Sophie Alcorn Podcast

Are you a founder looking to move to the U.S. so you can run your startup from here? 

Is your company looking to transfer international employees to an existing branch office, subsidiary, or affiliate in the United States – or to let them come here to establish one?

Or are you a startup founder in the U.S. looking to sponsor foreign executives, managers, or people with specialized knowledge to live and work in the United States?

In today’s episode, we talk about how to move people around the world using different U.S. immigration options. 

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Overview of the L-1A and L-1B nonimmigrant visas 
• Overview of the green card pathways
• Company requirements for L-1A, L-1B, and EB-1C
• What visa to apply for when you’re opening a new office in the U.S.
• Variations for L-1B visa

Resources mentioned:

Alcorn Immigration Firm 

https://www.alcorn.law/

Get the Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook

https://witty-author-184.ck.page/56ccd401fc

Dear Sophie on TechCrunch

https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/19/dear-sophie-what-is-required-of-employers-laying-off-foreign-workers/

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EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com 

In this episode, I’m specifically covering the TN visa, which is a special immigration status for professionals from Canada and Mexico who wish to come to the U.S. to live and work here legally.

There are some really wonderful things about the TN visa. But it has its own quirks and intricacies as well. So it’s important that you understand the process before you decide to commit. 

I’m also diving deep into the other visa options available to Canadian and Mexican citizens if the TN visa is not appropriate for you. 

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• TN visa overview: the NAFTA treaty, visa qualifications, requirements, and benefits
• TN visa vs. H-1B visa
• Types of jobs that qualify you for a TN visa
• Other visa options for Canadian and Mexican citizens and which option should you apply for

Resources mentioned:

Alcorn Immigration Firm 

https://www.alcorn.law/

Get the Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook

https://witty-author-184.ck.page/56ccd401fc

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com 

The United States has one of the larger expat communities of Australians in the world. Part of the reason is that it’s relatively easy for Australians to obtain an E-3 visa. 

Just because Australia has this really cool E-3 visa, doesn't mean that if you're Australian, you're stuck using an E-3 visa only. 

There are still other options available to you. 

In today’s episode, I’m going to focus on the E-3 visa and other types of visas that Australian individuals might leverage as well. 

This episode is for you if you’re…

- an Australian or in love with an Australian or want to become an Australian citizen and planning on moving to the United States. 

- a recruiter or someone in human resources looking for highly skilled professionals (There's a ton of amazing universities and wonderful talents in Australia!).

- an Australian entrepreneur looking to invest in a company in the U.S.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• The E-3 visa overview (benefits, criteria, and renewal)
• What makes an E-3 visa inappropriate for you
• Other ways to get a visa as an Australian entrepreneur
• Similarities and differences between an E-3 visa and an H-1B visa

Resources mentioned:

Alcorn Immigration Firm: https://www.alcorn.law/

Get the Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook: https://witty-author-184.ck.page/56ccd401fc

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com 

If you're the spouse or a child of somebody who's coming to live and work here in Silicon Valley, what's the process for you to get your visa? Can you get a work permit? How does the process work? How long does it take? What can you do? What can't you do? 

Today, I'm talking about dependent ridealongs for all types of nonimmigrant visas. 

Moving across continents and countries can be very demanding on our personal relationships. It’s not just about coming here to create a startup and strike it rich – you also want to foster positive relationships that support you so you can have a solid foundation to build your success upon.  

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• An overview of the dependent visas and work permits
• The public charge rule
• Changes and updates of visa application during the COVID-19 pandemic
• What spouses are allowed to do in the U.S.
• Cross changeability in green card cases

Resources mentioned:

Alcorn Immigration Firm https://www.alcorn.law/

Get the Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook. https://witty-author-184.ck.page/56ccd401fc

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com 

If you're getting to the point of laying off people, immigration is only one narrow sliver of all the compliance actions you need to take.

In today’s episode of another COVID-19 edition, I’m talking about how to conduct layoffs in the immigration world. What happens when your company can no longer employ all of the people you’ve sponsored? How much flexibility do you have? What are your obligations?

With anything, it's not so much about what you do – but how you do it. 

This is an opportunity for you, as a leader, to treat your team members with respect and consideration while complying with all the obligations and legal requirements involved. 

We're here as a channel for communication to really cut through the politics and get to the bottom of what’s going on so you can deal with these changes in the most graceful and effective way possible.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Specific obligations and consequences for laying off people on different immigration statuses (work permits, green cards, and nonimmigrant visas)
• Obligations when you're not laying off people but you're changing their duties or reducing work hours
• Visas that allow spouses to be in the U.S.
• The risks of staying in the U.S. while being out of status

Resources mentioned:

Alcorn Immigration Firm

Get the Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook.

Episode 3: The Different Types of Nonimmigrant Visas

Episode 4: An Overview of the Green Card Process

Episode 12: The Visa Options All Recruiters Should Know

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com 

In this episode, I talk about the E-2 visa, which is available for investors who own a company. 

The principal investor visa is for somebody who is coming to the United States to develop and direct the operations. It’s also for people who are coming to work in the U.S. as executives, supervisors, or other employees who have essential skills. 

What makes this visa type an amazing option is that there’s no lottery involved and it’s available at any time of the year. 

Now, not everybody qualifies even if you have a business or you're investing your own money into it. And even if you are, you have to have citizenship from certain countries in order to qualify. 

