Ohio Immigration Laws

I want to talk to you about the EB-11 or Extraordinary Abilities Visa. The EB-11 Visa is available to any immigrant who can demonstrate that they are at the top of the field of endeavor, and have extraordinary abilities in almost any profession or career. There are two ways to prove that you have extraordinary ability.

The first is to demonstrate that you have received a major internationally recognized award in the field such as the Nobel Prize. The second is to provide evidence that meet at least three out of ten criteria set forth by immigration regulations such as having judged the work of others in the field, authored scholarly publications, or produced an original contribution of major significance to the field.  An immigration officer will then conduct a Final Merits Determination where they consider the entire petition and determine whether or not you have achieved national or international acclaim, and that your achievements are recognized in the field.

There are many benefits to this type of immigration Visa classification. For example, EB-11s have the ability to self-petition. Meaning they do not need an employer to sponsor them. They can also bypass the burdensome labor certification process. If you think you might qualify as an individual with extraordinary ability, you should contact an experienced immigration attorney to help with this complex case. The passion of our staff can’t be beat. We share your joy and we share your tears. We understand that immigration practice is more about winning or losing cases. It’s about changing lives.

By: Marisela Marquez

We have nationality traits. Like the Russians, the Ukrainians, they’re very different from the Philipinos because of the high and the different fraud level. The level of fraud is different. Nigerians is very different from Sudan, very different from South Africans, and it’s very different from Kenyans, Afghanistans, Pakistans. So it’s all different.  Like the fall of the Shah in the 80s and 70s. A lot of Iranians come to America. So with that, we did a lot of cases. But then the Marriage Fraud Act came in in 1984, and in ’86, IRCA came in. So all these are new changes, 1990 IMMACT 90, three strikes you’re out, by President Clinton that affected. So we have a lot of new things going in the past 35 years.  I’m also lucky because of the history I’ve been doing. Because once I started out in this practice, we used to have no secretary and one desk, and that’s me.

So I would run to Immigration, run back, because there’s no Xerox machine there. So I would run back to the office, make some Xerox, and run back. But now, immigration is growing. In those days, it’s a very small department of DOJ. In the olden, olden days, it’s with the Labor Department, then with DOJ. Now it’s with DHS, which is Homeland Security.  So some of the interesting cases we have done? We did Tony Pena, Jose Mesa. We did a lot of great tennis players. We did a lot of high-profile. But my pride and joy is really working with the everyday cases.

Each country– in the olden days, it’s quota. It’s priority-based. Now it’s still quota and priority-based– actually, in the olden, olden days, it’s hemisphere: eastern hemisphere, western hemisphere. But in ’94, the Civil Rights Act came in. ’95, the Quota Act came in, both by President Johnson. So people like us– I came in 1969. Actually, Taiwan kids came in ’66, ’65, ’67. And then Hong Kong kids came. And then the PRC came en masse in the past three or four years, because Hillary Clinton, before she resigned or retired from the State Department, really make more tourists and students come from overseas to enjoy our education system, to enjoy our touring, because our country– one of the increasing trade from our country should be from tourism and from education – foreign students – because foreign students pay three-times the school tuition than the in-state pay. Because foreign students have a F1 level, and then the general admission, and then the in-state tuition, which is lower than the general admission in all public schools.

So in the past few years, you see a lot more different countries coming to America on F1s. But about in the ’60s and ’70s, because Nixon and Kissinger did not open up the Far East until ’72 visit, ’78 visit, so en masse, all the Chinese came after ’78. But the Koreans came a lot earlier, because of the Korean War – ’51-’53, the Korean War – so Korea and the Philippines of course. In the Second World War, Philippines is a strong ally of America. That’s why in order to be a great immigration lawyer, you really need to know the world. Read the newspapers. Know the history.

By: Margaret Wong

Permanent Residency in Ohio

My name is Francis Fungsang, and I’m a partner at Margaret Wong & Associates. We work with companies of all sizes, from startups, to small businesses, to multinational corporations. We have assisted workers in a variety of industries, from healthcare, to information technology, to finance, to electronics. A U.S. employer can sponsor a worker for permanent residency.

Labor Certification

The first step is called labor certification, also known as PERM. The sponsored job must be advertised in a variety of media, if no qualified US worker is found, the employer can sponsor the worker. There are a limited number of green cards issued each year, for each country, for each job category.

So depending on your job and the country you’re from, the process can take anywhere from one and a half years to more than ten years. Also, work visas often have a limited time period, so its important that workers and employers start the process as early as possible.

By: Francis Fungsang

Hi, I’m Scott Bratton, I’m a partner at Margaret Wong & Associates. I’ve practiced immigration law for the past 13 years representing immigrants throughout the United States. I specialize in federal litigation, removal defense, and other complex issues involving immigration law. I’m the head of the Removal Defense and Litigation departments at Margaret Wong & Associates. I also teach immigration law at Cleveland State University.

I handle complicated immigration matters ranging from removal defense to federal litigation and adjustment of status and naturalization cases. Our firm represents immigrants throughout the United States in all aspects of other immigration cases. We passionately represent individuals in trying to help them obtain their dream of citizenship, non-immigrant status or lawful permanent resident status. If you have any questions, please contact me, and I’ll be happy to talk to you about your case.

By: Scott Bratton