It is probably correct to say that most Filipinos thought that the immigration and entry-visa system of the US had been totally altered by the entry into office of the administration of President Donald Trump. They probably thought that the rules of the Immigration and Citizenship Service had undergone total change and that the requirements and procedures for entering and remaining in the US were no longer what they used to be in the pre-Trump era.
This impression was not surprising, considering the intensity with which candidate Trump articulated his views on immigration during the electoral campaign. Indeed, one of the first official acts of President Trump was to issue an Executive Order temporarily banning immigration from a number of majority-Muslim countries. Unfortunately, most Filipinos focused their attention on the word ‘immigration’ and concluded that the whole US immigration environment had become restrictive and exclusionary.
That this clearly is not the case was pointed out to me last week by a Fil-American lawyer, Johnson Lazaro, who specializes in US immigration law and heads a San Francisco-based law-practice group bearing his name. The group is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Network.
Mr. Lazaro was in the Philippines to address a seminar organized specially to apprise Filipino entrepreneurs and professionals on the present state of US immigration law and to correct the numerous false impressions that had been created by Trump’s bombastic assertions and tough statements. So well was the seminar received, said Lazaro, that a follow-up seminar has been scheduled for this coming October.
The Fil-Am lawyer’s core message was that nothing—repeat, nothing—has changed in the law and regulations governing entry into and residence in the US. It is neither harder nor easier to enter into or reside in the US today. The requirements and benefits of the longstanding visa categories are still what they were before President Trump came into the picture.
Mr. Lazaro pointed to the E-2 visa as an example. The requirements and benefits of that visa have not changed since January 20, 2017, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration. For an investment of $70,000—around P3,500,000 at today’s exchange rate—a Filipino can bring his entire family to the US. I remember Mr. Lazaro saying that a household helper can even be brought along. Aside from the $70,000 investment, an E-2 visa requires that the visa-seeker establish in the US a business employing at least ten (10) workers. More favorable treatment is accorded if the business is established in a high-unemployment part of the US.
Neither have there been any changes in the requirements for the issuance of the basic business visa, B-1, Mr. Lazaro said. The arrival of President Trump has made no difference to the processing of B-1 visas. These visas are still readily available if the principal requirements —financial, economic and professional capabilities—are complied with by the applicants.
How about processing time, I asked. How long would it take for a visa to be issued? No longer than the pre-Trump processing time, Mr. Lazaro said. If all of an applicant’s documents are in order, an E-2 visa can be obtained in around 120 days. The processing time for an B-1 visa should be about the same, assuming that there are no documentation issues.
All in all, now is a good time for desirous and qualified Filipinos to apply for an investor’s visa or a business/professional US visa, Mr. Lazaro said. Why is that, I asked. Because of the overall environment created by the judicial and political pushback against President Trump’s anti-immigration moves, he said.
Filipino entrepreneurs and professionals wishing to explore the idea of residing and working in the US can wait for Johnson Lazaro’s October seminar, or they can seek out the Lazaro Law Group—or other law firms—in the meantime.
E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com
