对美国永久居民海外收入需要在美国上税的担忧是否必要？

许多考虑争取绿卡的外国公民都表达了对海外收入要交美国税的担忧。当然移民是一个相当复杂的决定， 决策应当谨慎。 但我们愿意就他们的担忧做一定的解释。 希望能在一定程度上简化思维过程。

美国是世界上两个国家中的一个要对永久居民的海外收入征收税收的国家之一。但是，美国税法将双重征税的可能性考虑在内。也就是说，如果你支付了或有义务支付一定的外国税，虽然你也有义务告知美国政府这些收入，但你有一些途径可以减免。 这些途径包括， 外国税收抵免， 收入减免或免征。 

什么是税收抵免？ 

外国税收抵免是通过直接减掉在国外已经交过的税来减少双重税收负担。举例来说， 如果一个人的应交税额总额是2万， 在国外交了1万的税，减掉了该税收， 总欠的税是1万。 

什么是列举扣除？ 

列举扣除是指已交的税收直接用于减少应纳税收入， 因此纳税人的纳税率可能因此改变。 比如， 如果一个人的总收入是5万美金， 其收入的纳税额可能是15％。 因为其在国外交了2万美金的税，那么，他的应纳税收入就是3万美金， 其纳税率可能是10％。

什么是免税？ 

某些类型的收入其实是免税的。如寿险身故赔偿，子女抚养费，福利和市政债券的收益等等是不用上税的。 

因此，可以安全地说，根据美国税法，永久居民被双重征税的几率是很低的。许多担忧是没有必要的。这是本律师事务所的看法， 不代表美国政府立场。 如果有什么疑问，欢迎来电垂询。 电话号码是9548925517。 

如果您在经营进出口企业，你应该读下去

很多企业家移民后， 通过把原来海外的业务扩大到美国， 或重新开始新的公司来开始他们的美国生活。进出口业务是自然的选择。如果你做了如此的选择， 商标是一个必须要优先考虑的问题。 

商标是任何让消费者区别自己和别人的产品或服务的文字，符号或其组合使用。例如，当你听到有人说Nike，你知道是特定的鞋子，衬衫和运动服装。或者苹果的产品是以被咬过的苹果和别的产品区分开来。 

如果你进口的货物的商标和已经登记注册的其他商标相同或相似到会造成混淆 ，你的整个货物将被查封和没收。任何指导，协助或教唆该货物进口的人会受到等于商品原来的价值的罚款。海关政策不会因为当时人声称不知道而区别对待。

如果您的货物恰巧通过了海关， 已经在美国出售， 你不能说是自己就安全了。 如果其他商标持有人在联邦法庭证明该侵权使用很可能会迷惑消费者， 致使其遭受了经济上损失，您要负责赔偿该损失。 如果法院认定你是故意复制他人的商标，或者至少应该知道他人的商标，你还要放弃因使用该商标而获得的利润，支付罚款和对方的律师费。

因此，怎样强调在你开始销售之前，做好商标的调查研究和在美国注册商标的重要性都不会为过。 与往常一样，我们的服务离你是一个电话的距离。如有需要，欢迎致电我们：954－892, 5517。

IF YOU ARE IN IMPORTING AND EXPORTING BUSINESS, YOU SHOULD READ THIS

Many immigrant entrepreneurs start their US life by expanding their foreign businesses to US or establishing a new business with their connection. Import and Export business is natural choice for them. If this is the case for you, trademark is one must aspect of business to get yourself familiar with. 

What is Trademark?

Trademark is any word, symbol device or combination thereof used in connection with a product and service to help consumers identify that product or service as different from those of others. For example, when you hear people say Nike, you believe of shoes, shirts and sports apparel. Or the Apple  products are differentiated from the others by the sign of bitten apple.

If trademark of imported goods is identical or confusingly similar to those recorded with US customs and enforcement, your entire goods are subject to seizure and forfeiture. Any person who ““directs, assists financially or otherwise,

or aids or abets the importation of goods is subject to a civil fine equal to the value of the merchandise had it been original. Customs policy does not discriminate between knowing and unknowing importers for the purpose of assessment of a fine. 

If your goods happen to pass the customs and are sold in US, if other trademark holders can prove in federal court that the infringing use is likely to confuse consumers and that the business has suffered economically as a result of the infringement, you may have to pay them money damages based on the loss.

If the court finds that you intentionally copied the trademark, or at least should have known about the existing trademark, you may have to give up the profits you made by using the mark as well as pay other damages, such as punitive damages, fines, or attorney fees.

Therefore, it can’t be stressed enough to set the record straight on trademark issue before you start your sales work, which means run your research and register your own trademark with US Trademark Office. 

