Visa Please?

Selecting and applying for the right U.S. visa can be a daunting and confusing process. In this episode, Kevin and Sebastian talk to Orlando Ortega, a U.S. immigration attorney who’s based in London. Orlando Ortega-Medina and his firm offer a full range of legal representation to corporate HR departments, foreign investors, and high net-worth individuals seeking to establish a business foothold in the United States or to secure visas for key employees or new foreign workers.

He talks us through the process you have to go through to obtain a business visa to the United States and why having a lawyer help you along the way is so crucial.

With such a wide assortment of different visas to choose from it’s easy to make a mistake if you don’t have a lawyer there to help you. For example, the B1 Visa is known as a business visa, but it is not a visa that allows you to conduct business, it is one that allows you to visit America for business purposes, and this is a big difference.

Reminding us to start the process sooner rather than later, Orlando talks about the necessity of giving yourself enough time to get your visa and shares the vast knowledge that he has surrounding the subject.

“The visa applications that Orlando prepared for me previously had 500 pages, it contained everything from business plans to bank statements, it’s a very laborious process.”
-Sebastian Sauerborn

Time Stamps:

2:53 - Who Orlando is and what he does.

5:01 - Why you need a lawyer when moving to the United States and how they help with visas.

6:58 - Why using a local, English based lawyer is better than using one based in the United States.

7:34 - What are common blocks and mistakes people come across when moving to the United States

9:49 - The importance of getting the correct visa when building a business in the United States.

14:00 - The steps you have to go through when purchasing a business in the United States.

15:00 - The decision making power embassies have.

18:58 - How long the visa process takes.

21:22 - The plans you can create to make the process go smoothly and how it often takes much longer than 90 days to get your visa.

23:15 - How the excitement of the visa process can be infectious.

Resources:

Connect with Kevin Turley: Website

Connect with Sebastian Sauerborn: LinkedIn

Connect with Orlando Ortega: Website

Episode Transcript

Podcast Episode 2 – Visa Please

Kevin: the whole point of this podcast is to look at the process of moving from Europe the United States. First thing I want to ask you about was legalities. Okay!

Sabastian: Yeah.

Kevin: And that terrible four-letter word ‘visa’.

Sabastian: You know a visa is a definitely massive challenge and an important consideration to make so what I’m going to do is, I’m going to introduce you to a US immigration attorney in London who has helped me to get my visa several times.

Kevin: Sounds good, let’s go.

Sabastian: Great.

Kevin: Let’s go. *

You’re listening to move your business to United States with me your host Kevin Turley.

[Music]

This is South Kensington

Kevin: So, Sebastian we’re here in South Kensington, central London. Now today, you’re going to introduce me to somebody who’s going to help me with that four-letter word I mentioned the last time.

Sabastian: Exactly! Today, I’m going to introduce you to Orlando who is an immigration US emigration lawyer based here in London and he has helped me various times with my VISA in the US.

So, I know he can get the job done Kevin and he will help you.

Kevin: I’m really looking forward to meeting him.

Kevin: Okay let’s fight our way through the streets and find out where Orlando is.

[Music]

Kevin: Okay! So, we’re just coming up to the offices here of Orlando and in this part of South Kensington which is full of embassies and hotels and museums and we just passed the Natural History Museum which is ironic, given that London is but as far from Natural History as you can imagine, unlike Texas say.

Sabastian: Right, where there are venomous snakes everywhere right so.

Kevin: Yeah, we’ve got a few snakes in London but they’re normally walking on their hind legs around the place.

Okay, so let’s go in and find out from Orlando what we’re doing.

Sabastian: I think we passed it because this is 180, this 171.

Sabastian: So, it must be down this way.

Kevin: Hello, here to see Orlando.

Receptionist: And what’s your name?

Kevin: Kevin Turley.

Kevin: So here we are, we’re in, we’re actually in the office now of Ortega Medina and we’re just about to meet Orlando, Sebastian and I.

Sebastian has worked with Orlando and he helped him in his process of moving the United States. So, in a minute, I think this is Orlando coming through now.

Orlando: Hello gents.

Sabastian: Hello, good to meet you, this is Kevin.

Orlando: How are you, Kevin?

