Oct
20
You must remember that when you move to another country, not only do you have to get use to the climate, weather cycles and accents you may need to re-familiarize yourself with the simple things in life such as in the States, if you were to walk in a stationers and asked for a “Rubber” they would send you to a pharmacy! I will not go into anymore detail about that. Here’s an example of one such occasion;
A funny story from a new immigrant After dislocating my knee back in February whilst still in the UK and then moving out to Florida, the knee starting causing me problems. Sometimes the burning pain was unbearable. I finally couldn’t take it anymore, got up (as it was quite late at night) but knew I would be able to find either Walmart or Walgreen’s near by as these stores are open 24/7. I drove into town and sure enough, lit up for all to 
see the welcoming sign “Walmart-Open 24 hours a day” - (You gotta love Amercia). I hobbled into the store and made my way through the many shopping isles, each with something fabulous to tempt you. My focus was on “ointment”. That’s all I needed and all I came to get. I stopped as I approached what looked like an ointment shelf (In the rush I forgot to pick up my glasses). A tube of cream stood out amongst the rest as on the front of the packaging I could see what looked like flames. I grabbed the ointment and drove home as quickly as my car could take me. I sat down on my easy chair, ripped open the box and lavishly pasted the cream all over my knee. “Ah….” For a moment the burning sensation went away and was replaced by a cool soothing feeling. The cool sensation was replaced within minutes by another warming sensation, which was replaced by “FIRE - FIRE - BURNING HOT FIRE”. My hands, Lips (yes I managed to touch my lips whilst applying the lotion) and my knee!. The pain was unbelievable. God himself could not have done better if he sent me to Hell! As much as I rinsed my skin in water the pain would not ease up. It almost got to the point where I nearly drove myself to the hospital but like a man I thought I would grin and bare it and complain to the wife all night instead.
I the morning we returned the cream and requested a refund. The pharmacy looked at us strangly but then pointed us to foreign food isle. Yes I had managed to 
pick up a Jalapeno pepper paste. I’m sure the folks behind the counter got a bit of a giggle as for me I spent the next three days with the feeling of severe sun burn.….Florida is great, but read the labels, the products are certainly not. But hey, the fish are biting and life is great. Cheers
From Anonymous, London UK
Oct
18
“Give us a quote then”
Filed Under Immigration News | Leave a Comment
When it comes to choosing an Attorney to represent you in a serious legal matter such as immigration where perhaps your career, business opportunity or relationship is at stake then searching for the cheapest quote is definitely not a good idea. US Immigration law, like many other areas of the legal practice, is very complexed because of the amount of variables in the equation: the number of immigration officials and US Immigration departments that may interact with your case. For example, in many cases we have to file a Petition which is basically, an application package. Here, this case may first go to a US Immigration official that may screen the case, then if the case meets all the basically requirements it is passed onto an adjudicator who will review and judge the case carefully. The case is then approved and sent back to us and the client. The attorney then has to submit the case approval notice to the Embassy along with another package of evidence where it will go through multiple layers of scrutiny before the actual visa ends up being stamped into your passport. So you cannot determine the expertise of any lawyer simply by the amount they charge? This being the case, getting a quote is almost a pointless exercise, except to get a rough idea as to the range of possible expenses.
1. Does the Immigration Law Firm have a Good Customer Service Policy? From the time you contact the immigration law firm to them getting back to you is an indication of Customer Service. When they get back to you, is their attitude a “can do” attitude or “fear factor” attitude? Do they inspire confidence or despair? The amount of clients who have come to me in tears because their hopes have been crushed by one attorney, when having examined the particular problem and with a little extra effort the ‘wrinkle’ could have been ironed out and the case would have sailed through. Thankfully in these situations I can often re-address the problem and resolve the case with a satisfactory outcome.
