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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

Salonga Law, PLLC, 30 State Street, Suite 2E, Ossining, NY (2026)

06/22/2023

Are you an entrepreneur seeking US investment opportunities? Here are 5 key benefits of the E-2 investment visa. 🌟

Business Ownership: Take control and shape your own enterprise in the US. 🚀

Flexibility & Family Inclusion: Bring your spouse and children under 21. Your spouse can legally work or have their own business, and the children can attend school. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

No Fixed Investment Amount: Invest in startups, acquisitions, or expansions with no minimum investment amount. 💰

Ease of Travel: You and your family can travel freely into and out of the US during the validity of the visa.😌🌎

Unlimited Renewals & Stability: Renew indefinitely as long as the business meets criteria. Enjoy long-term stability. 🔒

The E-2 visa unlocks doors of opportunity in one of the largest markets in the world. Contact us to learn more and get started today. 🗝️💼

06/13/2023

Applicants seeking a change of status to F (academic student), M (vocational student), and J (exchange visitor) status, and their dependent family members, can now seek expedited processing through USCIS’ premium processing service.⏱️💨

This expansion speeds up a process that typically took several months to a year - a welcome relief for students, many of whom have had to delay starting their program multiple times while waiting for USCIS to adjudicate their change of status applications.🗓️

The premium processing fee for these categories is $1,750. The 30-day processing time will start to run after the applicant and all co-applicants in the Form I-539 have submitted their biometrics.🆔

The expansion will first be available beginning June 13th for those with pending Form I-539 applications to extend or change nonimmigrant status. The Form I-907 request may be filed by paper form or online. Beginning June 26th, applicants may file Form I-907 at the same time as the Form I-539.

06/05/2023

We are happy to announce that we have a new second home!

📍30 State Street, Suite 2E, Ossining, New York 10562

📞 (914) 429-8949

We’re very excited to grow our roots in the community and be closer to our clients in Westchester County and the Lower Hudson Valley region.

03/31/2023

The B-1 visa is a good visa category for entrepreneurs seeking investment opportunities in the US.💡💰

You can use this visa to travel temporarily to the US as you work on starting a new business, acquiring an existing business, or otherwise making an investment that allows you to attain long-term residence in the US.

Under a B-1 visa, you are allowed to engage in commercial transactions. You can negotiate contracts🤝, take orders🧾, and meet with potential business partners, employees, and clients (as well as accountants and lawyers)💼

But you are NOT allowed to actively participate in the management of any business or otherwise perform productive labor or engage in gainful employment.🚫

You must be in another visa category before you can lawfully run your business. You can either change status (to E-2, E-1, L-1, etc.) while you are here, or file a petition with the USCIS and apply for the visa at a consulate abroad, usually your home country.

Contact our office to discuss your visa options and develop a strategy that will help you find your success in the US.

03/29/2023

Entrepreneurs who wish to live permanently in the US can pursue a “green card” for them and their family members through one of the following options:

🔵 EB-1A Extraordinary Ability. This option allows the entrepreneur to self-petition for permanent residence. You must be at the very top of your field of expertise, have extensive documentation for your accomplishments, and be able to demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim.

🔵 EB-2 National Interest Waiver. This also allows an entrepreneur to self-petition for permanent residence. You must have either an advanced degree or exceptional ability (defined as a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered) in the sciences, arts or business. You should also be able to show that your work will greatly benefit the US.

🔵 EB-1C Multinational Manager or Executive. This is for entrepreneurs who have worked abroad in a managerial or executive capacity for at least one of the last three years, and are seeking to continue to do the same for a related company in the US. If both business are in operation, you can pursue this type of green card directly and you need not have been in prior L-1A or E-2 status.

🔵 EB-5 Immigrant Investor. This category allows an entrepreneur to apply for permanent residence by investing a qualifying amount of equity capital in a commercial enterprise and creating at least 10 permanent full-time jobs for US workers. The current minimum investment amounts are $1.05 million or $800,000 if the investment is in designated rural or high unemployment areas. Direct EB-5 investors can invest in an entirely new business, open a new branch of a franchise, or purchase an existing business, and they must be involved in the management of the enterprise.

🔵 EB-5 Regional Center Program. An investment of $800,000 is allowed in approved Regional Center projects, which pool capital from multiple investors. This option is more attractive for passive investors or those who do not want active management responsibilities, and those who prefer the flexibility to live, study, or work anywhere in the US.

We can help you determine which option is right for you and your family, and give you more information on how to proceed. Contact us for a consultation today.

03/27/2023

If you are looking to start a business in the US, here are some temporary visa options that may be available to you:

✅ E-2 Treaty Investor Visa. If you are a national of country that has a trade treaty with the US, and you have invested, or are in the process of actively investing, a substantial amount of capital. Generally, the investor must be prepared to invest at least $100,000. You must own at least 50% of the business and come for the purpose of developing and directing its operations.

✅ L-1 Intracompany Transferee Visa: If you have worked for a foreign company that has a US affiliate, branch, subsidiary, or parent company, for at least one year in the past three years. You must be coming to work in an executive or managerial capacity.

✅ O-1A Extraordinary Ability Visa: If you can demonstrate that you have extraordinary ability or talent in your industry. You must be able to demonstrate sustained acclaim and that your investment in the US is related to your extraordinary ability. This is usually the best option for those with venture capital investments and angel investors or who have developed a product or service that received widespread press coverage.

Your spouse and children can accompany you in the US in any of these categories.👪 Spouses of E-2 and L-1A entrepreneurs also get work authorization, and the children can attend private or public schools.❗

A strategy with one of these nonimmigrant visas is right for you if you do not want to obtain US permanent residence because of taxation or other reasons, or if you have a foreign business that you need to actively manage.