Kevin: So, Orlando, good to meet you here in your office in, central London in South Kensington.

Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

Orlando: Sure, I’m Orlando Ortega. I’m a US immigration lawyer originally from California. Before I practiced US immigration law, I was actually a criminal defense lawyer.

Kevin: Wow, in California?

Orlando: In California, yeah, and from there because some of my clients who weren’t US Nationals, were placed into deportation.

My entry into US immigration law was in defending my clients in deportation court, so eventually, people started to consult me with regards to visas and eventually, I shifted out of criminal defense and into US visas and eventually, business visas and that was about 20 years ago and so I’ve been doing US business visas since.

Kevin: Okay that’s fine Orlando but that’s California. How did you end up in London?

Orlando: Well, we were one of the first internet-based US immigration businesses based on a Canadian model for a company that we had worked for previously, and so as soon, as we put ourselves out on the net, we started getting inquiries primarily from the United Kingdom, and so the feedback to us was, if we had some kind of an office in the UK, clients would be more likely to hire us and so we launched an office here fifteen years ago.

Kevin: Now, I’m here with Sebastian and the key thing here is that you actually helped Sebastian realize his American dream, some years ago.

Sabastian: Yeah, that’s true, I mean, in fact, Orlando and I worked together for the first time in 2008, when he got me my first ever you know L1 visa to open a business and to open an office in Miami, and then the renewal as well, you know, and then again in 2016.

So, yeah basically, we start with that 15 years so I’ve worked with Orlando, and his very competent colleagues a number of times successfully and so I know when we recommend professionals or clients that we want to recommend professions where we know, they can do the job you know, it’s going to work out, you know.

And I can certainly say that with Orlando but I’ve definitely, we have a good track record together, so a very good experience.

Orlando: Here and just bear in mind that anything that I say right now -it’s not going to be it-shouldn’t be considered to be legal advice.

Kevin: Of course.

So, Orlando, somebody’s thinking, just thinking about moving their business, their family to the United States to Austin Texas, why do they need a lawyer?

Orlando: Well they’ll need a lawyer for many different reasons, business reasons, related to their establishment of their businesses in the United States. but also, to be able to authorize them to live and work in the United States, they’re going to need to sort out visas.

And for the visa process, there are many different categories of visas, some are falling into disfavor recently.

So, there are other strategies that one might need to investigate and it’s very difficult, I think, for the average layperson to just go online and to determine in some sort of user-friendly way what exactly is the visa that’s the right one for them and what is the process.

Kevin: Absolutely, I mean I’m glad you brought it all up. We were joking earlier about the four-letter word visa because that’s the kind of first hurdle I think for anybody thinking about this.

I mean, can you give us some idea roughly how many visa types there are for the United States for a European to be looking at?

Orlando: Well, they’re many different visa types it’s quite a long list all the way from A to Z.

But they’re not all equally applicable to each situation, so there would be a finite number of visas available for any particular situation.

So, I think that one of the most important things from my perspective is A. to have a potential client who consults us with an open mind.

Kevin: Right.

Orlando: People may have already a number of visa category in their mind, but it may not actually be the one that’s the best one for them. so, what I do is, I just listen to the facts, what iit that the person wants to actually accomplish, what is their time scale, and then I start to propose options.

Kevin: And you do everything from here in South Kensington that a lawyer could do in America?

You know if it is easier to do it with somebody in the UK to come to you as opposed to contacting somebody in the States?

Orlando: It’s definitely more preferable in my opinion because I’ve practiced in the United States as well, I’ve practiced in Canada as well.

I can tell you that most of the US immigration lawyers in the United States are focused on domestic immigration people who are looking to regularize their status in the United States.

Kevin: So it sounds to me like you’re perfect for what Mount Bonnell Advisors is involved in, which is businesspeople entrepreneurs wanting to move that’s what you do?

Orlando: That’s our focus, it’s 90 % of what we do.

Kevin: So, you are not only an expert around the whole sort of immigration issue but it’s business-to-business, it’s moving businesses to a new terrain.

Orlando: Correct!

Kevin: What are the kinds of blocks that you feel that people come to you, or the kind of preconceptions they have about moving to the states, which you can deal with quite easily or quickly as a lawyer?

