Carlos Colombo Presenting on the EB-5 Visa and US Investor Visas at Cannes Expo
Colombo & Hurd, PL is honored to be a sponsor of the Cannes International Emigration & Luxury Property Expo on October 26th and 27th, 2017. The Cannes Expo is the world’s leading exhibition featuring companies from over 30 countries dedicated to immigration, luxury real estate, and private financial consulting and will be held at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes. France. Colombo & Hurd’s founding partner, Carlos M. Colombo, is one of the select speakers presenting...
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How to Prepare for an Immigration Interview at USCIS
An immigration interview with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can be a nerve-wracking experience. One of the questions we get the most here at the firm is what is going to happen at my immigration interview and how do I need to prepare? While interviews are a normal part of the process in obtaining permanent residency (often known as a green card) it can be stressful for anyone who is not familiar with the process. Understanding what will happen at an immigration interview at USCIS can help ease your mind, and will help you prepare for the interview itself.
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Obtaining an E-2 Visa in Florida
For immigrants looking to make an investment in the United States, an E-2 investor visa may be an appropriate option for an investor who wishes to direct and develop a commercial enterprise in which they have invested a substantial amount of money or capital. This type of visa allows citizens of certain countries to live and work in the United States for up to five years (depending on the treaty country), with the option to renew the visa for additional periods while the business is in...
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Florida Police Acting Like Immigration Agents Despite Promises
It is no surprise that since President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, immigration raids and deportations have increased. President Trump campaigned on harsh anti-immigration policies, and has continued to take a stance against all types of immigration. He appointed an attorney general, Jeff Sessions, who was well known as a senator for being fiercely opposed to illegal immigration. His pick for chief of the Department of Homeland Security — and now his Chief of Staff — has also...
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E-2 Visa Approved at US Consulate in Caracas, Venezuela for Grocery Store
We are proud to announce that our client of dual Italian and Venezuelan citizenship was recently approved for an E-2 Visa from the U.S. Consulate in Caracas, Venezuela. Our client will be operating a grocery store in Florida. He was approved for a 5-year E-2 Visa based on our submission. If you would like to learn more about the potential to invest in the U.S. to obtain an E-2 Visa, contact Colombo & Hurd today at our Orlando office at (407) 478-1111 or our Miami office at (305) 455-0590...
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How a Proposed Change in Student Visa Requirements Will Impact American Colleges and Universities
Under a new proposal by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), foreign students may have to apply for permission to remain in the United States each year that they are in school — which may prove disastrous for colleges and universities that rely on international students to support their burgeoning costs. Currently, there are 20 million students attending colleges and universities across the United States. Approximately 5 percent — or 1 million — of these students are foreign students....
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Administration Considers Expanding the Deportation Powers of the Department of Homeland Security
According to an internal memorandum by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Trump Administration is weighing a dramatic expansion of the agency’s power to deport undocumented immigrants. The proposal would allow federal agents to deport undocumented immigrants without a hearing, and may result in an abuse of process and in immigrants losing their legal rights. Current Deportation Authority Is Limited As the law currently stands, DHS and its federal agents are only authorized to...
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E-2 Visa Extension Requirements
For foreign investors, E-2 visas are frequently an attractive option. Foreign nationals can invest in a commercial enterprise in the United States, and obtain a visa to enter the United States to direct and develop the business. These visas are for a period of from three months to five years (depending on the specific treaty with the foreign national’s country) and can be renewed. Unlike other types of visas, an E-2 visa does not have a direct path to permanent residency. For immigrants who...
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Supreme Court Clarifies Ruling on Trump’s Travel Ban
Shortly after his inauguration in January, President Trump signed an executive order that placed limits on the ability of nationals of seven majority Muslim counties to travel to the United States. Under this order — which quickly became known as a “travel ban” — citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Iraq were largely prevented from entering the United States. Later, Iraq was removed from the list of countries on the list via a separate executive order. Protests immediately...
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Investment in a Franchise to Obtain the E-2 Visa
E-2 investor visas permit foreign nationals to enter the United States to direct and develop a commercial enterprise in which they have invested a substantial amount of money or capital. There are numerous requirements for obtaining an E-2 investor visa that must be demonstrated before the visa will be approved. Many of these criteria can be challenging to prove which is why many investors consider a franchise to be an ideal choice for obtaining an E-2 visa. However, this is not always the...