As always, we are one phone call away. Dial 954 892 5517 and ask for Attorney Linda Liang for further assistance!

Do you need a lawyer for H1B Visa Petition?

H1B is well-known way to start a life in USA after school. while H1B season is around the corner, more new graduates are looking into DIY tips for H1B. This article tends to provide some tips of this sort yet will arrive at the conclusion that H1B is not as easy as other people say and a professional help is must. 

The H-1B visa category is for noncitizens who will work in the United States in a "specialty occupation," The "specialty occupation" refers to jobs for which the usual requirement is a U.S. bachelor's degree or the equivalent in a specific field and for which the foreign national employee has a relevant degree or the equivalent. There is a cap of 85,000 visas for first-time applicants each federal fiscal year, which runs October 1 to September 30.

Other features of H1B include that the employer must pay the H-1B employee the higher of the actual wage or prevailing wage and When the H-1B employment ends, the employer must notify USCIS and have the petition revoked. As long as the H-1B petition remains in effect, the employer must pay the worker's wages.

The requirements are straight forward, However, the burden of proof is on the petitioner and the burden is nothing but light. For jobs such as accounting, engineering, and many information technology professions, it's clear that the applicant needs a specific bachelor's degree to get the job. For other jobs, it's less clear. For example, marketing and sales jobs often present challenges in the H-1B visa category, because employers typically accept a wide range of degrees. For example, Sales Representatives might have degrees in business, marketing, psychology, history, communications, political science or other fields. This makes it difficult to demonstrate that a specific bachelor's degree is required.

It takes great knowledge of inner training of USCIS to understand how to be persuasive to prove this aspect of requirements alone, needless to say, when any minor complication is involved, an experienced immigration lawyer’s help is absolutely necessary. You are welcome to contact us at 954 892 5517 if you have any questions. 

How To Avoid EB5 Denial?

Investment Vis is not foreign to foreign investors anymore. Investors are often led to invest in projects under companies designated by USCIS as regional centers who claim to be able to create 10 jobs for each investors. 

Many investors act upon leap of faith based on the facts the representative of the projects looks great, or so and so are approved. 

USCIS EB5 statistics shows that out of 13795 EB5 application since 2005, 81% were approved for conditioned green card, 68.4% were approved for permanent green card, which is 2887 families. The number is certainly not high enough based on the promises made by the projects. Obviously, the investors are not warned enough, instead, are mostly rushed into making decisions. 

The question is what caused the failure. The answer is multiple fold. The article will address a few most common possibilities, but does not promise the entire coverage of issues. 

First, it is under-stated by the greatest extent that a business is designated as a regional center by USCIS does not mean that USCIS has endorsed the project and has made a promise of green card to investors of such project. Instead, approval of a EB5 regional center is simply an approval on investment plan submitted by business owners to USCIS. 

Many project owners made vague or misleading presentation that the projects are partially owned by government. Even it may be true in some, it is not true in most. Most project owners are simply entrepreneurs who have experience to put all sources together. As a matter of fact, any claim that the project is 100% backed by government funds should raise first red flag. 

Secondly, it is possible that the project owners are running shams. As a matter of facts, some have already been caught.  The SEC and USCIS are aware of attempts to misuse the EB-5 program as a means to carry out fraudulent securities offerings.

SEC v. Marco A. Ramirez, et al., the SEC and USCIS alleged the USA Now regional center falsely promised investors a 5% return on their investment and an opportunity to obtain an EB-5 visa. The promoters allegedly started soliciting investors before USCIS had designated the business as a regional center. The SEC alleged that while the defendants told investors their money would be held in escrow until USCIS approved the business as eligible for EB-5, the defendants misused investor funds for personal purpose such as funding their Cajun-themed restaurant. 

SEC v. A Chicago Convention Center, et al., is another case which the SEC and USCIS coordinated to halt an alleged $156 million investment fraud. The SEC alleged that an individual and his companies used false and misleading information to solicit investors in the “World’s First Zero Carbon Emission Platinum LEED certified” hotel and conference center in Chicago, falsely claimed that the business had acquired all necessary building permits and that the project was backed by several major hotel chains. According to the SEC’s complaint, the defendants promised investors that they would get back any administrative fees they paid for their investments if their EB-5 visa applications were denied.  The defendants allegedly spent more than 90 percent of the administrative fees, including some for personal use, before USCIS adjudicated the visa applications.

As with any investment, it is important to research thoroughly any offering that purports to be affiliated with EB-5.

We will talk about other reasons for possible denials of EB5 application in blogs that follows. 