Orlando: Well, one of the first things that people…, where they go wrong, is there is a category of these are called B1 business visa.

One of the things that that people do go wrong with is the B visa category is known affectionately as a business visa.

And so, people believe that when they have a B1 visa or they enter the United States visa waiver in the B1 category, that they’re able to conduct business.

And that’s where a lot of people go wrong because it’s not a visa that is actually one that allows you to conduct business.

It’s one that allows you to visit the United States for business purposes.

Kevin: Right, big difference.

Orlando: Big difference yes, so any productive business that is done whilst a person is in the United States on Esta Visa Waiver or B1, is a violation of their status of entry.

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Kevin: So, these visas are serious business, and the last thing I want is to be refused entry at the airport before I even start my American dream.

So, I had to ask…

Does that mean somebody could end up in court?

Orlando: It means that people can be turned around at the port of entry put back on a plane and sent home warned and told next time you come in, come in with a proper visa.

Kevin: So what you’re saying is it’s very important to get the right visa.

Orlando: Exactly! Well if you have somebody who wants to visit Austin for example and just get the lay of the land and maybe have a couple of meetings in all, no problem, they can go in on Visa Waiver if they have a B1 visa they can do that as well.

But, if they want to take the next step which is actually establish themselves there, then they’re going to need legal advice in terms of for any corporate or tax purposes or what-have-you and then to make the move where they actually can go then and run their businesses, they’ll need visas other than Esta or the B1.

Kevin: Tell me this, the different states have different bars?

Orlando: Yeah, correct.

Kevin: So, are you able to give advice across the United States in terms of this kind of business visa stuff or it’s just state by state, how does it work?

Orlando: Well, there’s a state law and there’s federal law in the United States so, immigration law and law related to visas is federal law and any lawyer that’s called to the bar in any particular state is able to advise on any on federal law so that includes immigration

Kevin: Got you.

Orlando: Bankruptcy in the United States or insolvency is also federal law.

Kevin: I wish you hadn’t brought that up [Laughter], that might put our listeners off!

Orlando: There are several areas of federal law, immigration is one of them.

Kevin: Excellent. Well, that’s quite so if I need to operate in Austin, I can come to you and you can give me as good a service as any other lawyer in the United States.

Orlando: Yes, that’s right.

Sabastian: What Orlando said is really important, you know, because I know clients who spoke to you know, immigration attorneys in the United States and the point is, that the immigration attorney needs to know how their business functions that is outside the United States right.

So if someone has a business say in the UK, the immigration attorney needs to know what to look for in that business because that has to be referred to in the business plans or in the application form, you know, and if say an attorney in the United States has no idea how businesses are structured in the UK. They would not be able to complete those application forms and the business plan correctly and that’s the visa will fail, that the legal experience that clients of mine had, you know.

So that’s why it’s always good to have an attorney, a US immigration attorney who knows about how businesses function outside the United States.

So, that’s exactly what you said before.

Kevin: So, it’s not just the sort of statute legal advice that you’re giving here Orlando.

It’s a kind of broader picture of the business frame work that people are operating in in the United States and all the legalities around it.

Orlando: That’s correct, and also like Sebastian just said some of these visa categories are premised on the track record of the related company outside of the United States.

Kevin: Right.

Orlando: So, we as immigration lawyers need to know which documents to ask for, how to interpret those documents and then explain that information documentation to the US Immigration Service, or to the US Embassy in whatever country we’re dealing with.

Sabastian: So, there might be vague somebody you know let something like payroll records or VAT return which does not exist in that sentence in the United States.

Kevin: Right.

Sabastian: So the immigration attorney in the US who doesn’t know about it, and thus couldn’t ask the client about those documents which are potentially vitally important to prove the viability of the business in Europe you know, I mean they would miss a very important piece of information that’s just one concrete example.

Kevin: Well, I would never have thought that the US immigration authorities would be interested in how businesses trading in Europe, but it seems that’s the case.

Orlando: It is the case, particularly, with the business expansion type of visas that there are.

Kevin: Okay.

Orlando: So, for example, let’s just, by contrast, let’s say that you have somebody who doesn’t necessarily own a company outside of the United States, they would like to purchase a company in the United States. So, therefore really, we’re talking about where did the money that they used to purchase the company comes from.