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Bipartisan DREAM Act May Provide Dreamers with a Path to Citizenship
Immigration has long been a hot topic in both political and legal news, particularly when it comes to programs that are designed to assist undocumented immigrants in obtaining legal status. Many of these programs are now under threat by the Trump administration, including a popular measure intended to help young adults avoid deportation. A new bipartisan bill may help these young adults achieve permanent residency and ultimately, citizenship. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)...
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DACA Recipient Faces Revocation of Status, Deportation Again Due to 2010 Driving Without a License Arrest
The DACA program is intended to provide hard working, ambitious, and law-abiding young people with the opportunity to live, study, and work in the United States. This opportunity was limited to young people who were brought to the United States as children and who had developed ties to the community and the United States at large. Underlying this policy is a fundamental sense of fairness in the fact that these individuals did not choose to come to the United State but have nevertheless worked...
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EB-5 Visa Regional Center Program Extended Through September 2017
On May 5, 2017 President Trump approved the bipartisan Congressional spending bill that will continue to fund the U.S. government through September 30, 2017. Despite concerns over a potential termination or amendment of the popular EB-5 Visa Regional Center Program, Congress has agreed to extend the program cleanly through the conclusion of the 2017 fiscal year. Despite significant opposition from prominent Republican and Democratic legislators, Congress agreed to extend the program without...
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Following Indications that Courthouse Immigration Raids will Continue, State Chief Justices Speak Out
Most observers expected a more aggressive approach to immigration enforcement from the Drumpf administration. However, many immigrants and observers have been nevertheless been shocked by some of these tactics. One of the more controversial gambits employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are courthouse raids on undocumented immigrants. In many instances, the undocumented immigrants are coming to the courthouse for ICE-mandated check-ins or other unrelated proceedings....
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As Uncertainty Surrounds H-1B Visas, Businesses and Individuals May Consider L-1 or EB-5 Visas, Respectively
The H-1B visa has developed into one of the high-profile immigration solutions employed by businesses. In essence, the H-1B visa permits greater labor flexibility since companies can seek workers from abroad to fill certain job roles when an American is unable to perform the job. An array of rules and regulations surround this process and interested companies will typically need to seek labor certification from the Department of Labor. However, perceptions now exist that the H-1B program is...
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“Final” Temporary EB-5 Extension Expected as April Reauthorization Deadline Approaches
The EB-5 Visa and the regional center visa program have experienced some turbulent times over the past several years. Despite attracting little attention for the first two decades of its existence, the EB-5 visa program exploded onto the scene following the Great Recession. The rapid growth of the program was made possible due to two converging trends. First, real estate developers doing business in the United States sought an alternate source of capital as traditional investment and funding...
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Prior to Tweet Controversy, Embattled Representative Introduced Bill to Kill EB-5 Program
Many news watchers are probably keenly familiar with U.S. Representative Steve King due to his potentially offensive remarks and tweets regarding race relations in the United States. Recently, a furor erupted over recent tweets by King in which he praised a far-right Dutch politician and implied that immigration was harmful to western society. However, prior to making these remarks, King took an equally concerning, although significantly less noticed, step regarding immigration policy. In...
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Detained DREAMer Released After Being Held for 6 Weeks
Six weeks ago, DREAMer Daniel Ramirez Media was taken into custody by ICE despite his protected status. The arrest and detainment of this DREAMer set off panic among many immigrants and family members who had relied on their protected status under DACA and taken steps to build a life in the United States. While there are still serious questions regarding ICE’s actions and approach to immigrants and protected status, there is at least one piece of good news for DREAMers and their family...
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House Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on EB-5 Visa Program
For years, members of the House of Representatives and a number of members of the Senate have expressed concern over the EB-5 visa program. These concerns are generally premised on the belief that the EB-5 program is being abused by developers. This is creating a scenario where individuals in rural areas believe that the promised benefits of EB-5 investment are not being delivered. Rather, they charge that the practice of gerrymandering is allowing EB-5 regional centers and developers to...
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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Releases Implementation Memo Discussing Border Patrol Enforcement Priorities
In recent weeks, the immigration and border enforcement regime that Americans and American immigrants had become accustomed to were thrown into disarray. Longstanding assumptions about ICE agents and other enforcement priorities seemed to fall away and immigrants were left with a sense of anxiety over whether they would become targets for removal or otherwise face immigration enforcement action. Our Orlando deportation lawyers explain: Those most concerned about these actions include...
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