Richard R. Alamia Attorney At Law

Investor Visa

Fri, 09 Jan 2015 17:01:00 GMT

E-2 Investor Visa

The E-2 investor visa is a long-term, renewable work visa granted to business investors from countries that have signed a bilateral investment treaty with the United States. The duration of the visa is determined by the terms of the treaty between the U.S. and investor’s country of citizenship.

The investor should form a U.S. company, which will operate the business that the investor will purchase or establish, and which will act as the investor’s visa sponsor. Both the U.S. business and the individual investor, or employee, must qualify for E-2 visa status.

Essential E-2 investor visa qualification requirements:

A person or persons with citizenship of a country having a qualifying investment treaty with the U.S. must own at least 50% of the shares of the U.S. Company; such person or persons may not have permanent resident status or reside in the U.S. under a visa other than the E-2 visa.

The investment must be substantial and must be made with personal funds (or with a loan secured by property that belongs to the investor personally). While the regulations do not state a specific minimum investment, the investment must be sufficient to establish a profitable business with development and expansion potential.

The company must contribute to the local economy to an extent that is more than marginal, i.e., the investor cannot invest solely for the purpose of earning a living. Beyond paying the investor a living salary, the business must employ U.S. workers and produce a profit.

Applicants must show that they have work experience and credentials that qualify them to perform the job that the company is offering them, and the investor must intend to enter the U.S. solely in order to manage and direct the business.

It is also important to remember that the U.S. company must continue to qualify the investor for visa renewals, and thus it is not sufficient to acquire a business that may qualify you for a first-time visa, but will not have the development potential that will enable the investor to qualify for subsequent visa renewals.

It is important to know that early mistakes in the immigration process generally have major, often devastating, long-term consequences. Comprehensive legal advice, which clearly addresses and analyses your medium- and/or long-term immigration goals, is an indispensable first step in view of strategizing your immigration goals.

Additional E-2 investor visa-related information:

The spouse of an E-2 visa holder may obtain a work authorization to work for any employer in any type of job.

The business activity of the investment company can be changed or expanded into new fields of business.
Presently, there is no limit to the number of times an E-2 visa can be renewed, as long as the business continues to qualify.

The E-2 visa is generally applied for at the U.S. consulate in the applicant’s country of residence. E-2 visas are issued for the period of time permitted under the treaty with that country. If the applicant is in the U.S. in valid status, he/she may also apply for a change to E-2 status with USCIS, but, the status is lost when the applicant travels outside the U.S. and he/she must re-enter with a visa.

E-1 Trader Visa

Business people who conduct a substantial volume of trade in goods or services with the U.S. can potentially qualify for the E-1 trader visa. It is available to citizens from countries that have signed a treaty with the U.S. regulating trade and commerce. Boththe business and the individual must qualify for the visa.

To qualify, the business must:

engage in international trade (import or export) between the U.S. and the treaty country homeland. This trade may be in either goods or services, and must already exist at the time the visa is applied for. The trade may consist of either buying or selling, and the products or services may be going to or coming from the U.S.;
conduct a substantial volume of trade between the U.S. and the treaty country homeland. The business must show that the value of the trade is substantial and that the trade is conducted in regular transactions in the course of a year;
conduct at least 50% of its international trade between the U.S. and the treaty country.
To qualify, the applicant must:
show that he/she has work experience and credentials that qualify him/her to actively operate the business.

The E-1 visa is generally applied for at the U.S. consulate in the applicant’s country of residence. E-1 visas are issued for the period of time permitted under the treaty with that country. If the applicant is in the U.S. in valid status, he/she may also apply for a change to E-1 status with USCIS, but, the status is lost when the applicant travels outside the U.S. and he/she must re-enter with a visa.

Additional advantages of the E-1 visa:

The spouse of an E-1 visa holder can obtain a work authorization, and work for any employer in any type of job.
The E-1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa that can be renewed as long as the business qualifies.

Note : The potential E-1 trader visa applicant should form a U.S. company and begin to set up his/her U.S. business under the terms of the visa waiver or the B-1 business visa. The business should be actively operating, and regular transactions must already take place prior to the submission of the E-1 visa application. While setting up the U.S. business, the trader may engage in negotiations, hire personnel, sign contracts, etc., but he/she is not authorized to direct business activities, supervise employees, or to receive a salary from the U.S. company.

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Immigration Bonds

Mon, 29 Dec 2014 16:56:00 GMT

A person held in immigration detention during removal proceedings may be eligible for a bond. Recently, the ICE immigration agents have been setting bonds as part of the initial detention, but that was not the previous practice and still is not consistently done. Whatever bond is set by the immigration police agents, the immigration judge can change it.

The bond is a financial undertaking that guarantees the presence of an immigration respondent at court hearings held in the case, in exchange for granting freedom to the detainee during the pendency of the case. Regardless of outcome, so long as the respondent has appeared before the immigration judge when required, the money is returned at the end of the case. A detainee who is released on bond can travel using the bond papers as authorization, though additional permission may be required from ICE for travel outside of the state where the immigration court is located.

If a detainee cannot pay the entire amount of the bond in cash, it may still be possible to obtain the services of a bail bondsman, who lends the bond money against collateral (such as a house) for the obligation and agreement to pay a percentage fee in addition to repaying the bond amount.

Bonds can initially be set by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Judges have the power to set a bond if one has not been determined earlier or redetermine the bond set by the officers.