For all other entrepreneurs, a visa option that grants permanent resident status may be the better route.

Contact our office for a consultation and learn how the right immigration strategy can help you reach your goals.

03/22/2023

What do Google, WhatsApp, Intuit, Tesla, Evernote, Pfizer, Moderna, eBay, NYX Cosmetics, and Chobani have in common?

They were all founded by immigrants.

America has a rich history of immigrant entrepreneurship.🇺🇸

Immigrants represent only 13.6% of the US population and 15% of the general workforce, but account for a quarter (25%) of its total number of entrepreneurs.

Over 1 out of every 5 companies (102) in last year’s New American Fortune 500 list had an immigrant founder. More than 2 out of every 5 companies in the list were founded by either immigrants or children of immigrants.

Immigrants tend to be more entrepreneurial than the rest of the population.

Immigrants are vital to the US and global economy.

Immigrants create jobs for all Americans.

03/17/2023

Due to technical issues on the last full day before the original H-1B lottery deadline, USCIS announced that registrations will be accepted until 5:00 PM EST on March 20.⏳

Given the expected high number of registrations this year, many candidates are starting to think of options if they do not win the H-1B lottery.

🔹F-1 and OPT

If you are still a student on F-1 visa, you can apply for Optional Practical Training, a 12-month period of employment authorization. This will allow you to stay in the US and work for an employer until you apply for next year’s H-1B lottery.

If your OPT is ending but you have a STEM degree (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), you are eligible for a 24-month extension, giving you more up to two more chances to apply for the H-1B lottery.

If you are close to using up all of your OPT, you can try to apply for another degree or postgraduate program, although this does not mean that you will be eligible to work. Also, getting a U.S. Master’s degree if you do not yet have one will improve your chances of getting the H-1B because of the separate 20,000 visas for the advanced degree cap.

🔹Cap-Exempt H-1B

Certain employers are not subject to the H-1B visa cap and do not need to join the lottery. Institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations related to or affiliated with them, as well as nonprofit or governmental research organizations, are allowed to file a petition at any time of the year.

Other visa options may be available – including the L-1 visa if you have worked abroad for a multinational company that has an office in the US; the TN visa if you are from Canada or Mexico; the J-1 and H-3 visas if you are joining a training program; and the O-1 visa if you can demonstrate extraordinary ability in your field of endeavor.

Contact us to have an assessment of your qualifications and find out available visa options.

03/08/2023

We especially recognize and celebrate immigrant women on this day.

This year’s theme is . Equality and equity are different, although similar, concepts.

Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. It is treating everyone the same way, regardless of their differences.

Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and starting points in life, and what is fair does not always mean what is the same.

While all women face similar obstacles, immigrant women have unique challenges which can make their experiences very different from that of US-born women.

In addition to linguistic and cultural barriers, these challenges include vulnerability to discrimination or harassment due to race or national origin, risk of employer exploitation for those who lack work authorization, a constant fear of family separation for the undocumented, and threats of deportation from an abusive spouse.

And yet, immigrant women make important contributions to the US economy and society. They play important roles in the healthcare, education, and service industries. They have a higher labor force participation rate compared to US-born women. They also help fuel economic growth by starting businesses that create jobs. As of 2017, there were 1.2 million female immigrant entrepreneurs in the country.

May we all support the women in our lives and work together towards a more equitable America.

03/02/2023

Non-US citizens are not allowed to vote in federal, state, and most local elections. False claims to US citizenship have serious, often permanent, consequences.🚫

That being said, the law is complicated, and even well-meaning and law-abiding people can make mistakes.

The Courtroom, the film adaptation of a play, shows us this much. I recently attended its special screening , which was followed by a panel discussion led by Hon. Denny Chin (portrayed by BD Wong in the film) and Kristin Villanueva (who was superb in the lead role).

The movie tells the story of Elizabeth Keathley, a Filipino immigrant who entered on a K-3 visa as the foreign spouse of a US citizen. At her green card interview, she disclosed that she voted in the 2006 midterm elections. She explained to the officer that she had gone to the DMV to apply for a State ID but somehow ended up also registering as a voter.🗳

Not only did her green card application get denied but she was also placed in deportation proceedings. Elizabeth’s case ended up in the Seventh Circuit, and ultimately helped change voting laws in seven states.

The Courtroom is a gripping drama that lawyers, law students, and anyone with the slightest interest in legal proceedings will enjoy. It presents interesting arguments on the application of a criminal law doctrine as a defense in removal proceedings, which are civil in nature. That the dialogue is adapted verbatim from court transcripts makes it all the more fascinating.🍿

It is a highly recommended watch for immigrants or anyone who comes from a family of immigrants. Elizabeth’s immigration journey, with all the things that she stood to lose if she were deported, will resonate with anyone who was once a new immigrant to this country.🇺🇸

03/01/2023

Notarios are individuals who represent themselves as qualified to offer legal advice or services, but do not have the qualification to do so.

Notarios frequently victimize members of immigrant communities, often giving representations that they have some type of court license, or that they are a legal assistant, paralegal, or an attorney (or work closely with one).🤥

The wrong advice can harm your chances of staying in the United States, getting lawful status, or becoming a US citizen. Some unscrupulous notarios or immigration consultants cost more than licensed attorneys.❗

In a recent consultation, I met a young man who parted with $25,000 for an “all-in” green card package, to a notario who represented that she worked with an immigration law firm. After a few years of barely any news, he insisted on a status update and was promptly provided with a crudely fabricated “green card” approval notice.

Look for a qualified immigration attorney, or an accredited organization or representative, if you have an immigration matter.

Ask questions before making payments and report notarios who are trying to take advantage of you or your family.🛑

Salonga Law, PLLC

06/22/2023

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Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm