Transcript:

Kleine 

Hello everybody and welcome back to Immigration nation. My name is Kleine. I’ll be your host today and I’m with Miss Zoe Zhang-Louie and we are just going to go over a couple of things in the immigration realm, but obviously she will be able to explain it better than I can. So with that, so if you’ll just take it away and give us a little information about yourself. Watch your firm and take it away. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

Yeah. Hi, everybody. When I first came here, my dad first came here when I was only three years old. I came here roughly at at 10 years old. With my mom, just, you know, had with nothing but a little suitcase with me. And like, my my dad came over to marry for the first time. I saw him, like, 6-7 years later, he was in this, like, like, torn up clothing like his. His clothing would be staying cuz he just came out from his restaurant. He was, you know, that’s how my family had been restaurant. And when I saw him, that was like my resolve was like, you know, to work so that he doesn’t have to work in a restaurant anymore. And then a little bit later on, I found out that, you know, he still didn’t. He was waiting for immigration status for like 20 years after I started law school, I went into. Law school with that resolve is that you know. So that they. Don’t have to work in restaurants anymore. But then my second, the reason I went to immigration law was because his his status was held by USCIS for 20 years. So finally I learned immigration not to be able to call for him and he’s very he was a U.S. citizen. About his US citizenship a few years ago. So. 

Kleine 

Congratulations. That’s awesome. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

So that’s that’s the reason. Yeah. So I started my farm and end of 2015 and in 2016, you know and. I sort of just buy my salary. You think of like your entrepreneur. Start up. I was in. I had like this room in my house that I was, you know, just working on learning all the aspects of immigration. 2017 was when it really kicked off with a a seminar in Cambridge and I. I was. I got connected with the public health community. And later in from then until now, you know that’s what I’ve been. My specialty is EB2 national interest waiver applications and just self petitions in general. Those who want to work for themselves, the freedom of, you know, not being not being tied to an employer and it’s just. Expanded from there, a lot of my clients are. I have a global clientele. A lot of them are from Nigeria that work with the USA, the CDC and they’re coming here, you know, to continue their research in the same area or in universities. And then I also, you know, since then I’ve also expanded, you know, to help entrepreneurs that are wanting to start their own business here. I’ve seen you name it, the industries I’ve worked with dentists, accountants. Let’s see. Solar solar panel installation specialists, technicians, wind power technicians, software app creators. So you know, I help them come here and start their business. They’re able to do whatever they want. They don’t have to be tied to an employer and they’re able to, you know, give their family. And their kids access better schools and create a better life for their family. 

Kleine 

So let’s get into what exactly this visa is we’re talking about EB2 today, and specifically the EB. Two and IW. What is this national interest waiver? What is an EB2 visa, and who does it apply to? What is the target audience? 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

For it, so the EP. 2 National interest waiver is for. Or really, anybody who your students, your academics, people who, you know, just self starters, right, individuals who do not want to work for an employer or an employer process employee based employment based process traditionally would take too long for them. And one question I often get is, hey, I don’t have any publications when I qualify and the quick answer is, yeah, you definitely do. You know, let’s talk about it. You know, we can strategize a case for, you know, you can start your own business, you invest your own business, you create jobs for the US and that’s. A way to get the national interest waiver of the job offer requirement, and that’s the formal name that’s EB2 category with national interest waiver of the job offer requirement because you do not have to have an employer to sponsor you. 

Kleine 

Wow, that’s so nice. And we were discussing before we started filming one of those pathways through an employer. I think you mentioned it took up to two years to even qualify for for some of that paperwork. Can you talk a little? Bit more about that. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

So through a traditional employer based sponsorship process, you first have to go through the Department of Labor to get the prevailing wage determination. And and of course, anytime you work with a government agency, the time would be dramatically lengthened, right? So that’s the additional step. So after that, you have to do the recruitment based on the regulations that are outlined. So that can take another two months. And then you would submit for the labor certification you tell. 