So, to the extent that the money may have arisen out of business proceeds in the UK or in Germany or what have you, we do have to be switched on to that type of evidence.

But primarily, most of the evidence is going to come from the purchase of the business in the United States, the tax returns for that business financials etc.

So, we have to have a good sense of business sense in terms of the US jurisdiction in which the person is buying their business.

But with regards to what most of our clients are going to have, is some sort of related business outside of the United States and we have to know how to interpret those documents.

Sabastian: I think another important point is that there are these are categories that are decided in the United States and others actually decided in the local embassy, right in this case, in the embassy in London.

Kevin: There’s sort of decision-making power within local embassies.

Orlando: Definitely! Most of the visas that are decided outside of the United States at embassies are the result of treaties between the United States and the country in which the embassy is located.

Kevin: Right.

Orlando: So there’s treaties that involve investment, there are treaties that involve trade.

So for example, if you have a company that is based in the UK that’s trading with the United States, has it been trading with the United States say over a 12 to 24 month plus period then there’s a visa specifically for that type of company.

Sabastian: The visa applications that Orlando prepared for me previously they were like 500 pages, it contains everything like business plan, bank statements, you know, I mean, it’s a massive effort you know that has to be checked, that it has to be processed, it has to be filed you know, I mean, it’s very, it’s a very laborious process.

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Kevin: But it also probably and I’d be interested in your view in this Orlando, it probably sorts the man from the boys, those that are serious about doing this and those that maybe aren’t that serious.

Orlando: Well, I think something probably very important to note at this point is that there are people who will say on their own try to apply for a visa at an embassy or consulate, up until that point they enjoy a very important privilege which is the ability to travel visa-free to the United States for most people from Western Europe.

However, if they make an application to the embassy for a visa and that application is turned down that individual will lose their right to travel visa free to the United States under Esta. So, that’s a very important consequence to take into consideration.

So, if only for that reason that individuals should be consulting with the US immigration lawyer and what we do often do is sometimes will discourage somebody from making an application, because it may be that things are not quite ready for an application for a visa yet, maybe in six months’ time it will be.

Our clients have to be fully informed before we file any applications with the government, so that they know exactly what they’re getting into.

Kevin: That’s a really important point.

So, it’s almost like they need to have a preliminary chat with you before they’re even starting that process to sort of sort out in their own mind where they and their business are up to.

Orlando: Yes right.

Kevin: Is that something you did Sebastian when you when you set out on this journey?

Sabastian: Yeah, definitely, I mean, I first remember I had a consultation with you know, with Orlando. I think we met in this office even the last time for around an hour so and…

Kevin: Were you worried then how complicated things were?

Sabastian: Yes, because I had applied for it previously you know, so this was my second time around, but I mean, as it was my second time, I didn’t just assume that things had stayed the same you know, I assumed they had changed.

So, I talked to Orlando, you know, for about an hour and a consultation and then, he advised me on the updates that had happened in the years previous to that, and then, I made my mind up about the category, that I thought was best and you know, I had a chat with Orlando again about it and then we started.

Yeah, definitely I think that’s a very good thing is to have a consultation, you know, before that and use that as a decision-making process and often, you know, I mean any serious adviser and any serious attorney will not try to encourage someone whether by the odds are not favorable, because it might have cost a lot of money because frustration and might, it makes people unhappy you know.

Kevin: It starting to sound quite complicated and that’s why we need a lawyer but it’s also sounding, is it something which takes a long time, Orlando?

Orlando: Well, if we have a highly motivated client and that has time to be able because this is another thing is that the lawyer doesn’t do all the work, the lawyer directs the gathering of information and documentation, puts it together, presents a legal brief to the government.

But it does take time on the side of the client as well.

So, some clients are able to just hit the ground running and we can have a visa for them potentially within a 90-day period.

Kevin: Really!

Orlando: Yeah, something that will allow them to live and work in the States for up to five years depending on the category, but there are some clients that hire us, and they say, look my window of when I want to be in the States is nine months from now.

I want to take things slowly so in that case, things will progress slowly because we’ll time our work to work together with the client.

Why is it that somebody may want to start the process now but not move for another six months to nine months?

