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What types of clients do you help?

I tried to stay away from detained deportation because very little we can do to help. Unfortunately, there are so many sharks out there who are treating immigration like ambulance chasing. They are taking cases left and right, whether they can win or not, charging all kinds of money because people are detained, and when people are detained, their families pay dearly. I was interviewing a client, and he told me that, or he told me that, actually they never know what are the facts in a case until they show up that day and they give him the file and that the paralegals are the ones that are reviewing and screening the clients. So he said he’s changing firms because he just can’t deal with the chaos and the sadness of losing all the time and again for reasons beyond his control. Even in non-detained immigration things are different. Asylum has been rewritten completely. The judges are not being independent. They don’t have the freedom. And, you know, they work for the Department of Justice. So whatever the Department of Justice tells them, they have to do. And the BIA is just a rubber stamp or a complete reversal of whatever, any affirmative relief you get in court, any relief you get in removal proceedings. The BIA is likely 99% perhaps to just reverse it and to rebuke the judge. So many cases are being decided and made precedent, so it’s almost impossible to help anybody, even those who have asylum, strong asylum, who have been tortured in Turkey and other places in the world, Middle East, South America, they’re finding a way out. Even those who are tortured, they say, well, you have to prove future torture. And you’re not credible and you forgot this and you’re inconsistent in this. And the government is, it used to be that we could speak to the government’s attorney and say, look, we have a good case. Do you mind reviewing it? And many times we would jointly move for the judge to please grant the relief. Right now, they can’t even as much as not oppose. they have to oppose even if they know it’s a good case.

How has immigration law changed?

The system has changed a lot, obviously. Back then, immigration was what it really meant. Everybody wanted to come in. Family unity was most important. Reagan was there, who was a Republican, who passed the only amnesty that we’ve had since 40 years. So people who have been here since before 1986, for a number of years, were granted amnesty. Clinton extended that to over 2000, But since then, we’ve never had an amnesty. Back then was everybody who had been working, paying their taxes, reporting them, etc., etc., no crimes committed except for misdemeanors. They were all granted a pathway to residency, not to citizenship, as you hear it in the newspapers today. Since then, we’ve really, it’s 180 degree change since then for now. Now those who file for taxes are being penalized because they’re finding from the income tax from the IRS that these people have a tax ID number, for example, not a social security, and they’re arresting them based on their income taxes. So it was a time of compassion, a time where we really welcomed immigrants. Political asylum was truly a political asylum. So if you escape Russia, Romania, the communist countries, we welcome them. We welcomed you with open hands, I may say, and we gave them work permits and everything. I don’t think we’ll ever go back to that ever. And I was, I’m really honored to have started at that time where my passion was immigration, given I’m an immigrant. I just can’t describe the feeling to be immigrating and to help so many families immigrate who are afraid to go back at that time. Right now, it’s complete opposite.

The simplest way to choose between EB1, NIW, and PERM

Well, if they really have something in the national interest, like I said, reconstructing bridges, for example, if they’re doing something that clearly the country needs, and these things change, obviously, with each priority that each administration has. So, if you would come in now and you’re able to do anything robotic, anything that benefits the United States, robotics, AI, etc., you’re likely to be approved. But if you’re coming in and say, you know, I’m very good at math, and I have a doctorate in math and 10 year experience, and I’ve published a few books, that may not do it anymore.

Who should consider an EB1 visa instead of permanent resident visa?

You really should know if you’re on top of your career, if you’re somebody who’s a well-known singer, for example, or a great basketball player all over the world. But somebody who is still climbing the ladder of success and still accumulating all the rewards, maybe they should think twice. I mean, it’s very creative, but as I told you, when you’re fighting an agency using artificial intelligence to see what you don’t have as opposed to what you have, you really have a strong fight and a difficult fight. So, I personally wouldn’t want to take these cases at this time. Legenda Adriana Zanotto

Common reasons cases get denied

That what you claim to be in the national interest isn’t. For example, vaccines may not be considered to be in the national interest, where they should be. So if you’re inventing a vaccine, our health secretary will say, we don’t need that vaccine, you’re not going to get it. Immigration has become political, and that’s sad. Immigration should not be a political football game. That’s what it’s become. And each administration, I mean, the mandate is to deport or remove illegal criminal aliens, not mom and pop and those who’ve been here for 20 years and a misdemeanor, et cetera, or three U.S. children and a U.S. citizen spouse. Times have changed.

What is the EB1 visa?