2. Is the Immigration Law Firm Passionate About Your Dream? For some immigration law firms understanding that the possibility of emigrating to the US is more than a whim or a casual goal, but a chance of a life time opportunity. For others the lack of empathy allows your application to fall by the wayside amongst the volume of other cases they are having to deal with. The client then becomes just another headache case. When choosing an immigration attorney, make sure you get the sense that they are sincerely interested in “making it happen” for you just as if they were helping their own parents, a close friend or family member. As Brits ourselves now living the American Dream we understand first hand how stressful this process can be. We make sure we never forget that! Therefore we make every effort to jump into the trenches with our clients and show them the way through the US Immigration process as partners sharing the same problem rather than at arms length with an “I’m alright Jack” attitude. 
3. Does the Immigration Law Firm Instill You with Their Legal Competence? Anyone who says US Immigration is just a question of filling out forms and sending them in, profoundly under estimates the challenges of US Immigration. Whilst it is true that in some cases one can be very lucky indeed and things work out fine, in many cases this is what you’re dealing with: living in a post 9/11 era. No immigration official wants to be the one who approves the visa for the next shoe bomber. US Immigration officials are trained to treat every answer on every form as an out and out lie unless there is documentation to independently prove the truth of the applicants answer. So Documentation, Documentation and even more Documentation is our mantra in the preparation of all our cases. If, as an immigration attorney, you are fortunate to have a high volume of cases because of a large marketing budget and perhaps by being the cheapest, then many corners will be cut just to get the case out of the office. Maybe there could be a policy of “we don’t have to win every case, just a percentage will do, who cares anyway, there’s plenty more news cases coming in” or “We simply can’t spare any more time on the case for the fee we charged”. For this law firm, our philosophy is that every case is an actual life, a family and real person whose life will be drastically affected for good or bad depending on the outcome of their case. So we want to document, document, document and make sure that our cases actually exceed the minimum requirements so that even if the US Immigration official is in a bad mood for what ever reason when they come to look at our case, they will be pleasantly surprised and be inspired to say yes to our client’s. Oct
16
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - Are they nuts?
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In the aftermath of 9/11 it was discovered that virtually all of the hijackers entered the US originally on a various nonimmigrant visas, student visas, if I recall exactly. Some of the students had attended flight schools in the US before turning into hijackers. What I want to focus on here is that they were legal aliens approved by immigration officers in the department called INS a.a.k.a Immigraiton and Nationality Service. You can be sure that the Government would have been able to track down every immigration official that had anything to do with approving these visas looking for a scapegoat.
As a result the INS was taken under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security and was renamed to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS then under went a root and branch review to build in new systems and protocols that should facilitate the detection and capture of potential “bad people”. At the same time many other agendas were co-opted into the review to also look into every aspect of US Immigraiton administration so that only the most deserving and qualified applicants were approved. Hitherto, it was well known that a certain percentage of applications were bogus but until then USCIS may have lacked sufficient resources or resolve to be as thorough as they might have been. However, as part of this complete USCIS make over with another potential 9/11 looming every alien applying for anything will be viewed with the utmost scrutiny. 
Every visitor to the US and even when they fly within the US is subject to unprecedented screening. New rigorous regulations have been introduced to travelers as to what they can bring on board a plane, even the amount of breast milk. Some would say they have gone completely over the top. The same can be argued as to the workings of USCIS. On some level you cannot blame these government officials because they don’t want to let the next terrorist into the country or onto a plane. Who does?
The point of this article is to try and shed light to the uninitiated, that US Immigration is one of the most complicated areas of legal practice. Immigration law is constantly being revised and the internal interpretation of this law as it translates into USCIS policies has not been synthesize into one doctrine. In other words, it appears as if many departments have adopted their own spin resulting in very little consistency in the entire USCIS system. 
Imagine the logic of representing yourself. It would be like hiring a newly qualified paralegal with absolutely no experience whatsoever in US Immigration and putting your relocation future in their hands. It’s not impossible that the paralegal could pull it off, but it would be far more likely that the paralegal would completely mess up your life because they have no idea whatsoever of the challenges and nature of USCIS.
The message of this article is that you have to think of USCIS as being a little nuts, it’s certainly not a logical well oiled machine where you can just put in paperwork and out pops an approval. If only that were so. You need to hire the best lawyer you can afford and trust and let them do their job, they will still faces challenges from USCIS but at least they should have the skills and experience to navigate the best course for you. US Immigration is stressful enough just dealing with the move, let alone taking on USCIS as well. Oct
15
California is “HOT,HOT,HOT”
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As the temperatures in California begin to cool down the danger aspects of living in this beautiful state start to heat up. To those of us who have lived here for some years now, we understand that fire season is upon us. Spurred on by the ever increasing Santa Ana winds, these fires take on a life of their own. To date, only two fatalities but things could get worse before they get better. Our praise of course goes out to the thousands of fire fighters and air support systems who are fighting this battle from the front lines. They collectively try to predict the fires course and evacuate those in imminent danger. Hundreds of homes have been cleared and the hope is that not only will lives be saved but peoples houses containing years of memories.
As I look out from the balcony at work, I can see the planes do water drop after water drop. The smoke fills the air and hangs overhead as if to remind us that we are at the mercy of the elements. As the airoplanes fly by we all breath a sense of relief knowing that if the winds were a little harsher, the air drops would not be possible.
The TV and Radio stations are also flying above the fury of the flames as it is their duty to alert us on the ground of any sudden changes. It can really go from one extreme to another so our thanks goes out to all of the heros who coach us through these terrifying times. They have the fires under control and our hope is that they are winning the battle.
Oct
13
To re-cap on my last posting…Labor Certification - Ever heard of it? (Part 2)
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It is possible for aliens to find employers who will sponsor them for skilled jobs (requiring two years training or qualification) right up to Advanced Degrees such as an MA or PHD and in so doing enabling the alien to acquire a green card. Employers must first prove to the satisfaction of the Department of Labor that the Employer has been unable to find local qualified Americans to fill the vacancy.
In this section I’m going to talk about Quotas and Processing Times.
USImmigration (USCIS) on the one hand wants employers to fill vacancies to maintain production, but at the same time does not want to suck hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from around the world in such numbers so as to depress the local wage economy. For example ; An MA graduate from Mumbai India currently commands a salary of about $300 per month, whereas in the US that same person could command a salary ten times that amount easily, in the right profession. 
Therefore it would be very attractive for IT companies to hire ten Technicians from India and pay them well below the US average and for the Indian this would still be a massive pay bump, plus having the benefit of experiencing the American Dream. To prevent such tactics by US Employers USCIS established annual quotas and they established a requirement as part of the Labor Certification process that US Employers sponsoring aliens must be prepared to pay the prevailing wage. So if you ever wonder why large US Companies outsource their work to India and other developing countries around the world rather than to attract them to the US, this is the reason: they are restricted by quotas and having to pay the prevailing wage.
USCIS has said that for each of the three EB Green cards under discussion here: (the EB1 for Extraordinary Aliens, EB2 for Advanced Graduates and EB3 for BA and AA degree holders) the quota would be set at 40,000 green cards per year. USCIS also implemented a trickle down policy so that the unused green cards from the EB1 category would trickle down to the EB2 and the unused green cards from the EB1 and EB2 would trickle down to the EB3 visa applicants in any given year.
As you can imagine because of the high qualification restrictions on the EB1 green cards these are typically not exhausted in any given year so they are generally always available. The same is almost true for the EB2 category, however in some years this quota will be exhausted during the fiscal year, which in Immigration, runs from October 1st each year. The EB3 is often over subscribed and when this quota is exhausted all subsequent applicants get put in a queue for the following year. As of today, I checked the visa bulletin website [http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html] and EB1 green cards are available right now for anyone as are EB2 green cards (with the exception for applicants from Chain or India). However, for the EB3 the backlog go to cases that were filed in January 2005. You still have to file now to at least get in the queue but know that the wait will be over three years. The reason for the backlog is simple: there are many more people who have a degree than have a PHD. The advice to BA holders is to take a year in the US getting an MA and then become eligible to apply for an EB2 which has no backlog rather than the EB3 that does. 