Kleine 

Of course. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

Essentially, you start to Department of Labor. Hey, you know, we did the recruitments that you guys required and we’re not able to find someone that are qualified. To do this job, so now you know then, then we get into another wait period for the Department of Labor to certify that. And in that during that time frame, they could also audit you to make sure that you did you, the employer, did all those steps to to to determine that you couldn’t find someone. And then. And that’s at that point. That’s when you can file the I140 petition for a for for an immigrant visa, but through the national interest waiver way, if you qualify, you skip through all of that. The different labor process, you just don’t write. 

Speaker 

Wow. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

Through the I-140 filing, you know there’s some extensive preparations. That we would do, you know, to make sure that you qualify, but instead of waiting for an agency, it depends on the law firm and the client. And we we do that in three 3-4 months and your your papers, your all your documents will be ready. To go well, that is. 

Kleine 

So helpful. And how would these people know if they? Qualifier is there like a certain like specific set or is it case by case basis? 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

So the threshold qualification, EB2 preference category you have to have either a masters degree in advanced degree or higher or you can also show that through bachelor’s degree plus five years of of work experience and that’s. US equivalent. So if you have a foreign degree, we can submit a foreign equivalency certificate to. To get that answer to to see whether you have a degree that’s equivalent to a U.S. Masters or higher or a bachelor’s degree, and plus your five years of progressive work. And if you don’t have either of those, you can also show through. It was called exceptional ability and that’s a much lower standard than the EB1A extraordinary extraordinary ability standard. It’s outlined in the qualifications. 

Kleine 

That’s interesting. Gotcha. So moving on, there are some advantages and disadvantages of this particular visa. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

So one particular advantage is as we’ve mentioned. Is the speed. Right that you can get into. You know you can qualify for a grand card much faster. The second advantage is the creativity that goes into creating one of these cases and working with a good lawyer and experienced lawyer. You know someone who, I mean, we’ve done so many cases where someone would just. They they know it could be like a mechanical engineer who doesn’t really have any publications. You could start a business and you know, we show your background and work your contracts that you’ve worked on. And we’ve been able to get approvals that way disadvantage it’s. Even after we submit it, there’s still a really, really long wait time. Currently them they are very backlogged as of earlier this year, USCIS started accepting premium processing for national interest waiver. Based cases. So I would say right now the weight is probably around 2 years. We still don’t have an accurate prediction of between your I-140 filing. And then you have to file your adjustment of status which is now, you know, dependent on the Visa Bulletin. So we don’t really know when. Some of my clients can file that second step, so my advice is to get started on your national interest waiver application as soon as possible and. Get that? You know, get a priority date and then you are in the queue to wait for your for visa availability. 

Speaker 

Yeah, I mean. 

Kleine 

When is USCIS not backed up? Let’s be honest. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

Yeah. Well, traditionally from what I do, they could submit that that step one and Step 2 at the same time, but they they think they they thought they were doing. The job you know by accepting premium processing, it’s like, oh, by the way, we can get these people visas much faster. But now of course, more people are applying through that national interest way because it’s so beneficial. And now this particular category is not getting numbered before it is. 

Kleine 

Absolutely, yeah. Right. So you’re seeing probably about like a A2 year to to what type of time frame are we looking at for this for this waiver? 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

For the final like completion from the start until they get their green card and say probably 2 years at least, you know we can get it prepared. In and get it possibly approved in like within six months and you know, OK, I’m in the way for the green card because adjustment of status is is going to be much, much. 

