Transcript:

Scott Berry 

Hello. I’m Scott Berry, your Co host for immigration nation, the podcast client Powell is behind the camera today and work in production. We have a very special guest with us all the way we’re in Dallas. You’re all the way from Beverly Hills, CA Lorraine the Alessio. 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Hi, it’s such a pleasure and honor to be here today. Thank you so much for having me. Really nice to meet you all. 

Scott Berry 

And I tell them a little bit about. Confirm. 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Absolutely. So we are one of the leading immigration law firms in the area of extraordinary ability. That is for those that stand out and have a distinction in their fields and also qualify for a visa or even a green card to come and work in the United States. We are also a full service immigration law firm and we also do business. Transactional corporate as well. 

Scott Berry 

The old one talks a lot about extraordinary abilities, right? But that’s kind of vague. Can you talk a little bit more about who might be a fit for the old one and how do you even define extraordinary? 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Absolutely. So extraordinary ability is defined as this individual having a distinction, a distinction in their field, and what is a distinction. It’s that skill set talent. What it is that you put forward in your particular field that has caused you to stand out from others? It doesn’t mean that you’re one of the few that has actually risen to the top of your field. What we’re talking about one level is distinction. Green Card is one of the few that is written to the top of the field, but for one, what makes you stand apart? And we got to really drill into those details and it crosses it goes across so many disciplines, so many fields, everything from tech. Film, television, sports IT, security business, circus performers, gymnasts, I. Mean you just the the. The list goes on and on. If, if. If you’re from a particular field and you stand out in the capabilities and skills that you have. You want to be. Chatting with immigration lawyer about whether maybe the O1. Applies to you. 

Scott Berry 

So your firm works on several thousand O 1 cases every year. You have over. The years you’ve probably met some pretty unique people and a wide variety of abilities. Just for fun, share with us some of the unique abilities that people. 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Yes. 

Scott Berry 

Have that might be a good fit for the the 01. 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Sure. You know one that a lot of people don’t realize is actually social media influencers or E sports people, those that are doing things online, actually that qualifies under the O 1. And I want to, I believe that we were one of the first to actually file a social media influencer case and to comment. With our colleagues at our conferences about actually how to execute them and successfully obtain these permits. So I think that is a very interesting one. I would also say for those it does. It doesn’t. You have to be leading critical in your field to be able to apply for a no one, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be the best of the best. It it, for example, if you’re a film television actor, you want to be have named acting roles with speaking roles, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that. All your credits have to be leads. The definition of leading critical for the purposes of the 01 is really again, that distinction you standing out from others. So we want to look at it from the immigration perspective, not always from the industry perspective. And so hopefully that helps to widen the the gamut for you. 

Scott Berry 

Know immigration is in the news. It seems like every day now, you know, and not all of it is complimentary. You know, we talk about the complexity and how long things are taking and stuff. 

Speaker 

Right. 