Well, the EB1 category of our immigration code is reserved for many, but most of us, most of the clients think of it as only for the people who have exceptional abilities in the arts and sciences. It also has more like the executives, transfer executives from overseas to U.S. affiliates or subsidiaries. However, people speak of EB1 and EB2, and they call us and say, would you do an EB1 or EB2 for me? And EB2 is the National Interest Waiver is what they are concentrating on. So the National Interest Waiver, which is EB2, or a person of exceptional abilities in the arts and sciences, EB1, right now is not the time to file it. because they’ve heightened the level, you know, the burden of proof so high that you almost have to be an aid to the king in order to get it. But the perm, if you advertise for somebody who has experience and you need them, and you can’t find somebody in the United States to take that job, and you have the money to pay them, you know, what the Department of Labor says you pay them. So you’re paying them a prevailing wage, the same like you have to pay any American. Then, although it takes maybe three years because of the delays, but at the end you would come in with your wife and children and the minor children and you would get residency if you’re a nurse or a physical therapist you don’t even to advertise it’s considered to be you’re considered to be in in short supply in the United States same thing with executives under the L1 so unless you have a very strong case for an L1 under EB1 or you really are way up there, a scholar, you know, well-known throughout the world. I wouldn’t file for EB1 or EB2. It’s too discretionary. And even having AI programs evaluate you. And obviously, an AI is going to find, it’s used by immigration, not to find the good things, but the bad things. So a perm is more secure at this time, although it takes a lot of time. And you establish a shortage, you have the money, you get it. He will come in.

What is the EB2 visa?

An EB-2 is a self-petition where you can prove that whatever you possess, whatever you’re going to be working on when you come into the United States, is in the national interest. Now, the word national interest is relative. Right now, it could be that you are a master carpenter or a master construction worker, depending on the need of the country. If you’re an architect or a civil engineer and your expertise is in reconstructing or re-importing bridges, we definitely need you. So it is in the national interest to waive the requirement for a PERM. But if you cannot establish that, just do a PERM. It’s going to take him two, three years anyway to get you the EBE, the residency from EB1. There are many exceptions. A lot of attorneys will disagree with me. But I don’t like to gamble with people’s money nowadays, and that’s what it is. Unless you’re on top of the field, I’m not taking your case. I’m not gambling your life, your money.

Benefits of EB1 over green cards

If EB1 was what it used to be and you clearly meet the criteria which is listed, you self-petition and you could continue your work and you can get it. Same thing with the national interest waiver. As long as you’re going to continue the line of work you’ve been. So a professor of nuclear physics could come in and do it. Right now they can say, “Oh, there’s too many nuclear physicists in the world, so we don’t think you’re on top of it. But it used to be good, and it may still be. I, at this time, I’m not accepting EB1s or EB2s because you take good money and you’re facing an agency that is looking to disqualify you, not to qualify you and help our economy and our country. If they have a big business, I mean, when I say big business, A big, large business, I should say, overseas with a large number of employees and they have a large capital to invest. Yeah, they can come in on the EB1 executive transfer. So large companies, again, you have to look at how many employees you’re employing, how much money you’re investing. Yeah, they certainly still have a way to come in.

How is EB1 different from permanent labor certification?

You just file a petition saying I’m one of the few people who are exceptional in the arts of sciences. I had a surgeon who can do a knee operation on the field when they’re playing soccer in a tent. With like 20 minutes, you could do a knee operation. That’s definitely a clear EB1. EB1 also is an executive of a foreign company, say Philips in Europe, they come here. Same like Hyundai is doing, you know, you could come on L1A or L1B. This is a big company. So if you qualify under the EB1 and you clearly qualify and you really have somebody review it, most people will not pay to have an attorney review it. They just want the attorney to read their resume and say, yeah, I’ll do it. So people will take 15,000 and will do it. And they send it to some outsourced attorney in India or something. And they write accolades and they write everything and they prepare it. At the end, the standard, like I said, is so high. You’re better off doing a PERP at this time. In the past, we’ve done EP1s and national interest waivers. Even for people who are fixing bridges with the city of Miami, I had a national interest waiver approved because we need engineers, civil engineers, to fix the bridges in the United States. But right now, unless it’s a strong L1 executive, I would not go through the exceptional abilities in the arts of sciences unless I clearly qualify. Don’t let the lawyer sell you about yourself and tell you how great you are, et cetera. You have to know. You have to know if you’re on top of your field or not. And what perm, you just have to be in short supply.

When should someone not attempt immigration on their own?