Some important things to keep in mind about bonds:

A court hearing to set or redetermine a bond must be requested. The immigration judges do not schedule bond hearings as part of the regular immigration court hearings. Absent a request for a bond hearing, the detainee will likely pay the (usually) higher bond set by the arresting immigration agents, or remain in custody throughout the entire immigration case.
Some types of immigration cases are not eligible for a bond. Examples include certain types of prior criminal offenses that were committed by a detainee that are called aggravated felonies, which include not only some obvious examples such as murder and rape but also other less obvious candidates. Also a bond can be denied for prior crimes of moral turpitude, which basically are prior convictions for crimes that shock the conscience or outrage the moral sensibility of ordinary citizens, as determined by the immigration judge. Usually, crimes that involve carelessness rather than intentionally unlawful or malicious behavior escape this classification, but not always. Otherwise, the immigration judge generally has the last word on which crimes may fall into that category. Finally, drug related prior convictions can also lead to a denial of a bond, even for rather minor offenses such as possession of drug paraphernalia.
Even if the detainee is eligible to be considered for a bond, the judge needs to believe that the detainee will respect the terms and conditions of the bond, and not simply melt away anonymously into the general population, or pose a danger to persons or property. Otherwise, the judge might be embarrassed before colleagues or the general public as having been fooled, with resulting damage to the public. Proof of a bona fide residence where the detainee will be staying, as evidenced by utility bills, continuing employment, a history of paying taxes on time, letters from respected and respectable people in support of a bond, ownership of a home, car, or other significant assets, an absence of a history of violent behavior, all can help alleviate such concerns and reassure the judge that giving a bond is in the best interest of the public, the detainee, and his family.
By statute and regulation, the minimal bond allowed is $1500, but the Obama Administration has instructed all DHS Officers to start bonds at $7,500. There is no maximum set for a bond, which is left to the immigration judge’s discretion.
Bonds include many terms and conditions, the most important of which is that the detainee must stay out of trouble while the case is ongoing; otherwise, the bond could be revoked and the detainee incarcerated again, in addition to any other troubles incurred.
Getting a bond involves specialized, technical knowledge of a trained immigration professional, preferably an immigration attorney.

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Unanimously Votes for Drug Reduction Retroactivity

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 20:05:00 GMT

Last week, in a historic victory for nearly 46,000 federal drug offenders , the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) voted unanimously to apply recent amendments to the federal drug sentencing guidelines retroactively to all eligible offenders.

Earlier this year, the Sentencing Commission, who creates federal criminal sentencing statutes, voted to alter the “drug quantity table” used for federal sentencing by adjusting the “offense levels” downwardly by two levels. That prospective amendment will, absent overruling by Congress, go into effect November 1, 2014.

However, possible retroactive application of the “minus two” amendment was put on hold until the Sentencing Commission could solicit public comment and advice from the key stakeholders in the federal criminal justice and corrections fields. The Commission’s initial estimate was that some 51,000 current federal prisoners would gain reductions in their sentences, ranging from a few months to a few years, and that many of them would receive immediate release. In the case of those with lifetime terms of federal imprisonment, this would enable them to be released from custody at some point in their lifetime, if they live long enough.

At a public hearing in June, representatives from Eric Holder’s Department of Justice urged the Commission to grant retroactivity only to a small group of incarcerated offenders, those with minimal criminal histories and otherwise low-level offenders, under a concern for “public safety.” According to Brandon Sample, Executive Director of the criminal justice reform group Prisology , some 60,000 citizens also weighed in with letters and emails to the Commission, most of them urging full retroactivity.

In the end, a compromise was rendered. While full retroactivity was unanimously approved, the Commission said it would take a “measured” approach and make retroactivity effective on November 1, 2015, instead of in 2014. Commission chairperson Patti B. Saris, a United States District Court Judge for the District of Massachusetts, said in a press release ,
“The delay will help to protect public safety by enabling appropriate consideration of individual petitions by judges, ensuring effective supervision of offenders upon release, and allow effective reentry plans.”

Holder’s office did not issue an immediate comment, but it is projected that 46,265 federal prisoners will be released early due to the retroactive application of the change to the drug quantity table.

The matter is not yet set in stone however. Under the federal statutes empowering the Sentencing Commission to set the sentencing ranges in the federal criminal courts, Congress has until November 1, 2014, to overrule or modify the proposed change. While Congress has rarely used its supervisory power since the Commission’s creation in 1987, it has done so in the past, most notably in 1995, when it rejected the Commission’s proposed change to the “crack cocaine” guidelines. But given the changing public attitudes on drug sentencing since that time, intervention by Congress seems less likely this time around.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-zoukis/ussc-unanimously-votes-prison-reform_b_5601073.html

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Texas DUI Holidays

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 21:01:00 GMT

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will increase DWI patrols for a 15-day period that includes both the Christmas and New Year holidays. From Dec. 19 – Jan. 2, DPS troopers will focus DWI patrols in high-risk locations at times when alcohol-related crashes are most frequent.

“DPS’ enhanced patrols are designed to help save lives by identifying impaired and dangerous drivers and getting them off Texas roadways,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “Holiday celebrations create the increased potential for drinking and driving incidents, and we urge Texans to designate a sober driver or find alternative transportation if they plan to drink.”

During the Christmas/New Year holiday enforcement effort last year, DPS troopers made 1,505 DWI arrests. DPS enforcement also resulted in 24,928 speeding citations, 2,997 seat belt/child safety seat citations, in addition to 1,078 fugitive arrests, and 797 felony arrests during the enforcement period. A Texas Department of Transportation grant allows increased patrols in high-risk locations during the times when alcohol-related crashes are most frequent.

http://www.connectamarillo.com/news/story.aspx?id=1137963#.VJM_uNLF8xE

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Deferred Action for Adults

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:57:00 GMT

These initiatives include:

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