Scott Berry 

If someone wanted to petition for like an O1 like, what’s the time frame for something like that? Is that something that’s super quick or takes years? Like how? How do they know it’s that line? 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Yeah, that’s a great question. And this goes to the importance of of, of planning out the time frame, the period of which you’re going to be doing your filing to the point where you want to be getting that job and working in the United States. And then essentially moving. And I will just say before I jump into time. Lines on the USCIS website US immigration website it states do not sell your home, rent your property, really do anything until you get your visa in hand. I I we want to be we want to be zealous. We want to be excited about this. We want to get into it and do all this work and everything. But you really shouldn’t be. Actually putting in motion moving plans until. So the job is done OK so. But anyway, going back to the time frames. So for normal process cases right now on O1, so there’s there’s a published timeline, and then there’s the timeline that we actually experience and practice again. Another reason why you’re going to want a lawyer, you know, assisting you, that sees thousands of cases. And and has this particular expertise. So I would say right now you’re looking at anywhere from three months to. 10 and it can even stretch up to a year, so normal process cases. That’s where you’re paying $460 to US immigration, and they are processing your case in the normal time frame. If you want to speed up that time frame, you can get your response within two weeks, and that is 15 day calendar day turnaround. From the point of the receipt. That the officer receives the case and receipts. The case. That’s very important. So then you have the receipt, then you’re counting the number of days from that day. And and that if you pay an extra $202,500 on top of the 460, then you can expedite it. Now for those that are not. Canadians, Mexicans, any country around. World you have to do another step on top of that so you you get that case filed with USCIS, hopefully you don’t get any questions asked on the case, but if you. Do you work? With your lawyer and they answer those follow up questions. Whatever they might be and say you’re and then in the position that you’ve got your approval in hand, yay. Now the next step is counselor. You have to actually. Go to a U.S. consulate. That’s. Close to where you live and you have to make an application for an official visa stamp in your passport and this is a vital step of the process. A lot of people don’t think. About that part. And you have to really think. About what areas of the world? You’re living in and. What the state of affairs is at that U.S. consulate? So right now, if you’re coming from Russia, it would not be a good idea to try to make an application to the US consulate in Moscow. Obviously you you, you know, if you’re, if you’re in the UK, you want to be checking what their processing times are intended to. That a counselor appointment. These fluctuate from time to time and you might be in a situation where you need to have a conversation with your lawyer about where is best to have that interview and This is why I think it’s really important to also assess if your lawyer has expertise on the counselor side as well as the agency side USCIS because. You might have to take a different approach depending on whatever country you’re in, so definitely analytical. Now some people I would say actually no. Many when I do when I do seminars and talks with groups of I just finished a whole series of talks with all the unions in Canada. It was my pleasure and honor to do that from my odyssey to the actors Union and what I what I discovered is we asked these big groups, hey, have you guys ever had an issue with the guy with the badge and the gun? Meaning a customs officer at the border and. Like 3/4 of the rim will put up their hands. Yes. Yes, we have had issues a. Lot of people have. Had issues when they come in previously as visitors into America because these officers are doing their job, they’re scrutinizing what you have online. They’re checking to see what you’ve done previously. They’re they want to understand what your intent is when you come to the United States, is your intent to temporarily visit the United States as a. Insider or is your intent maybe to try to work on the side? They know what a land of opportunity America is for many people around the world, and they know that that temptation is there. I will say for a lot of influencers, social media influencers. Many take advantage. Of that, they come in and they post on US soil and they have US clients. They have companies that they are, they’re touting their brands and they’re getting paid. So the definition of local productive employment is that you’re on US soil doing some kind of activity on US soil. And then you’re receiving an A compensation, either in the immediate and there’s key or deferred. So what the officers are doing at the border and why? So many people. Have issues at the border is because of that. Dig into the questioning and let’s see if we can find anything on this person, because we really want to make sure that they’re really just coming in for a temporary time and then they’re going back home. And it’s not to work and and there can be other things that they’re looking for to any grounds of admissibility. You know, has there been cannabis usage anywhere that we can see drugs? There’s a number of screenings. So there’s so with that, you know, state, you know, set of comments I’ve made, it’s going back to the ON visa process. When you look at the consular side and getting your interview. Done after you get your O one or or P1 or O2, whatever visa you’re getting approved on. The extraordinary ability side at the consulate, then you’re getting your stamp. The next very important step is to actually enter the border and a. Lot of people. Forget about this. They forget that there’s another interview that happens at this stage too, and it’s with a customer customs officer, a CBP Customs and Border Protection Officer who has great discretion to go. I’m looking at your history. There. And you know what? I don’t think you should come. In to turn your. That can happen that can absolutely happen. Another reason why you want to have a great legal professional that’s analyzing your case, looking if there’s been any issues in your past with any previous, like in the rooms with unions and anyone had any issues with we need to. Know what those. Issues are we need to know what those problems are. We need to dig into them so we can know. What we can do to mitigate further risk for you when you’re in this? Process. So that’s a very long winded. Answer to your question. 

Scott Berry 

Really incredible things. I’m riding over here because there’s. 

Speaker 

Scott Berry 

So. Many different places. We could take some. 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Of that am I slightly passionate about what? 

Narrator 

Because. 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

I do. 

