H1 Visas are Gone for 2013 - Now What?

SAN DIEGO, CA, April 11, 2013 (Press-News.org) The H1 visas disappeared in a flash this year....in fact, they needed a lottery in order to ascertain who will get one. At this point in time none of SanDiegoBizLaw's clients have heard whether they received one and we don't expect an answer for over two weeks' time. The CIS will begin processing the Premium Processing [i.e. those who paid an extra $1225 for 15 calendar-day service] cases on April 15th. However, it's great news for the economy, as this is the best temperature check, states Steven Riznyk of SanDiegoBizLaw.com, law and business consulting firm that has been involved in immigration for 25 years.

It's hard enough, from a business perspective, for employers to offer a position to someone in April that only allows them to work on October first, but not knowing if they will even be available is worse. This is one area where immigration law and the realities of running a business could be a bit tighter. At this point in time, company growth, new projects and clients may all be put on hold as this scenario unfolds; a difficult time for American businesses.

As for the workers themselves, they are faced with a situation wherein they put up homes, cars, and other items for sale, their spouses, if working, began the transition process, and other issues took place for the 6-month period before the visa. Regrettably, some will be facing difficult circumstances and broken dreams. In total, over 124,000 applications were received for 85,000 spots, of which 20,000 are reserved for persons with advanced degrees and those who are exempt from the cap. A computer program randomly chose persons and made its determination as to which the lucky ones are, states Steven Riznyk. Regrettably, a third of the applicants will find themselves without a job and their companies without an employee.

There is a solution for both the companies and the workers in some cases. Although not a perfect fit, states Mr Riznyk, it will do the job if executed creatively. There is a visa known as the E2, which, summarily speaking, is for investors. The visa would allow a foreign person to set up a consulting firm, and the company that wanted to hire that person could be one of their clients, allowing the firm instant growth. It cannot be the only client, but that's in many ways a good thing, states Steven. The firm can even lend the foreign national the $100,000 or so to open the firm, as long as the terms for repayment are clearly spelled out.

The E2 visa does not have a cap, can be obtained in 2 weeks' time (if the person is here on a B1 visa [visitor for business]), and is renewable indefinitely as long as the person has a mental intent to return to their country of origin at some unknown time in the future...yes, very strange. The E2 visa does not lead to a Green Card, but that also is solvable, states Steven Riznyk, with what SanDiegoBizLaw calls the "reverse L-1". The E2 visa does not apply to nationals of all countries, but generally speaking, nationals of western Europe, Mexico, Canada, and Australia. The entire list can be found here.

Steven Riznyk has been involved in immigration law for the last 25 years, and has a very unique firm. SanDiegoBizLaw, is the first in the country to combine business law and management consulting, allowing a broad spectrum to be drawn from when creating cases. Immigration is considered a division of business law, and the immigrant investors very much enjoy the fact that Mr Riznyk studied Strategic Management at Harvard and was a consultant in Business Process Re-engineering. As Mr Riznyk discovered when he moved to Italy for a year three years ago, being in a foreign country provides endless challenges with tasks we take for granted back home. As a result, when his acts as a business consultant to his foreign investors, the E2 visa holders can save months, if not years in building a successful entity. With over 2,000 contacts he developed in the past two years, Mr Riznyk has all the tools a foreign national needs to succeed in the United States. He can be reached at (619) 793-4827 or http://www.SanDiegoBizLaw.com