Kleine 

Process then absolutely well, if you think about it in in general it’s a much faster pathway than a lot of other immigration routes, but I know not, obviously not everyone qualifies for this quicker path to a green card, but. Do you have any? Success stories that you like to share. Something that’s you know. That you’re super proud of. Maybe for your firm or just maybe your favorite client success stories over the years. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

So. Yeah, we have so many. I mean, I’m so proud of, you know, most of my clients work. And I, I would say the the ones that I like stick in my mind are you know the entrepreneurs that come in like when I mentioned that third category of exceptional ability, if you don’t qualify, if you don’t have an advanced degree and you don’t have a bachelor’s degree. We go into that third analysis, right? So, umm, I had like one of my first clients. She ended up after we looked into it. She never got to receive her bachelors degree because of various hardships in life. And but she somehow she taught herself to to create a an app that teaches foreign exchange how to trade foreign exchange on this in the market. So. Her she had like church communities, like homeless shelters, you know, adopting her. Like like pushing her her app through to, you know, other people. And there was this homeless guy that, like, wrote a blog and like, yeah, I’m able to like, you know, provide myself income using this app and. Well, yeah. So someone without a bachelors degree, you know, at that caliber. Like that’s. Just just goes to show that’s it’s one of my proud success stories. And just overall, I mean you know something that we are super proud of is that we as of today we still have 100% approval rate. You know for eight years in, in, in business. I know I I I. Keep knocking on wood. You know, I’m like, I can’t. I can’t talk about this too much because. 

Kleine 

I’m so superstitious. Too, no, you know that. What all? You need but that is incredible. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

Thank you. 

Kleine 

And I just. Have one more question for you, but I mean that that story is incredible. I was just wondering if you are. Proud of any particular accomplishment that you as a lawyer, as an immigration lawyer have. Accomplished for your firm over the years. Do you have any story that like stands out or maybe like a business practice that you’re super proud of that has really come to aid in the success? Of your firm. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

Yeah, absolutely. So that that 100%, you know, approval rate, of course we’ve, you know has I’ve expanded over the years, whereas before it would just be me, you know working on production, pushing cases out, doing the the whole analysis and everything. But now I have a team of. My remote assistants that are working with me and having the whole process of, you know, clients. When the client starts working with us, we work on the checklist together, and then we draft the support letters we do. You know the forms and and then you know finally, like the legal analysis thing and the fact that, you know, we have a whole process of efficiency. We’re able to serve a greater number of clients, sometimes harder. More of these types of cases. Where someone comes in without any type of background, with maybe just you know one or two things like we’ve had cases where. Wind power technician solar panel installation specialists that just really smooth sailing, even though they’ve just only worked for companies themselves, right to do that job. And you know, with my team, I’d be able to just maintain this approval rate. So that’s something that I’m super proud. 

Kleine 

Of that’s incredible. Yeah, I feel like it. No one really talks about the expansion of the business really and how much work goes into it and creating those processes to be able to accommodate more people. We’re it’s something that is very difficult to overcome and it’s and it’s incredible that you’ve been able to like, be the head of that process. And and to keep that 100% approval rating too, that’s like almost unheard of. It’s really impressive. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

Just just in the national interest waivers fair. So like maybe you like, yeah, so just sort of clarify that. Yeah. So that’s why I’m here to talk to. 

Speaker 

Yeah, yeah. 

Kleine 

It’s still so expensive. That’s so cool. She’s like now. Wait, now, now. Well, we set, like, some goals for 2020. Four and all that. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

Yeah, I would like to hire an associate. Like that’s that’s where I’m getting caught right now with, you know, my time and then. But then, you know, being able to bring in enough clients to to pay for that associate is my second. Like, I have. I have a really good process in place now with my staff. Like, I had to work on that first. My staff. Members to have an efficient process so that. I can make. The associates time worth it, you know, and and having that because I don’t want her to be working on administrative stuff and wasting her time on that. So then the next step is hiring that and and I can open up more time to do podcasts like this. 

Kleine 

Absolutely. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

To, you know, have a constant flow of. 

Kleine 

Clients, right. Well, thank you so much for for joining us today and your story is is very powerful. Thank you for sharing it with. 

Zoe Zhang-Louie 

With me, thank. Oh, thank you for having me. 

Narrator 

This podcast has been prepared for general information purposes only and is not legal advice. This information is not intended to create and receipt of it does not cause an attorney-client relationship.