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Tag: parole

No More Parole for Children from Central America

August 17, 2017

No More Parole for Children from Central America

Attorney: Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova

On December 1, 2014, DHS and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced that the U.S. Government would allow certain minors in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to be considered for refugee status in the United States.  The program helped children to come to the United States if a qualifying parent was present in the US in a legal status.  At some point the program was expanded and helped to come  (1) The in-country biological parent of a qualifying child who is not legally married to the qualifying parent in the United States may apply, and the unmarried and under 21 years of age children and/or legal spouse of the in-country parent can also be included as derivatives of the in-country parent; (2) the caregiver of a qualifying child who is related to either the qualifying parent in the United States or the qualifying child may apply, and the unmarried and under 21 years of age children and/or legal spouse of the caregiver can also be included as derivatives of the caregiver; (3) the married and/or 21 years of age or older children of the qualifying parent (who is lawfully present in the United States) may apply, and (4) the unmarried and under 21 years of age children and legal spouse of the married and/or 21 years of age or older child can also be included as derivatives.

On August 16, 2017, the new administration cancelled the program. All those who were pre-qualified while in their country of origin will be notified that their registration would be terminated. This decision affects those who have not yet traveled to the United States. Those who were already paroled into the US, may remain here, their parole would not be terminated, and they will be allowed to submit form I 131 to be re -paroled while in the United States.

For those who got left behind overseas: they still may try regular Humanitarian parole route. More information on humanitarian parole may be found here:  http://www.russianspeakinglawyerny.com/humanitarian-parole/.

 

If you have questions regarding parole procedure and qualifications, call our office 917-885-2261.

 

New Immigration Opportunities for Entrepreneurs

August 26, 2016

New Immigration Opportunities for Entrepreneurs 

Author: New York Business Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova

Good news: new regulations are being implemented for entrepreneurs and owners of successful start-ups. USCIS announced plans to allow business owners to be paroled into the United States in connection with their business activities.  As always, the beneficiaries have to meet certain requirements and comply with certain restrictions.  One may find the text of the new proposed rules here: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Articles/FR_2016-20663_793250_OFR.pdf.

First, the proposed rules will provide a parole, not a visa. A parole is a permission to come, stay and work, but it does not in itself give a right to apply for permanent residency or citizenship. The qualifying beneficiaries have to be owners with at least 15% interest share, and the start ups should be new enterprises (opened within the past 3 years), and the enterprises must be “ promising” in that they  can create a substantial revenue or jobs.

Second, as always, the amount of money that a business should hold is quite substantial:  $345K from qualifying U.S. investors (such as venture capital firms, angel investors, or start-up accelerators), or at least $100K coming from grants.

In addition, an enterprise has to demonstrate a potential for reliable growth, job creation and overall be in the U.S. national interests.

How would this work? Basically, a business person who actively participates in the development of the business  will be allowed to come and stay in the US on a parole to oversee the development of the startup. (In most instances it means that a company also will be able to sponsor the person for permanent residency).  Once the 2 years are over, the beneficiary may apply to be re-paroled for an additional 3 years.  (DHS proposes that an applicant would generally be expected to demonstrate that the entity received at least $500,000 in additional qualifying funding during the initial parole period. A). The proposed rule will allow the entrepreneur’s spouse and children to apply for employment authorization.

The new proposed parole program may open the door to many entrepreneurs by allowing them to come to the US easier and avoid L1A/B requirements. It also is different from current non-immigrant visa regulations as it eliminates the need of an investment treaty between the country of origin and the US.  It sets defined criteria for the amount of capital that the startup should attract to be considered successful.