If they have any record, if they’ve overstayed even over 10 years from now, if they have any misdemeanors, if they have anything, if they have too many traffic tickets, if there’s any small nut in their line of life, they should consult a lawyer and not try to do it. And don’t listen to AI either because people have come to me who said, I want to renew my green card and AI tell them to file an I-90, which is a form to replace your I-90 if it’s lost or if it’s expired. When you wanna renew your green card or if you have a conditional residency, you need a petition, an I-751, not an I-90. And I’ve had like three clients come in the past year who just did the wrong thing and missed the deadline. So if you use AI, make sure that you ask them for sources and check with an attorney, it doesn’t hurt.

The biggest mistakes people make before hiring an attorney

When people call they only find the people around them and they usually shop by phone so if they like whoever they speak to or the first person who called them usually gets the job instead of getting a second opinion or advice from somebody who’s more experienced it seems that somebody who’s an actor who tells the people what they want to hear is more likely to be retained than an attorney who tells them the truth and tells them don’t do it it’s not going to work they don’t like it they come to you although they’re paying sometimes for the consultation they come to you so you could tell them that what you’re thinking is great but when you tell them you’re on the wrong track they shut their mind off and they want to go to the person who told them you can’t do it and that’s that you should shop for the best attorney and meet them in person don’t just make a decision on the phone or on email.

What to know before you start the immigration process

Don’t listen to what you hear on TikTok. I get a lot of people listening to Instagram. People are giving advice. They’re giving you wrong advice. Don’t listen to them. They don’t know what they’re talking about. They’re just getting likes and numbers. This is probably the first ever I speak on social media, but I guess the time has come that most of us should talk and make people realize what the law is like, not what people claim to know what the law is. You have to have experience, you have to listen to experienced people. People who tell you, “Oh, I heard it on the news, oh, I heard my friends say it.” That’s not a source of, a good source for immigration. And I get people all the time, lately from Instagram, they’re getting immigration advice. I have no idea where Instagram has become the law college of the universe or of the United States.

Can I sponsor a family member in a complicated situation?

You could only bring a family member from overseas if you have enough money to support them for the first 10 years, they’re here, or 40 working quarters, which comes after 10 years. And if you have health insurance for both of them, you and yourself, and if you make enough money to support them, you can’t be making 24 or 40,000 and say, I’m going to support a family of three. That’s impossible. Recently also, they’re checking that the petitioner does not have any problems with the law. So, if somebody has a felony, they are delaying it. But nobody said that somebody who’s a felon cannot get married, maybe after they’ve repented 10 years later. So you can, it’s difficult, but they’re making it more and more difficult, depending on your skin color and your national origin.

How long does it take to bring a family member to the U.S.?

If there was no pause, it would take a year and a half to two years. But with the pause, it’s going to take longer until the pause is. Only for these countries who have a pause. If you’re from a country like the white Anglo-Saxon European countries and other countries, if you’re not on a pause, it would take a year and a half, two years. It’s faster now because of the pause for the countries who don’t have a pause because they’re taking advantage of the fact that other countries cannot.

The most common types of family immigration

Usually, spouses of citizens or parents of citizens, spouses of green card holders, minor children, unmarried minor children under 21 of green card holders, these are all current. There’s no waiting. Actually, the first parents of you a citizen or the spouse of you a citizen is an immediate relative. There’s no waiting, no quota. like the second preference, which is for spouses of green card holders or minor children of green card holders. Right now they are current because there are not many filing. Again, if you’re outside the United States and you are from one of the countries that Trump banned or have put a pause on, you may not be able to come in until the law is found to be capricious and unreasonable in a court of law. Especially if, you know, the sad part of it is I have to comment this is you could come here and succeed because your parents help you. And you become a lawyer or a doctor and your father is now 70 and you want to bring him here and he has diabetes or he has whatever. They’re saying, oh, if you have one of these diseases, we don’t want you to come here because you’re going to use Medicare or Medicaid. The fact is they can require insurance and they usually have an affidavit of support that they cannot get government help for 10 years. whatever they keep selling the public in America, that if they come here, they’re going to use their Medicaid. They can’t do it for 10 years, and they have to qualify for it. As most people who apply for Medicare, they realize they have to have 40 hours of work. Or if they go to Medicaid, they are prohibited from getting Medicaid as long as the sponsor, their son or their spouse, requires an affidavit of support for 10 years or 40 working quarters. So it’s a myth that they’re going to come and take away your money and take away our public benefits. You know, the money we spent on Iran alone could have given everybody free health benefits for maybe five years.

How long does the immigration process take?

