The O-1 Visa Extraordinary Ability Visa and The Contracts Needed To Secure A Three Year Period
SMA Law Firm2024-12-04T10:31:26-05:00The O-1 visa is a non-immigrant, or temporary work visa, which can last for up to three years at a time and has no limit on the number of extensions. Extraordinary ability visas encompass all professions, including business, science, education, athletics, and the arts.
Since ability is a subjective standard, the law requires that it […]
The Trump administration further attempts to restrict rights of asylum seekers
SMA Law Firm2024-12-04T10:39:47-05:00On April 29th President Trump released a memo instructing the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to formulate regulations that will further restrict our humanitarian asylum laws for those seeking asylum protection at the southern border.
The memo directs the implementation of regulations that will require asylum seekers to pay a fee to […]
H-1B Transfer Activity Will Be Unprecedented
SMA Law Firm2024-12-04T11:05:57-05:00On May 1, prospective employers who sponsored H-1B visa candidates this year began to get receipt notices for US Masters Cap cases. In the month to follow, employers will find out the fate of the blind lottery used to determine which H-1B petitions will be adjudicated.
Every year, USCIS starts accepting H-1B petitions on April […]
Why become a U.S. citizen?
SMA Law Firm2024-12-04T11:10:43-05:00In my profession, I get asked this question a lot. SMA assists many people to get permanent residence in the U.S., either through company sponsorship, self-sponsorship (extraordinary ability) or through family petitions or asylum applications, and the last step is to apply to become U.S. citizens, but not all people take that step, which […]
Visas for Foreign Entertainers and Athletes and the Underlying Contracts
SMA Law Firm2024-12-04T11:14:35-05:00When you look at the list of concerts coming to your city or look at professional sports rosters and see unique and exotic names from other countries, it may seem normal to you as a spectator. However, for each international artist who plays a show in the U.S., or for all those great international […]
Immigration Status and Employment Laws in New York
SMA Law Firm2024-12-04T11:22:06-05:00Foreign workers in the U.S. occupy every position from farmhand and dishwasher to engineer, doctor and CEO, and their visas and legal statuses also vary greatly. For the majority of the twelve-plus million undocumented immigrants, there is no such thing as legal employment, and therefore employers are not supposed to hire them at all. […]
“Outside-In Immigration”
SMA Law Firm2024-12-04T11:34:33-05:00SMA Law Firm has its origins in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where its founder, Steve Maggi, set up shop in 2004 and started offering U.S. immigration legal assistance to people and companies from his native Argentina. What developed from that was a specialization in what we call “Outside-In Immigration”. What does this mean? Essentially it […]
USCIS Announces Alarming Changes in Immigration Petition Adjudications
SMA Law Firm2024-12-04T11:47:20-05:00On July 13, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a policy memorandum on its website, that provides guidance to USCIS adjudicators regarding their discretion to deny an application, petition, or request without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) when required initial evidence was not submitted […]
Hang On! Tips for Surviving the 2018 H-1B Roller Coaster Ride
SMA Law Firm2024-12-04T14:13:38-05:00The annual roller coaster ride known as the H-1B visa application process is about to go up the hill and come speeding down, with unknown twists and turns coming your way.
For the next four weeks, employers are scrambling to decide whether to sponsor foreign nationals for professional positions, American university grads from foreign countries […]