Immigration Law - Fleitas & Arca, PLLC

Investor Visa for Italy Program

Fleitas PLLC — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 18:42:52 GMT

A two-year, renewable visa for foreign nationals intending to make a large investment or donation in Italy. The investor’s spouse, dependent children and parents are also eligible to request for a visa at no additional cost. The investor visa is valid for two years and can get renewed every three years subsequently. After an investor has maintained five years of regular residency in-country, they are eligible to apply for long-term EU residency. Investors must rent or purchase a residential property after the approval of their visa, which can take between 90 to 120 days from the application date. You have the ability to apply for citizenship after 10 years.

Planning to move to Italy for employment? You’ll need a work visa…

Fleitas PLLC — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 14:19:26 GMT

If you’re planning to move to Italy for employment, you’ll need a work visa. The type of employment visa, your country of origin and your profession are all factors in deciding which route you need to take to working in Italy. If you’re a citizen of a country covered by the European Union freedom of movement rules, visa requirements do not apply but you will need an Italian residence permit for stays longer than 90 days. If you’re from another country though, you will need to apply for a work permit and a visa (visto) – a type of Long Stay visa valid for those staying in Italy longer than 90 days. As a non-EU citizen, there are three main documents you need to live and work in Italy: a work permit; a work visa; and a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) within 8 days of arriving in Italy. It is also important to keep an eye on the so-called Decreto Flussi (Flow Decree), an annual quota for how many people can enter the country to work.

For more information please contact our office.

Dhs Plans to Increase H-2b Visas This Summer

Fleitas PLLC — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 16:26:48 GMT

Additional 22,000 seasonal guest workers will be admitted over the annual cap

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced April 20 that an additional 22,000 H-2B visas will be available for employers seeking seasonal foreign guest workers this summer.

Six thousand of the visas will be reserved for workers from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, in support of President Joe Biden’s efforts to address an unauthorized migration surge from the Northern Triangle countries in Central America.

The H-2B guest worker program, capped annually at 66,000 visas split evenly between the fall/winter and spring/summer seasons, is relied upon by the landscaping, hospitality, seafood and construction industries, among others.

The fiscal year 2021 H-2B cap was reached in February when the Department of Labor (DOL) received applications for a total of 98,000 workers vying for one of the coveted 33,000 spring/summer slots. Since then, employers and a bipartisan group of lawmakers have been calling on the Biden administration to extend additional seasonal visas for the current fiscal year ending in October.

This marks the fifth year in a row that DHS has released additional H-2B visas in response to pressure from seasonal employers and lawmakers. The Trump administration released an extra 15,000 visas in both 2017 and 2018, 30,000 additional visas in 2019, and 35,000 visas in 2020 before the pandemic upended business operations.

DHS is expected to publish a temporary final rule setting forth filing procedures for the additional visas. Petitioners are expected to be required to submit Form I-129, a valid temporary labor certification approved by the DOL and an attestation that their business is at risk of irreparable harm without the additional workers.

As with prior increases, employers seeking H-2B workers must first test the U.S. labor market and certify in their petitions that there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing and available for the offered positions, and that employing H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

Employers will also be able to hire workers who are already present in the United States in H-2B status without waiting for approval of the new petition.

Source: SHRM, Roy Maurer, April 22, 2021