If you’re in the United States and you’re seeking an E2, a change of status, or you’re seeking an EB-5, it’s much easier. Because once you file for an EB-5, for example, in the United States, you apply for adjustment of status at the same time. And you’ll get a work permit and a travel permit and everything. And you could at least support yourself and do any other business. For example, you don’t want to open a small business to get an E2. You don’t want to open a big business. Maybe you want to be a consultant. Maybe you want to teach. Maybe you want to be a professor. This way, you could file for an EB-5, secure that you’re going to get your residency while working in what you love, wherever your passion is. And you wouldn’t be limited as to how many employees I have, how much taxes I have to pay, because the amount of taxes you would pay on an L1 or an E2 for two or three years, that it would take to become, the question is how long it would take, the time that will take you to become a resident is just too much money. And if at the end it’s not well planned and you lose, then you lost all that money down the drain. And you probably pay more than $800,000 required by the AB5. So let’s hope they renew that.

Biggest mistakes in investment immigration

When they come in and they don’t know the business, it’s like if you go, if I go to Italy, you know, I may think I know the law, but there are customs, there are habits, there are certain things I don’t know. I remember in law school we studied a case and there were some accused of bribing some Italian people in order to get things done. And they argued that that’s a custom over there, that they shouldn’t be penalized for it or face a criminal charge. So I’m not saying we have it here, but if you come in, you don’t know that the Chamber of Commons is not really a government entity. You don’t know what people like. You don’t know what car you should sell, depending what kind of business you want to go in. If you come in and you open a restaurant with Vietnamese food, maybe there’s a lot of study in the area before you do. So I say if you’re going to come in and invest without any assistance from a realtor or somebody who’s familiar with investments, then you might as well bring double the amount of investment with you because you’re going to lose the first amount. So if you want to plan a million dollar investment, bring two millions, you’re going to lose the first million, unless you know what you’re talking about, which is you really need somebody here who knows the system.

EB5 Visas in simple terms

Well, basically the EB-5, there are two ways. You either invest 800,000 yourself and hire 10 American workers within the first year and show them that you’re going to do it. Or you go through a regional center which is registered with the government where they have a hotel, for example, or a ski resort or whatever, any good business that will guarantee that you will employ 10 American workers. The last time I read, the rate of approval for those who do it themselves is about 38-39%, and maybe they’re being generous. I think nowadays it’s much less. But if you go with a reputable regional center who has been doing it for a long time, and you make sure you review the investment with a lawyer before you go in, that the company isn’t going to go bankrupt. You check their finances, you check everything, because they’re supposed to give you this information. And they’re supposed to give you the record with immigration. Once you prepare and you plan, you know, like they say, people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan. And that’s what happens, really.

What is investment immigration?

Again, those who have the gold, you know, if you have $850,000, it’s $800,000, but with the expenses and legal fees, it comes to $900,000. There are some solid companies, but people do not know that the EB-5 has to be filed by September of this year. Otherwise, if they don’t renew the law in 2027 in September, some of the protections available to those who file after September will not be available. And if we still have the same president, he’s likely led to sign an extension of the EB-5, although he used it a lot in his hotels, etc. But because he wants to market his million-dollar green card, it’s a shame what’s happening. But you could still come in with an EB-5. You could come in with an E-2 or an L-1 and then become a resident. And people think that if you have an E1 or E2 that you cannot become a resident. E2, I should say, you could have an E2, come and invest in the United States, but also qualify under Section EB1 of the law, the file for immigrant status. So you can come in at an E2, L1, and if you have a big company and lots of employees, you’ll be able to become a resident.

Realistic immigration options

Obviously, if you’re coming from overseas, from abroad, those who are doing EB-5s or doing an E-2 or an L-1 from a well-founded, well-established company, many employees, they should be able to get it, although there’s a pause on non-immigrant visas. If you’re doing a labor certification, which is a PERM, there shouldn’t be a pause if you’re getting $100,000 when you come in. But everything outside the United States is paused for the moment. So mainly the people who are in the United States are benefiting and are carrying through. However, at the end, we figure if a case takes three years for a perm or two years for an EB-5 and they’re outside, that hopefully the system will change in November and we will be able to help them. We’re not stopping in accepting cases because we believe that justice will prevail and reason will prevail. And American people who are wonderful, warm, hospitable people will elect people who will allow immigrants to come in. So small businesses can operate, the construction can go back to where it used to be, groceries could go down. I mean, we’re paying for the immigration, even for legal immigration. We are paying the price of the administration cutting off legal and illegal immigration.