I also talk about some things you need to be cautious about if you are on this type of visa and you’re raising further investment rounds down the road. 

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• E-2 visa qualifications, requirements, and extension
• Different paths to navigate through the E-2 visa
• How much money is required and how to go around this when you’re broke
• Is there a direct path to a green card?

Resources mentioned:

Alcorn Immigration Firm

Get the Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook.

Treaty Countries for the E-2 and E-1 visa applications

Dear Sophie on TechCrunch: How do I extend my visa status without leaving the US?

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com 

Today, I’m taking a deep dive into the visa statuses based on extraordinary ability – the O-1A nonimmigrant visa, the EB1A green card, and the EB2-NIW green card.

And even if you’re still not qualified for these visa types, what I’ll discuss are things you can do moving forward to build the requisite portfolio of accomplishments so you can qualify in the future.

No matter where you are in the world, and no matter what your past accomplishments are…

... if you have a desire for where you're going in the future,

… you can see your company starting to take shape in your mind's eye, and

... you can see the role that you want to play in that company –

It's really possible to build out your criteria for these types of visas in parallel with building your company.

Just remember that there's no one size fits all. It's all very individual. Everybody's field or company is different. And that's what makes startups unique and exciting because they have so much potential! 

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• A brief recap about the O-1A, EB1A, and EB2-NIW visa types
• How these types of immigration statuses are assessed by an immigration attorney
• Real-life examples of people we've helped

Resources mentioned:

Alcorn Immigration Firm

Get the Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com 

We’ve got your back and we remain here to support you. Despite a lot of fear-mongering about immigration right now, we stand firm in our mission to overcome borders, expand opportunity, and connect the world. We serve people like you every day by practicing compassionate, visionary, and expert immigration law, so you can follow your dreams to pursue the betterment of humanity.

As you probably already know by now, President Trump tweeted about immigration last night, April 20th. Trump’s tweet claims he will be signing an unknown executive order at some unspecified time to suspend immigration to the United States for an unknown period:

At this point, it’s just a tweet. The White House has not released the Executive Order, and it’s unclear when it would be signed. When it becomes available, we will review it and continue to provide you with updates about it’s scope and effect, and how it might possibly affect you, and what you can do about it.

If an executive order is issued, we would expect significant litigation. Only Congress has the authority to cease immigration, according to the main immigration law called the Immigration and Nationality Act. We are hopeful that a court would issue a temporary restraining order promptly to put any order on hold until a judge has a full opportunity to determine whether it is legal.

Rest assured, we’re monitoring the situation closely. We’ll continue to update you. Don't hesitate to reach out if we can be of support.

Remember: Be well. Care for your health. Be kind to one another. Take time to daydream. Find moments of joy. Together, we’ve got this.

***

In today’s episode, I’m covering three visa and green card types that are all about what somebody has accomplished in the past and the promise they'll be bringing to America in the future. 

Specifically, we’re diving deep into the O-1A nonimmigrant visa, the EB1-A green card, and the EB2-NIW (national interest waiver) green card.

I’m also going to cover some important strategies companies can use to speed up the visa and green card process for key international talent, new hires, and existing employees. 

Whether you’re in the tech space, the startup world, or just anybody who wants to move to the U.S. independently on their own without the assistance of a company, be sure to listen in!

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• A general overview of the O-1A nonimmigrant visa, EB1-A green card, and EB2-NIW
• Who can apply: requirements and criteria (with some examples)
• Why they may be a better option than the H-1B (if you’re qualified)
• Why it’s important to have an individual consultation with an immigration lawyer

Resources mentioned:

Alcorn Immigration Firm

Get the Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com 

Being in love is one of the greatest feelings there is! 

But what if your loved one is not from the United States and you just badly want them to come to the U.S. so they can be with you? 

Or what if you’re here in the U.S. on a work visa status who’s currently applying for a green card and you want your spouse to apply as well? 

Today, we talk all about, the ins and outs of coming to the United States based on this thing called LOVE.

I'm joined by my partner, Anita Koumriqian, who is an amazing advocate and has particular expertise in family-based Green Card options. 

In this episode, we talk a lot about different family-based alternative visas and green cards that technology professionals really need to know about. 

We’re answering a lot of commonly asked questions about these different options – what's the timeline, what's the process, what's the risk, what happens at the interview.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Anita’s background and her interest in family and business immigration
• The main types of immigration pathways based on being in love
• Marriage-based green card vs. K-1 fiance visa
• Other options if you’re not a citizen or a green card holder
• What happens in an interview and why it’s good to be represented by an attorney

Resources mentioned:

Alcorn Immigration Firm

Get the Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com 

If your job is to help a company hire a lot of talented people from all parts of the world – and you want to understand how to navigate the visa process, this episode is for you! 

We're outlining the different visa options for recruiters so you have everything in one place. This can serve as your handy reference guide to help you figure out who you can hire and what this will involve.

This is very important so when you're screening candidates and asking them questions, you will have a better understanding of what process might be necessary to engage in.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• An alphabetical list of the different visa options
• What visa types can a startup founder from another country apply for
• What you need to know about getting a J-1 visa
• Which countries are eligible for certain types of work visas

Resources mentioned:

Alcorn Immigration Firm

www.alcorn.law/recruiters

www.alcorn.law/e1e2countries

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com