In Part III I’ll talk about - how having found a suitable employer, we begin to prepare a case.
Oct
10
Every so often as a P.R operation, we send out customer questionnaires in order to improve our services. We send them to those who have just got in contact with us and others who have retained our services and finally to those who are jumping up and down with joy - State side.
Below are a couple of questionnaires that prospective clients have completed;
1)How did you hear about our company? Through searching the internet. Google US immigration lawyers.
- Had you made enquiries through other Immigration Attorneys offices prior to ours? Only a couple of tentative enquiries but was deterred by a high consultation fee.
- How did our office compare in service quality? Excellent! A free consultation is a great incentive for potential clients.
- When you made your initial enquiry, did we respond in a timely and friendly matter? Yes, very prompt and friendly! Aileen responded in no time and started the ball rolling to organize a suitable consultation time.
- If we provided you with information, was that information clear and concise? Yes, my questions were answered very concisely which made me believe that the goal of obtaining a Visa was possible.
- If you had any questions after your consultation, were they addressed in a timely manner? Yes absolutely. I have had a few follow up questions which were addressed expertly by Aileen very promptly.
- Was our staff friendly? Yes, I have only dealt with Aileen and she has been thoroughly professional, friendly and a pleasure to deal with thus far.
- If someone asked you to recommend an Immigration Law firm, would you have any reservations about recommending our Law firm? I would have no hesitation, especially if I get the desired result of a Visa at the end of the application!
- If you have not retained our services to date, is there any reason why you would not use the Immigrations Attorneys Offices of Chris Ingram? I wanted to digest all of the information, the costs involved and whether it would be a good investment given the fact that the proposed Visa is only for 12 months.
- Further comments:Having been through the immigration process a few times before through a sponsored company, I wasn’t exactly sure what my options were in terms of applying for a Visa individually.The service I have received has been first class from the outset and this is before I have paid anything to commence the application. The information and expertise I have been exposed to have left me in no doubt what my best options are to proceed.
- P.Kay Soccer Coach, London
2) How did you hear about our company? Search engine Google.
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Had you made enquiries through other Immigration Attorneys offices prior to ours? Yes and filled in a couple of assessments to be given the great news I qualified but now fill in a more in depth assessment and pay us anything from 150 to 300 pounds. No such con with Chris Ingram all assessments and consultations over the phone with Aileen cost me the princely sum of nothing, this spoke volumes as I felt I was dealing with a company who were interested in helping me with my immigration status and not separating me from my money.
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How did our office compare in service quality? For the phone conversations I had I have found the service quality of your office very good.
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When you made your initial enquiry, did we respond in a timely and friendly matter? I was actually surprised I received a phone call as you were in USA and I was in England I was expecting a nice cheap email in response, but instead received a phone call the next day which I felt was a nice personal touch.
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If we provided you with information, was that information clear and concise? The information Aileen emailed to me was brilliant especially The American Dream which basically explained everything in easy to understand every day terms, and Aileen was brilliant in answering all my questions and calling me back after reading the literature to answer even more questions.
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If you had any questions after your consultation, were they addressed in a timely manner? Yes
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Was our staff friendly? Aileen was very friendly, very helpful ,and very informative and represented the office very well.
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If someone asked you to recommend an Immigration Law firm would you have any reservations about recommending our Law firm? As it is early days for me the dealings I have had so far with your office I would not hesitate to recommend you.
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If you have not retained our services to date, is there any reason why you would not use the Immigrations Attorneys Offices of Chris Ingram? No
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I would just like to once again thank Aileen for all her help and guidance.
Terry Edwards, UK
And finally for this blog a client testimonial; 
After 4 years of trawling the Internet and spending hours and hours doing my own research into US immigration, I came across Chris Ingram’s’ website, Breakthrough USA. From the moment I started reading it I knew that I had found a really good attorney who knew what he was talking about. Just the wealth of easy to read material on the website was enough for me to book a consultation with him - and best of all the consultation was free!! From the website alone I had learnt new things about immigration that I hadn’t found out from 4 years of research on my own.