Maybe they have children that they need to enroll in school and you know they’re planning in advance, they’re picking which is the school they’re going to enroll their children in.

September’s the start of the school year for children in the States usually, so everything will be geared in that direction.

Sabastian: But from my experience, I would recommend anyone wanting to move to the United States on a business visa, to apply… I mean to start planning and starting to talk to Orlando, at least a year in advance.

Orlando: I would concur with that I would say that anybody who calls, expecting to be there in 90 days or 60 days, that’s most likely, that’s not going to happen.

Kevin: Yeah, probably, best take a whole day and come back.

Orlando: Exactly! And it is true that there are people who’ve consulted with us even maybe two years ago and then, we don’t hear from them for a year and then suddenly, they call us and say, I’m ready to go now.

Now, in that situation though, there may be things that will have changed perhaps in just sort of the view of the government with regards to this visa or that these are what have you. So, we usually will have to reassess the case.

Kevin: Okay! So what is a dynamic process you did the whole visas one-year visa is different to next year and so on and so forth? I mean the other thing Orlando; did you get people who kind of work out their own thinking through the visa process?

Do you know what I mean by that?

They’re in two minds or they’re not a hundred percent convinced about moving their business to the United States or immigrating or their wife isn’t or whatever…

Do you find that people are sort of sorting their own stuff out through the visa process?

Orlando: Yeah, that often happens, many times, we’ve seen where, when there’s a family situation maybe the spouse with the children says, “once you get the visa and everything set up in the United States, then let me know and I’ll come and join you, but up until then you know don’t even mention it to me”, so.

Sabastian: But I give you an example; I have a friend who works for Apple you know, he’s a British guy and works for Apple in a very good position and it took him even in a management position two years with Apple, you know, biggest most value company in the world, yeah, to get a visa, to move to the country you know.

So, you know often it really doesn’t matter who you know, how important you are and not you know, it is really a you know it takes a lot of planning and consideration.

Orlando: I think, ideally, if someone really sits down and sets out a plan that includes everything, which includes their business expansion, the business side of things, tax, visas, everything.

So, they have a strategy going forward then, I think that usually works best in, like Sebastian is saying intelligent people will do this at least a year in advance they’re going to be planning all of this but what invariably happens in cases where people don’t really even think about visas they think about the business side and all of a sudden, it’s like they wake up days before. They want to be in the States, and they say, “oh that’s right I need a visa for this” and then they start to kick off the process at that point that puts them quite behind their timeline.

Kevin: Orlando what’s the most satisfying part of your work?

Orlando: I think that people, when they’re expanding to the United States, it’s a new life for them it’s a new chapter and they’re very… they have anxieties but they’re also very excited about it and once the goal is reached, it’s a party for everybody, everybody’s very happy about it, so that I do like that…

Kevin: You feel some of that in the process? You know, feel some of the excitement somebody’s having their American Dream realized?

Orlando: Oh yeah definitely, I’ve got a case of champagne delivered last week to show that. Happy clients. [laughter]

Kevin: So, the goal of moving one’s business the United States of achieving that dream you help facilitate that and you’re as happy as anybody when somebody realizes that dream.

Orlando: Oh yes definitely!

Kevin: So, it’s a win-win all around.

Orlando: It is.

Kevin: Well Sebastian, we’re back on the street after a fascinating discussion with Orlando. I didn’t realize this process was so complicated.

Sabastian: Yes, Kevin. I told you. You should listen to me more.

Kevin: Well that’s something I’m going to be doing throughout this podcast, listening to you more, so where are we off to next?

Sabastian: I guess, we need to have a beer you know to celebrate the successful completion of this podcast.

Kevin: No, that’s the wrong answer.

So, Sebastian, thank you for introducing me to Orlando, that’s really interesting. So, now, we’ve got the four-letter word out of the way visa, where we off to next?

Sabastian: Off to Texas. Right, next week we are flying to Austin

Kevin: Really?

Sabastian: Yes exactly. let’s go.

Kevin: Okay, let’s go.

• You’ve been listening to move your business to United States with me Kevin Turley. A huge thanks to my producer, Emmett Glynn who produced this podcast for Mount Bonnell Media.To find out more go to MountBonnell.com and remember, ‘Dream big, dream America!’*