The Vassell Law Group Immigration PodCast

Labor Shortages

How the J-1 Cultural Exchange and H-2B Seasonal Visas can help with your labor shortages!

Speed Processing Your Visa and More!!

Can hiring a U.S. immigration lawyer speed up the process for my case?

What is TPS and is it the same as asylum?

How much money do I need to invest in the U.S. to get an investor visa?

Is there anything I as U.S. Citizen can do?..He married me for the Green Card and now he is divorcing me!

Work Visas Available for ‘The Great Resignation’

H-2B visas are seasonal work visas. Many of our Au-pair clients and Student Visa OPT clients are switching status to H-2B visas due to the need for business to employ professional and skilled workers based on the lack of qualified workers due to ‘ The Great Resignation’ during the COVID pandemic.

If Your U.S. Visa Expires is There a Way to Still Be in Status?

Is There ever a Time When Your Visa is Expired but yet your still  in status?

 

The answer is yes! I'll explain.

 

This is your U.S. Immigration Minute where we give you Immigration Tips & News without the Politics.

 

Whenever a foreign national travels to the U.S. On a temporary non-immigrant visa, he or she is issued an I-94 record which can be accessed electronically.

 

As a general rule, the I-94 expiration date always rules over the visa expiration date.

 

. For instance we had a client whose visa issued by the U.S. Consulate abroad expired without a new application being filed to renew. 

 

.Panic set in, yet I knew the client had travelled frequently on their L non immigrant visa in and out of the U S. Since issuance of their visa. 

 

I had my paralegal go online to check the expiration of

The I-94 as we all waited with bated breath.

 

The Outcome was a relief. Despite the consulate issued visa expiration, U.S. customs border and patrol had approved our clients’ I-94 to remain in the U.S. for another 3 months beyond visa expiration.

 

We were able to successfully prepare and file a visa extension timely for 2 more years without any gap or unlawful presence accruing to the applicant; and all done while she remained in the U.S. without issue.

Avoiding the Au Pair 60 Day Trap!!

At ScottVassell Law Firm, our lawyers have had the pleasure of working with Au Pairs in the United States over the past two decades and protecting the status of these bright intelligent youth with great dreams and aspirations from around the world.

 The Au Pair program is a cultural exchange program, run by the Department of State (‘DOS’) that permits youth between the age of  18 and 26 years old to provide childcare to U.S. parents who are typically professionals, executives and business owners. The program is for 12 months, but DOS may approve a one-time extension of 6, 9, or 12 months if the Au Pair demonstrates compliance with certain educational requirements and files at least 30 days prior to expiration.

E-2 Visa Innovators & Investors Needed ~Partnering to Solve Pandemic Problems

While lockdowns and quarantines have placed the world on ‘pause’--- we have witnessed businesses and investors respond to the pandemic as an opportunity to unite internationally in solving unprecedented problems. Finding solutions fast to grapple with the ‘new normal’ has become essential for society due to the crisis created by the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The Sensitive Matter of ESTA Visa Waivers & The Impact of COVID-19

With the arrival of  an unprecedented world pandemic, due to COVID-19, wreaking havoc on everything and everyone; individuals holding ESTA visa waiver status have been left in a unique sensitive ‘bind’. Specifically, their U.S. non-immigrant U.S. status has been placed at risk with lockdowns, and flight cancellations just prior to his or her VWP expiration date.  It’s important to pause and remember the big difference between foreign national citizens who enter the country on the ‘sensitive’ VWP, versus foreign nationals that enter the U.S. on a traditional non-immigrant visa issued by a U.S. Consulate Post abroad.

Visas and Viruses

“All flights are cancelled; I am here on a 90 day visa waiver, and it expires next week what should I do”? These are questions our lawyers at ScottVassell & LeeCC answer daily. We hope this short podcast will reduce anxiety and allow you to safeguard your current U.S. ESTA visa waiver or temporary visa status set to expire amidst the pandemic.

Saying Goodbye to Your Beloved Au Pair

When Saying Goodbye to Your Beloved Au Pair Causes You to Weep-Can You Help Them Stay? We have had the privilege of working with many families over the years who have hired Au Pairs to care for their young children. But then, the working relationship becomes more than that of an employee-employer. In fact, the Au Pair becomes just like part of the family. At the end of the authorized J-1 Visa Work Period as an au pair, it's time to say good bye and everyone starts to weep.  I mean everyone... the children, the parents and the Au Pair.  Believing there is no way for the Au Pair to remain in the United States, and desperate for options, the lawyers here at ScottVassell Law Group have successfully navigated the complex J-1 Visa Department of State Rules to help.  

Specifically, we have helped au pair's remain in the U.S. with their "new found" family through a change of status. If you want to learn how we do this, stay tuned as we go into our  Immigration Classroom and explain!

From Thrilling to Chilling I-140 Employment Based Sponsorship

Your U.S. employer has agreed to foot all the legal fees to sponsor you in Employment Based ("EB") Permanent Status in the United States. What could possibly go wrong? Your position is approved as an EB-2 or EB-3 category I-140 for adjustment of status purposes; and now all you have to do is sit back and wait as your employer and their lawyer handle 'everything'. Well... not so fast. If you want to know the risks associated with having your U.S. employer's lawyer handle your delicate status in the United States...keep listening!