From my first conversation with Chris Ingram I felt that I was put completely at ease. His laid back and friendly manner was just what I needed. I had had dealings with a couple of attorneys in the past, but felt like I was ‘putting them out’ when I excepted their free consultations. This wasn’t the case with Chris and I felt like I was really allowed to be myself and talk honestly with him. It also was such a huge benefit to me that he is also British and has made the immigration journey himself, as has his associate Aileen Simblet. They both know exactly where I am coming from when I discuss my hopes and fears with them about emigrating to the US.
I have discussed with Chris my family’s visa options in depth and he knows everything there is to know. With his help I have been able to narrow down my visa options and really look into what would work for us in the long run.
I know without a doubt that when we have made the decision to go for it, we will definitely be using Chris Ingram’s’ firm to guide us through the immigration process and I know that anytime in the interim period that I need advice I can contact Breakthrough USA and talk to them.
Oct
9
As panic strikes Wall Street and world wide stock markets, our telephones don’t stop ringing.
Filed Under 1, Dear Aileen, Immigration News | Leave a Comment
Wind: W at 0 mph
Humidity: 25%
94°F | 63°F
79°F | 54°F
70°F | 47°F
67°F | 47°F
WEATHER FOR SANTA CLARITA,CALIFORNIA
The temperature has really been rising here in the USA as the two presidential candidates thrash it out in the hope of winning the big grand prize of becoming the next President of the United States of America. Sometimes it’s a blessing that I cannot vote (As a mere Green Card Holder, I do not have the right) as I don’t think I could decide between the two. My hubby has his money on the old guy. Me, I’m not sure.
In the mist of all that kerfuffle (always liked that word) we have the worlds economic geniuses all wondering if they will have a job by this time next week. I tell you, it’s like letting a kid loose in a candy store w
hen the kid has cavities, giving these chaps free reign on $750,000,000,000. But if there is a silver lining, I believe many Brits will find theirs within the four walls of our offices. Already they are making huge decisions, freeing up what equity or liquid assets they may have and bringing those pounds across the seas and investing them into a business here in the USA. Why? Because when everyone picks themselves up off the floor of the stock exchange, dusts themselves down and figures out how to get through this turmoil, these wise folks will want to be on this side of the water as opposed to remaining in the UK, where they believe things will only ever get worse.
It’s not for me to say what the outcome will be - Gosh, if the pro’s can’t sort this mess out how do you expect little ol’ me to! All I know (or believe to be true) is, that once the economy picks up, Immigration will once again become a lot harder and for those of you who are waiting for the right moment, that moment may well come and go before you realize it.
Businesses are struggling which means someone with a good brain, a reasonable amount of capital (around thirty - forty thousand pounds), and the will to succeed could take advantage of this climate. Find some businesses of interest and we will help you do the rest.
If you are reading this and it has stirred up some questions, please contact us. We will be happy to offer you a free consultation (and yes, we do mean FREE). We will discuss your current situation to see how we can help you to turn that American Dream into reality and we’re nice people too!
I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy.
Curie, Marie
Oct
8
Labor Certification - Ever heard of it? (Part 1)
Filed Under Immigration News, Interesting Immigration Tips | Leave a Comment
The EB1 green card is reserved for those aliens who are at the very top of their profession. EB1 aliens are actually exempt from Labor Certification and do not even need a job on offer. The it begs the question how do you know if you are at the top of your profession.
