visa, EB-5 visa attorney, Green card, Green card through investment, immigration Attorney in phoenix, Immigration attorney in Scottsdale, Immigration attorney Phoenix, Immigration lawyer Arizona, Immigration Lawyer Scottsdale, Investor visa, Legal permanent residency, Top EB-5 attorney in Phoenix, Top immigration attorney, Top immigration attorney in Phoenix Tags: , , , , , , , ,

In order to get an EB-5 green card through investment, the investor has to create at least 10 full-time jobs. A client wanted to invest in a restaurant where several employees would share some positions. Does that qualify?

To be considered a full-time job, it requires 35 hours a week. Where two or more employees share a full-time position it counts as one-full time job if they combine at least 35 hours per week. To demonstrate a full-time position is shared by more than one employees, the investor may should a written job-sharing agreement, we weekly schedule or evidence of the sharing of the responsibilities or benefits of a permanent full time position. However, two part-time jobs do not count.

Please note that this article does not constitute a legal advice.  We simplified the law to outline only one aspect of the EB-5 green card process. If you would like to obtain an investment (EB-5) green card, call our experienced EB-5 green card attorney at 480-425-2009 or schedule your consultation online.

Jul
30

By

New areas (TEA) allowing lower EB-5 investments

Category: Best Investor visa attorney in Phoenix, EB-5 visa attorney, Green card, Immigration attorney Phoenix, Immigration lawyer Arizona, Immigration Lawyer Scottsdale, Investment visa, Investor visa, Investor Visa Attorney, Legal permanent residency, Legal Permanent Resident Status, Top immigration attorney, Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

On November 21, 2019, new EB-5 regulations became effective. They brought some changes to the EB-5 program.

One of the likely consequence of the new EB-5 regulations is that the Targeted Employment Area (TEA) designation (enabling a lower investment threshold) will be harder to get and urban TEAs will be driven to lesser-developed locations.

In order to be designated as a TEA, the EB-5 project must be located in either a rural area or in a location that has high unemployment. 

Prior to the effective date of new EB-5 regulations, the TEA designation was made at state level and most states had very liberal TEA’s designation policies, even in economically robust urban zones. Consequently, more than 95% of EB-5 investments were made in TEA-located projects. Under the new EB-5 regulations, USCIS is no longer deferring
to TEA designations made by state and local governments and is
directly reviewing and determining the designation of high-unemployment TEAs.

Under the previous regulations, it was quite common to aggregate census tracts to create Regional Center EB-5 offerings even in some of the nation’s most high-priced neighborhoods. Census tract combination for high-unemployment TEAs is now much more restrictive: census tract aggregation is limited to the project tract(s) plus some or all of the tracts that are “directly adjacent” to the project tract. Utilizing census block groups (a census tract is made up of several block groups) is no longer allowed. 

Some EB-5 industry experts (analysts and economists) estimate that approximately two thirds of the projects that had qualified before will not qualify for TEA status under the revised standard.

Please note that this articles does not constitute a legal advice.  We outlined only one aspect of new EB-5 regulations and its consequences.  If you would like to get a green card through an investment (EB-5), call an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney at 480-425-2009 or schedule your consultation online.

Jul
27

By

PERM notice during COVID-19 pandemic

Category: Best immigration attorney, Green card, Immigration attorney Phoenix, Immigration lawyer Arizona, Immigration Lawyer Scottsdale, Legal permanent residency, Legal Permanent Resident Status, Top immigration attorney Tags: , , , ,

An employer sponsoring a foreign worker for a green card (legal permanent resident status) needs to post the Notice of Filing for 10 consecutive business days at the worksite. During the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic questions arose how to satisfy the notice requirement when many offices are closed and employees work from their homes. On July 23, 2020 the Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification confirmed that the PERM Notice of Filing requirement is flexible and employers could even satisfy it by posting it on the exterior door of its building, office, or front entry even if the work place is 100% closed and employees are 100% remote, so long as the business is operational (i.e., conducting business). 

For more information about sponsoring a foreign worker for a permanent position and PERM labor certification, click here. If you would like to discuss if you can sponsor a foreign worker for a green card, call an experienced immigration attorney at 480-425-2009 or schedule your consultation online.

Nov
20

By

Irena Juras Gets Dreamer her Green Card

Category: DACA, Dreamer, Green card, Green Card based on Marriage, Green card for Dreamer, immigration Attorney in phoenix, Immigration attorney Phoenix, Immigration lawyer Arizona, Immigration lawyer in phoenix, immigration lawyers phoenix, Legal permanent residency, Legal Permanent Resident Status, Marriage Green Card, Top immigration attorney, Undocumented immigrants

A woman that has been brought to the United States from Mexico when she was 3 years old (let’s call her the “Dreamer”) came to my office with her husband who is a U.S. citizen. They had been married for 2.5 years and have three children born in the United States. We discussed the Dreamer’s options and the Dreamer has decided to request the Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”). She had a high school diploma and met the residency and other requirements for DACA approval. DACA was approved and she received her work authorization. Then, we filed a petition with the Dreamer’s husband as the petitioner. The petition was accompanied by supporting documents sufficient to rebut the presumption of marriage fraud. The petition was approved. Meanwhile, the Dreamer’s mother in Mexico was seriously ill and we applied for advance parole to allow the Dreamer to travel to Mexico to visit her mother. The advance parole was approved and the Dreamer traveled to Mexico, visited and helped her mother and entered the United States legally. Once the Dreamer entered the U.S. legally and met all other requirements for legal permanent residency, we filed her green card application. The application processing time in Phoenix is now more than one year. Finally, we attended an interview with the Dreamer and her husband, the application was approved and her green card has arrived. It was nice to see the happiness in her eyes to finally feel relieved that at age of 31 after living in the United States for 28 years illegally in fear, she does not have to worry that she will be deported and taken from her family. She is very appreciative for my help in guiding her through this process!
If you are facing similar circumstances or know someone else facing similar circumstances, call the immigration attorney Irena Juras at 480-425-2009 or reach us via email to schedule a consultation to discuss how we can help you!

Feb
26

By

Marriage Green Card

Category: Green card, Green Card based on Marriage, Legal permanent residency, Marriage Green Card, Undocumented immigrants

Juras Law Firm receives calls from U.S. citizens all the time sharing with us very exciting news that they have married or are considering marrying a person who is not a U.S. citizen. They want us to represent them in the process of sponsoring their new spouse for a green card (U.S. permanent residence) based on marriage. Since there is lots of fraud in the area of applying for a green card based on marriage, there is a presumption of fraud. We help them rebut that presumption and make sure that the new spouse will not face negative consequences based on misrepresentation. There are two groups of spouses. First, the spouses that are already in the United States. Second, spouses still living in their home country. The spouses already in the Unites States may have another type of visa. Depending on the case, we help them establish that the marriage is bona fide through documentation and representation at the interview. They may be able to get their marriage green card without leaving the United States. Spouses seeking green cards based on a marriage that has entered the U.S. without authorization may need to get a waiver of illegal presence. We help them establish an extreme hardship to the U.S. citizen spouse if they are not allowed to stay in the United States. Once the waiver is approved, the final step is to schedule an interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate. The second group of spouses is spouses who are still living in their home country and want to apply for a green card based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. They are going through a two-step process. The first step is to establish that their marriage is bona fide and second is to attend an interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their home country. If you are considering applying for a green card based on marriage and want to make sure to minimize the time apart and avoid any negative consequences associated with the process, call us today at 480-425-2009 or contact us via our website and schedule a consultation today!