Dedicated to providing individualized legal advice and services to our clients in the areas of immigration and naturalization law matters.

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor program is a provision of the U.S. immigration law that allows foreign nationals, their spouses, and unmarried minor children to obtain U.S. permanent residence status, which will later allow them to apply for citizenship. To obtain this status, one must invest in a commercial enterprise in the U.S. that creates or preserves 10 permanent full-time jobs for U.S. workers. This provision Read More

As an immigration attorney with a background in economics, finance, and tax law, I tend to look at the immigration issues in economic terms. While many people are under the impression that immigration is a drag on the U.S. economy and that immigrants take jobs from Americans, this is simply not true. Immigrants don’t take jobs from Americans, they create jobs for Americans. It is not a coincidence that the largest Read More

There are many disparate opinions about what the U.S. should do about undocumented immigrants, but the group that elicits the most compassion seems to be those who were brought to the U.S. as children. Most Americans sympathize with the plight of children who have lived much of their life in the U.S., and in many cases, do not even remember living anywhere else or even speak anything other than English. Some of them Read More

By now everyone has been heard of the Muslim ban and the suspension of processing of refugee applications. On January 29th I presented a program on the Refugee Crisis at the Keys Jewish Community Center (KJCC) to members of the KJCC and the wider Keys Community. I started planning this program last summer but decided that I should present this after the election because I wanted to concentrate on the humanitarian, Read More

H-1B visas are available to allow U.S. businesses to hire professionals on a temporary basis for three years. The visa may thereafter be renewed for an additional three years. To qualify, the person hired must have at least a bachelor’s degree or higher in a specific occupational specialty and must be offered a position that requires that specific degree. The occupational specialties that are generally accepted Read More

Much of the discussion about removing undocumented workers focuses on punishment for violation of our immigration laws. These violations would include entering the U.S. without inspection, staying longer than authorized, or working without permission. Few of us consider the financial effect of mass deportation on U.S. citizens. In discussing controversial issues, I always like to appeal to enlightened self-interest. Read More

Current immigration law reflects the importance of keeping families together and reunification of family members by allowing US Citizens and US Permanent Residents to file for residence (also referred to as “Green Card”) for their close relatives. I frequently am asked what relatives one may sponsor and how long it will take. I will first discuss the relatives that may be sponsored. The answer to the question of Read More

In my last blog I listed the requirements for Naturalization which included age, time as a permanent residence, continuous residence, physical presence in the U.S. and Good Moral Character. This blog discusses the Good Moral Character requirement. The law requires an applicant to prove Good Moral Character for the last 5 years. The Application for Naturalization is a 20 page form that includes 50 questions (some Read More

Naturalization is the name for the process of obtaining U.S. Citizenship for adults who were not blessed with U.S. citizenship by birth. The requirements for naturalization include the following 1. Age You must be 18 and older. Those under age 18 may be eligible to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship under certain conditions but a discussion of that is beyond the scope of this blog. 2. Time as a Read More