EB-5项目向外国投资者提供了以在美国投资并创造就业机会为前提而获得合法永久居留权的机会。商业业主向移民局申请被指定为EB-5项目“区域中心”。然而，通过EB-5投资的外国投资者，不能保证签证或成为美国合法永久居民。

事实上，一个企业是由美国移民局指定的区域中心并不意味着移民局，美国证券交易委员会或任何其他政府机构已批准由企业提供的投资，或以其他方式表达了对投资质量的首肯。相反， 美国证券交易委员会和移民局只是认可项目的商业计划符合了法律的规定而且意识到EB-5项目会（已）被作为进行欺诈性证券发售的手段。

在最近的一个案例中，SEC诉马哥A.拉米雷斯等人，美国证券交易委员会和美国移民局曾共同制止涉嫌投资诈骗，美国证券交易委员会述称，被告，包括USA Now区域中心虚假承诺投资者5％的回报，并有机会获得EB-5签证。据称，发起人在美国移民局已指定作为一个区域中心前开始征求投资者。 SEC指控，被告告诉投资者，他们的钱将被托管持有，直到移民局批准投资者的临时绿卡。 但事实上， 他们却将投资者资金挪用投资者资金到个人的印第安主题餐厅，如个人使用，被告滥用投资者的资金。根据美国证券交易委员会的投诉，投资者没有通过投资USA Now区域中心作为得到临时绿卡。 

在另一起案件中，SEC诉芝加哥会议中心等，美国证券交易委员会和美国移民局共同制止据称价值156万美元的投资欺诈。 SEC的指控，一个个人和他的公司使用虚假和误导性的信息吸引投资者投资于芝加哥“世界第一零碳排放白金LEED认证的”酒店和会议中心。 SEC指出他们虚假声称，企业已经获得了所有必要的建设许可证和，而且该项目是由几个主要的连锁酒店支持。据美国证券交易委员会的投诉，被告向投资者承诺，如果他们的EB-5签证申请被拒绝， 他们将拿回他们支付他们的投资和任何行政事业性收费。据称被告事实上在美国移民局审理的签证申请前已将超过90％的行政事业性收费用于个人。 

与任何投资一样，对EB5 项目进行深入细致地研究非常重要。具体如何判断EB5中心的合法性和真实性， 请和本所联系（954 892 5517）或者等下期分析。  

EB5 Projects Possible Scams

EB5 program enables foreign Investors to obtain conditioned green card via investment in designated regional center who creates 10 direct and indirect jobs for each investor based on a feasible business plan.  Conditions can be removed if actual 10 jobs are created using the investment. Worthy of note though, foreign investors who invest through EB-5 are not guaranteed a visa or to become lawful permanent residents of the United States.

The fact that a business is designated as a regional center by USCIS does not mean that USCIS has endorsed the project and has made a promise of green card to investors of such project. Instead, approval of a EB5 regional center is simply an approval on investment plan submitted by business owners to USCIS. As a matter of fact, the SEC and USCIS are aware of attempts to misuse the EB-5 program as a means to carry out fraudulent securities offerings.

,SEC v. Marco A. Ramirez, et al., the SEC and USCIS alleged the USA Now regional center falsely promised investors a 5% return on their investment and an opportunity to obtain an EB-5 visa. The promoters allegedly started soliciting investors before USCIS had designated the business as a regional center. The SEC alleged that while the defendants told investors their money would be held in escrow until USCIS approved the business as eligible for EB-5, the defendants misused investor funds for personal purpose such as funding their Cajun-themed restaurant.

SEC v. A Chicago Convention Center, et al., is another case which the SEC and USCIS coordinated to halt an alleged $156 million investment fraud. The SEC alleged that an individual and his companies used false and misleading information to solicit investors in the “World’s First Zero Carbon Emission Platinum LEED certified” hotel and conference center in Chicago, falsely claimed that the business had acquired all necessary building permits and that the project was backed by several major hotel chains. According to the SEC’s complaint, the defendants promised investors that they would get back any administrative fees they paid for their investments if their EB-5 visa applications were denied.  The defendants allegedly spent more than 90 percent of the administrative fees, including some for personal use, before USCIS adjudicated the visa applications.

The El Monte Regional Center story isn't a happy one neither.  El Monte received USCIS approval to raise money for the project via the EB-5 investor visa program. A detailed economic blueprint of the project from 2008 offers a good overview of the city's plan. Unfortunately, things turned sour quickly. In 2009, project executives John Leung and Jean Lang were arrested for alleged fraud and embezzlement.

As with any investment, it is important to research thoroughly any offering that purports to be affiliated with EB-5. You need to contact a trustworthy and capable immigration attorney for assistance in due diligence. You are more than welcome to contact us at 954 892 5517.