Extensive efforts basically means that the US Employer has advertised the vacancy in the local papers, at the job site, online, and after typically one month of effort has still not found anyone. Oct
4
The US Immigration Maze
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After I passed the New York State Bar and decided to practice Immigration law, I wanted to provide my clients with as much comprehensive information as possible. My goal was to explain the law in plain English and then encourage my clients to contact me for specific advice once they had acquired a sound grasp of the general principles involved in their case. So I spent months and months writing easy to understand detailed guides on subjects like, The American Dream: The Real Guide to US Relocation. This book breaks down the ABCs of US Immigration. I wrote a Business Immigration Guide that talked about the E2 and L1 visa options. I’ve written guides on marrying an American, work permits and green cards. To be honest, I wrote and wrote as much as I could to provide my clients with as much insight as possible. I also had my own agendas. Firstly, I got tired of answering the same basic questions over and over again, so I thought if I write them all up then my time could be better used answering the more complicated questions. Secondly, I wanted my clients to feel, perhaps for the first time, that there was someone out there that was really on their side, someone who cared about helping them. Thirdly, I wanted to win my client’s trust so they could put their confidence in us to help them navigate through this immigration situation. 
Everyday, I am rewarded with emails from perspective clients saying how much they’ve enjoyed reading the materials on our website and how much it helped them. It really does make a big difference in your immigration thinking as a lawyer when you personally have experienced the immigration process first hand. When you know what it feels to go to the Embassy and be turned turned and then having to go through the process again until you’re successful. That gut wrenching feeling of disappointment and angst. Yes, I’ve been there, got the T-shirt, video,CD, DVD, Special Edition, Director’s cut and poster to prove it. In fact, every client from the very start of the process all the way to US citizenship has to go through a complete range of emotions and experiences. We just try to make sure that we’re there with them every step of the way, making sure that we deal with every bump in the road. Oct
2
Is America Ripe for A Take Over?
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As a US Immigration Law Firm our only purpose is to do our very best to help our clients emigrate to the US: this is our mission. As Brits having relocated to the US nearly 9 years ago we’ve seen the end of the Clinton Presidency followed by two Bush administrations and we’ve navigated through a range of economic conditions successfully. Although, today we are seeing wild swings in Wall Street, this is drama, in my opinion, over real substance. Earlier this week Wall Street dropped nearly 800 points (777.84)
but the very next day it gained nearly 500 of those points back. The fact that we’re in an election campaign frenzy with only 34 days to go only adds to making good drama for TV. The other day I was remarking to my colleagues how the seventh season of the TV drama, The West Wing: a TV drama about life in the White House, was proving to be a classic example of art imitating life.
Is America Ripe for A Take Over? Absolutely. America is in desperate need of an influx of new investors. The banks are being bought up with Chinese and Japanese money which grabs the headlines, but America needs small thousands of investors to buy up as many small businesses or entrepreneurs to start new businesses to really bail out Main Street, not just Wall Street. Small businesses provide 80% of the employment in the US. Foreign investors bring with them their foreign currency: new money to invest, new money into US banks; they are the White Knights of the economy.
The E2 Treaty Trader Investor visa is rapidly becoming the #1 business immigration option for aliens. For as little as a $50,000 investment into a going concern that saves or creates at least two American jobs an Alien can bring their entire family with them. 
As a further incentive the spouse of the alien investor can immediately qualify for a work permit. By any measure that is a pretty good deal. For Brits we’re talking about raising only 25,000 - 30,000 pounds. Many Brits have well over 100,000 pounds in equity in their property as a result of the recent property boom. Unlike the US, property prices in the UK peaked much later and the dip experienced now is very minor indeed. So Brits are in a remarkably strong financial position to take their bite out of the American Apple.
The key message to our clients is to keep a close eye on the prize of opportunity because they are every where.
If you are thinking about moving to the US, 
call us email us or send in your consultation questionnaire with your comments. We’ll work with you, to help you find the best path in to the US. We are helping clients with their Student visa plans, work permit needs and green card aspirations. it’s what we do. If you are thinking about marrying an American and can’t figure out whether to get married here or abroad then let us talk you through the pros and cons. If you have reached a complete dead end with your immigration plans, then we may have a breakthrough answer for you. Get in touch today and let’s see how we can help you.
Chris M. Ingram, LL.M., ESQ.