Vassell Law Group Podcast

How the J-1 Cultural Exchange and H-2B Seasonal Visas can help with your labor shortages!

Can hiring a U.S. immigration lawyer speed up the process for my case? What is TPS and is it the same as asylum? How much money do I need to invest in the U.S. to get an investor visa? Is there anything I as U.S. Citizen can do?..He married me for the Green Card and now he is divorcing me!

H-2B visas are seasonal work visas. Many of our Au-pair clients and Student Visa OPT clients are switching status to H-2B visas due to the need for business to employ professional and skilled workers based on the lack of qualified workers due to ‘ The Great Resignation’ during the COVID pandemic.

Is There ever a Time When Your Visa is Expired but yet your still  in status?   The answer is yes! I'll explain.   This is your U.S. Immigration Minute where we give you Immigration Tips & News without the Politics.   Whenever a foreign national travels to the U.S. On a temporary non-immigrant visa, he or she is issued an I-94 record which can be accessed electronically.   As a general rule, the I-94 expiration date always rules over the visa expiration date.   . For instance we had a client whose visa issued by the U.S. Consulate abroad expired without a new application being filed to renew.    .Panic set in, yet I knew the client had travelled frequently on their L non immigrant visa in and out of the U S. Since issuance of their visa.    I had my paralegal go online to check the expiration of The I-94 as we all waited with bated breath.   The Outcome was a relief. Despite the consulate issued visa expiration, U.S. customs border and patrol had approved our clients’ I-94 to remain in th

At ScottVassell Law Firm, our lawyers have had the pleasure of working with Au Pairs in the United States over the past two decades and protecting the status of these bright intelligent youth with great dreams and aspirations from around the world.  The Au Pair program is a cultural exchange program, run by the Department of State (‘DOS’) that permits youth between the age of  18 and 26 years old to provide childcare to U.S. parents who are typically professionals, executives and business owners. The program is for 12 months, but DOS may approve a one-time extension of 6, 9, or 12 months if the Au Pair demonstrates compliance with certain educational requirements and files at least 30 days prior to expiration.

While lockdowns and quarantines have placed the world on ‘pause’--- we have witnessed businesses and investors respond to the pandemic as an opportunity to unite internationally in solving unprecedented problems. Finding solutions fast to grapple with the ‘new normal’ has become essential for society due to the crisis created by the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

With the arrival of  an unprecedented world pandemic, due to COVID-19, wreaking havoc on everything and everyone; individuals holding ESTA visa waiver status have been left in a unique sensitive ‘bind’. Specifically, their U.S. non-immigrant U.S. status has been placed at risk with lockdowns, and flight cancellations just prior to his or her VWP expiration date.  It’s important to pause and remember the big difference between foreign national citizens who enter the country on the ‘sensitive’ VWP, versus foreign nationals that enter the U.S. on a traditional non-immigrant visa issued by a U.S. Consulate Post abroad.

“All flights are cancelled; I am here on a 90 day visa waiver, and it expires next week what should I do”? These are questions our lawyers at ScottVassell & LeeCC answer daily. We hope this short podcast will reduce anxiety and allow you to safeguard your current U.S. ESTA visa waiver or temporary visa status set to expire amidst the pandemic.

When Saying Goodbye to Your Beloved Au Pair Causes You to Weep-Can You Help Them Stay? We have had the privilege of working with many families over the years who have hired Au Pairs to care for their young children. But then, the working relationship becomes more than that of an employee-employer. In fact, the Au Pair becomes just like part of the family. At the end of the authorized J-1 Visa Work Period as an au pair, it's time to say good bye and everyone starts to weep.  I mean everyone... the children, the parents and the Au Pair.  Believing there is no way for the Au Pair to remain in the United States, and desperate for options, the lawyers here at ScottVassell Law Group have successfully navigated the complex J-1 Visa Department of State Rules to help.   Specifically, we have helped au pair's remain in the U.S. with their "new found" family through a change of status. If you want to learn how we do this, stay tuned as we go into our  Immigration Classroom and explain!

Your U.S. employer has agreed to foot all the legal fees to sponsor you in Employment Based ("EB") Permanent Status in the United States. What could possibly go wrong? Your position is approved as an EB-2 or EB-3 category I-140 for adjustment of status purposes; and now all you have to do is sit back and wait as your employer and their lawyer handle 'everything'. Well... not so fast. If you want to know the risks associated with having your U.S. employer's lawyer handle your delicate status in the United States...keep listening!

Excitement begins to run through your veins as you just received the 'final' approval notice for your K-1 fiance visa...or so you thought.The K-1 fiance visa is actually a 3 step process before a final fiance visa is issued for an intended spouse to travel to the United States to marry....

With the rising popularity of Shark Tank, Creatives, Entrepreneurs & IPOs being lauded as lucrative career goals for young people; the ability to forge international business relationships has become invaluable. The reality is that young people connect with each other internationally everyday, and they are starting to realize they’re not bound within his or her own country when leveraging resources and strategic partnerships to launch a start-up company.

In short, the answer is yes! But it’s not a ‘simple’ yes as explained below. A non-U.S. citizen residing in the United States is always subject to severe immigration consequences whenever facing criminal charges such as larceny, drug use (including marijuana), or driving under the influence.

Does your immigration lawyer look at you like a 'deer who has been caught in headlights' when asked about the following immigration solutions discussed below? If so, you may need to get a second opinion in one of the most complex areas of law in the United States... Immigration law matters. If you want to learn more about these solutions...Stay Tuned!! 

Becoming a U.S. Permanent Resident of the United States is a very exciting accomplishment- that is until you can’t find work, qualified affordable child care, or a close family member abroad falls ill unexpectedly. These are a few of the reasons Permanent Residents often leave the United States for extensive periods of time despite the risk of abandoning their U.S. Permanent Resident Status.

The Critical Link between Conditional Green Card & Applying for U.S. Citizenship The N-400 Application to become a U.S. Citizen can be a landmine for Permanent Residents who do not understand the critical link between the I-751 Removal of Conditions and Citizenship process. An N-400 Naturalization Application often resembles an audit. Hopefully, with the help of experienced immigration counsel you will file for Naturalization successfully without delay or surprise