Scott Berry 

And extremely knowledgeable, I think people are picking up on. That while you’re here today, that’s. For sure you just mentioned something that I think people need to remember. Is that they need to tell you everything, right? When they hire you, you have to. Even if you don’t want to talk about these things, it’s going to come up, right. So better to prepare you now. Yeah. You also mentioned that there are fees associated with these visas. 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Right. Tell me everything. Yeah, yeah, right. Indeed, dude. Indeed. 

Scott Berry 

They pay the government and then they can speed it up with this, right? 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Yeah. 

Scott Berry 

What should they expect from a turning standpoint? I know you can only speak kind of for your own firm, but I mean, if you think about other immigration firms across the US. 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Right, right. So, OK, I every attorney is going to assess the case for the circumstances. Its strength, what kind of level of work needs to be put in all of that, so to some extent, each case is going to be individually assessed for the legal fees on that. There’s going to be some standard filing fees that absolutely have to go with the. Those are always the same, pretty much depending on if you want to expedite or normal, but you also have to have a Union opinion and all the unions have fees and those differentiate per each union legal fees. I would say for the one I would be worried if a client told me for a basic. The one straight up actor film, TV that it’s or or a fashion model or something that it’s over like $10,000. I would be like, whoa US. I would be like who? That seems pretty high. 

Scott Berry 

1. Yeah. Yes.

Lorraine D’Alessio 

You get what you pay for. My fees are not as high as $10,000. They are significantly less. However, you really get what you pay for in this field, and there you need to do your homework when you’re picking the legal team, you’re going to work with. I would hope that you work with a lawyer that you have a lawyer on your team. And a lot of people get sort of sucked into this visa processing centers that exist where there is no lawyer. It’s actually a bunch of paralegals, which is great. And in some countries, like Canada, they can be certified and legal to process work and and that’s fine. In America, there is a certain extent of that, but I would still want to see a lawyer. On the team there, because there is a level of accountability that is unmatched, you know you you are held to the account, the account of the State Bar obviously and so. And and I would I would do. I would really do do my homework on that then in terms of like selecting you. Know the the. The the team you work with, so yeah. 

Scott Berry 

Well. The way this summarize for our listeners, who would be when they’re searching for an attorney to help with the L1. What should they ask? 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

About yeah, absolutely. So expertise. So many areas of immigration, they really should be checking if they have that O1 extraordinary ability background and you need to, you need to ask your. What is the field that I’m in? Because extraordinary ability is also very large, so is my background in entertainment, is it in tech? Is it in science? Is it? And check to see whether that attorney has filed cases of that nature for extraordinary ability and how many and what. Yeah. 

Scott Berry 

And not one or two. I’ve done it before right thousand. 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Scott Berry 

Great point. 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Portfolios in a very convincing manner. So I would say first check to see what the the that attorneys background is, what how many cases they filed, what tends to be their approval rate. I wouldn’t be doing it based on percentage. I just get a feeling for what. It is and. Or maybe you could ask how many requests for additional evidence they sometimes get, so follow up questions on cases. And I would also really hone in on what what their experience is with the counselor side for extraordinary ability as well as at the border whether you should be traveling. The land, whether you should be flying. What port you should be going. What? What airline would be good to take. I this these things for. Me matter for my clients so. So I would be. Addressing those questions as you’re going through your mental checklist. 

Scott Berry 

Yeah. And with the risk involved, what we talked about and how small the window is that you’re extraordinary from a world class standpoint, you better choose the right immigration attorney if you want a shot at making this work quickly, right, right. So now you can certainly see listeners why we’re so blessed to have. Lorraine, with us today to talk about the old one. If people have more questions or would like to talk to you or maybe have a consultation, how could they reach? 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

You. Let’s go to our website. D’Alessio.law D-A-L-E-S-S-I-O dot law. 

Scott Berry 

Excellent. And be a wise move, people. Thank you for listening today, Lorraine Delessio. Thank you so much for for making the trip and spending time with us and educating our fan base. 

Lorraine D’Alessio 

Absolute pleasure. Thank you. Thank you for having me. It’s an honor. 

Narrator 

For general information purposes only and is not legal advice. This information is not intended to do anything of it does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.