Immigration pathways that seem easy but are not

Everybody comes in and they go to a notario and they say, oh, we’ll fill up an asylum for you. And most of them are victims. They don’t know. And they tell them, sign here, sign here. They don’t speak English. They don’t read English. They just sign it trusting a notario who is charging them 500 to get him a work permit. But the way he was getting them a work permit would have been through a fraudulent asylum claim. Then they move on only to find out later on that they were deported and abstentiate. There are so many cases that are showing up like that. If you have a heart problem or you had a heart attack and you go to a lousy doctor and he operates on you and then you go to a better doctor, the chances of the better doctor being able to save you is harder. People who take quantity over quality and notarios who don’t know what they’re doing, there are some notarios that do very better work than attorneys, but they’re not licensed, not accountable. There are many agencies that help for free. I’d rather they go there and work with attorneys pro bono rather than go to unlicensed practitioners.

What should someone know before trying to come to the US?

If they can come in, if they have a visa and they can come in, and, you know, because most visa issuance now, you have to have a bond or, but suppose they have a visa and they want to come in, they should make sure they don’t have any crimes anywhere, even if they’re misdemeanors, even if it’s in a past visit to the United States. If they’ve overstayed three, four days, five, 10 years ago, and CBP finds out, they will kick him out or take him in detention. no matter where they’re from, British, Canadians, Europeans, even people who have been here for 20 years or 30 years as permanent residents but could not become citizens because of their language, they are being stopped and detained. So we hear people who are elderly and who have been here for 20 years, and children are citizens who are being detained. So everybody is afraid to travel, and as a result, everybody is afraid to come here. So the economy is suffering terribly because of the lack of immigration, legal immigration, because of lack of some programs like the H2B program. We’re back to might makes right and those who have the gold make the rules. The golden rule is if you have the gold, you make the rules. So people with a lot of money can still come into the country through EB-5, through a good L1. But unfortunately, family immigration from outside will suffer.

How has your practice evolved in response to recent policy changes?

Recently we’re going to have very few people. There is a pause on maybe 39 countries in total. There is a ban on 21 countries outside and inside in the name of checking that they don’t become a public charge, that they’re going to use the government. Of course, the biggest case that the administration lost or will lose is the Supreme Court birthright citizenship. That keeps people applying for their parents and benefiting. So family is what we’re forced to do most. Firms, which are labor certification, where we can prove that there is a shortage. And right now there’s a big shortage because so many people left. The industries are suffering from, they can’t find competent, good workers to do the work. It’s not that Americans cannot do their work, but they will not do it for the prices that others are getting paid and for some jobs, some menial jobs, and they would not accept. I’m not saying that all immigrants take menial jobs. We have doctors, we have lawyers, we have pioneers in this country. This country was built on immigrants for immigrants and will remain for immigrants. Anybody who is not an immigrant has to be a native Indian. And the native Indian, it is said that they came into the Alaska Peninsula before it separated. So maybe we’re all immigrants. But the Haitian community, for example, in South Florida and the Jamaican community, Trump wants them all out. They constitute a large part of our medical system. All the nurses, all the physician assistants, the doctors, the medical field is full of Haitians in South Florida. He’s doing it not based on reason or the fact that in fact there is no danger in the country where they have to go to. Anybody can tell you Haiti is one of the worst countries to go to. Anybody can tell you Colombia, South America, the Middle East, many countries. But it’s he wants the white and the reds to come in and the white and the reds do not want to come in anymore. They’re staying in Europe so we’re almost not having any immigration which is why you’re saying the preferences in the second preference and many other preferences in the preference system speed up because he is causing all benefits in the United States and out. Obviously knowing that there is litigation going on and that we eventually will prevail we are taking these cases even if there’s a pause or a ban, knowing that at the end we will prevail, justice will prevail, and we will be able to carry through getting them residency or whatever benefit they’re entitled to.

What's one thing people misunderstand about immigration law?

When they really believe that immigration is a friendly system based on the ads they read and based on what the notarios tell them, they tell them, “Oh, you want a work permit? I can get you a work permit. You know, it’s $400, $500. Or I can charge you $1,000 and get your residency.” And unfortunately, most immigrants are kind-hearted. They trust people from their own countries. And notarios are also known as licenciados in South America. Licenciado means licensed, but it also means a doctor when they’re licenciado. So they’re licensed as notaries. Anybody could be a notary. Whenever they hear notario, they think it’s the same like South America. They get inexpensive advice. They shop for the least expensive lawyer. When nowadays you have to go with the most experienced, not the cheapest lawyer because you get what you pay for.