Immigration and Firm News

At the Seattle, Washington Law Office of Bonnie Stern Wasser, we enjoy working on National Interest Waiver (NIW) EB-2 permanent resident cases. NIW means the government will waive the usual requirement that there be a US employer and job offer, and a labor market test for willing, qualified and able US workers through the labor certification or “PERM” process. Although a US employer and job offer is not required in a NIW EB-2 case, the applicant must show he/she has offers of work in the US in … [Read more...]

I am pleased and honored to announce that I will be speaking at the national Annual American Immigration Lawyers Association Conference next week in Las Vegas. This conference regularly attracts thousands of immigration practitioners from around the country. I will be joining two colleagues, Robert Divine and David Grunblatt, on a panel about "Complex Visa Issues for Entrepreneurs."  We will discuss attempts by USCIS to (supposedly) enhance opportunities for entrepreneurs within the confines of … [Read more...]

I am honored to be speaking about EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) cases at the annual American Immigration Lawyers Association Northwest CLE.  This annual event put on by the Washington and Oregon AILA Chapters will be held at Seattle University on March 17 and 18.  Along with my colleagues, Amy Royalty and Ursula Owen, we will be discussing the crème de la creme employment based categories: EB-1-1 extraordinary ability workers, EB-1-1 outstanding researchers and professors, EB-1-3 … [Read more...]

I am pleased to announce that on March 3, 2015, I will be participating in a national webinar hosted by the American Immigration Lawyers Association on "Immigrant Options for Small and Start-Up Businesses."   This program will focus on the unique challenges faced by foreign personnel working for small businesses, or founding start-up companies.  We will discuss various permanent residence options, ability to pay, bona fide job opportunities, capitalization, business plans, and best practices for … [Read more...]

Below is a summary of the various Executive Actions announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014 concerning legal immigration to the USA.  Most of the press coverage has been about the hot-button topic of what to do with the millions of people who are in the USA already in undocumented status. There has been virtually no coverage of the President's plans concerning legal immigration.  While he is constrained by Congressional statute and Congressional inaction to fix legal immigration, there … [Read more...]