Where this lawyer who has a fair amount of hyperfixations gets to geek out about the legal elements, complications and ramifications present in her favorite TV shows and film.
Today we are talking about a show that is singlehandedly responsible for the revitalization of romance and hockey:
And specifically, how bad Ilya Rozanov needs an attorney.
Vol. 1.5: Ilya Rozanov's Long Long Road to Citizenship
Do take note that this is vol. 1.5. The true first Lore Legalese post can be found here. This was long ago and for some reason I haven't been able to come up with something else to go all legal eagle on. Thanks to @justhereforthepies for the kick in the pants to finally make this an actual series. See their posts about navigating the Canadian immigration system here and here.
First off, if you didn't already know. . . law school makes you sick in the head. In all sense of the phrase.
Yes the law attracts certain personalities. Us lawyers are not a monolith. But lots of us are type A. And the vast majority of us are wonderful, respectable people when we start the journey.
I'm not bashing lawyers here.
One of the most important things that you learn in law school is how to "think like a lawyer." Lots of you have probably heard that phrase before. To non-lawyers, this probably sounds really fucking pompous, arrogant and elitist. (It actually is all of those things a bit. Because history. Although one thing that was constantly drilled into me during my legal education is explain and understand the law in a simplistic and understandable way. So we're working on it! At least I am.)
But in reality "thinking like a lawyer" just means use analytical reasoning (technically it's analogical reasoning but I've never fucking heard of that until law school, so I'll use it's counterpart here. It's practically the same thing). So all of you weirdos who are overanalyzing every second of your favorite IP, you all could be attorneys if you were stupid enough to accrue a shit ton of debt and subject yourself to unnecessary stress and increase your chances of developing alcoholism.
But back to what you are here for. . .
When Ilya suggested that he marry Svetlana to secure a U.S. Passport, you better fucking believe every lawyer who watched that perked the fuck up. And proceeded to roll their eyeballs. I know there are lots of us who were celebrating the Holladays with our favorite hockey players. We are human. We survive on escapism.
Because even with a good attorney, Ilya is gonna have to wait a while longer for that all powerful U.S. passport.
Let's dive right in, shall we?
I. Entry into the United States
Ilya Rozanov first arrived in the United States in December 2008 for the International Prospect Cup. He's 17 years old.
Here he probably enters on some type of visitors visa. Probably a B-1 visa, which is a temporary visa for business. It is valid for 6 months.
Context: Under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), nationals of select countries are able to travel between said countries without applying for a traditional visitors visa and are allowed to stay in that country for 90 days. VWP started in July 1988. On November 17, 2008, the VWP expanded, adding 8 countries to the list. Russia was not one of them. 'Till this day Russia is not a country falling under VWP. Because history.
Context: As a Russian national, given U.S.-Russian relations, he likely would have had to petition for his visa outside of Russia, in some third country.
B-1 visas are great when you want to go on vacation. Or in Ilya's case play amature hockey. But there is one very crucial problem with a visitors visa.
Well, plenty of people do work on visitors visas. That's hella illegal. When you enter a country you are not a citizen of you need to have permission to work.
II. Setting Roots in the U.S.: Transferring To P-1A
The record is murky regarding Ilya's whereabouts between December 2008 and May 2009 when he attends the MLH draft. He could have been in the U.S. or more likely, he probably went back home. But technically he had permission to remain in the US for 6 months. Assuming that his visa didn't expire prior to the draft he technically would have been in status.
But that all about to change because. . .
Ilya becomes the first round pick in the MLH draft for the Boston Raiders.
He's gonna be making a shit ton of money.
Good news for him: He's an athlete.
Generally, there are 2 options for most athletes who come to the U.S. to play professional sports:
P-1A Visa: A P1-A visa is a visa specifically created for people coming into the United States with the sole purpose of competing in athletic competition. For individual athletes these visas can be granted for as long as it takes to "complete the event, competition, or performance," NOT EXCEEDING 5 years. The visa may be extended in increments of up to five years, but the total stay allowed is 10 years.
O-1A Visa: The O-1A visa, also known as the Einstein visa is a visa for people of "extraordinary ability" in a variety of areas, including athletics. This visa has much more stringent requirements compared to the P-1A Visa because you have to prove that you are extraordinary. Which Ilya totally is, but I personally wouldn't waste my breath trying to convince United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of that. Mostly because an O visa's initial period of stay is a maximum of 3 years and it can only be extended for a maximum of 1 year.
Ilya is here to be the best hockey player of all time. Not the greatest for four years.
So, we are going to assume that Ilya has a P-1A Visa.
Both of these visas are employment-based visas, meaning that an employer petitions on behalf of the employee. In Ilya's case, this means that this would be included as part of his sign-on package. The visa would also carry the duration of the length of the contract and be extended in tandem with every new contract he signs with the Raiders.
Great, so now Ilya is in the U.S. and he can stay as long as he is employed by an MLH team and make a whole lotta money while being here.
Here is where it gets complicated.
P-1A visas have very fast processing times (anywhere from 15 days to 4 months). Trust that 4 months is a fucking dream in comparison to other people waiting for other types of visas.
The next step is to try to adjust to legal permanent residency.
The problem is, you can't go directly from an P-1A visa to becoming a legal permanent resident (LPR) aka a green card holder. This is because a P-1A is still a temporary visa. However, unlike a B1 visa, most employment-based visas are dual intent, meaning that you can apply for permanent status while maintaining status on your P-1A visa.
Nevertheless, you can't directly adjust off of a P-1A visa. So let's look at other avenues!
Ilya isn't married, and he has no U.S. relatives, so family based petitions are out of the question.
His best bet is a type of visa with familiar terminology. . .
EB-1A Visa: "EB" stands for Employment Based. The 1 indicates it is a first preference visa. This visa is available to three classifications of people. Most relevant here is the first group: those with extraordinary ability. The description is pretty much identical to that of the O visa.
You said earlier that the P-1A visa was preferable because the O-1 requirements were more difficult to meet. But if definitionally the EB-1 and the O-1 are the same, isn't it more beneficial to have an O visa when applying for an EB-1.
The problem is that Ilya probably would have had a harder time demonstrating his extraordinary nature in 2009 as a 17-year-old from Moscow.
But 2014 Ilya Rozanov, Stanley Cup winner at the height of his game, he's pretty fucking extraordinary.
He would probably be eligible.
The EB-1A Visa has 10 criteria that help determine eligibility. The applicant must meet at least 3 of them OR provide evidence of a one-time achievement.
My guy won the fucking Stanley Cup. That's a fucking achievement.
Standard processing time for an EB-1A can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months or even longer. But Ilya could just pay for the 15-day express processing. . . so, you know. . ..
Assuming he gets approved for the EB-1A Visa we can now move on to the next step. . .
Once Ilya receives his EB-1A Visa, he can file for adjustment to get his green card.
There is one more hurdle though. . . The dreaded Visa Bulletin.
The Department of State creates the Visa Bulletin to indicate when people who apply for visas and seek to adjust status can receive their visa and adjust. These dates are based on congressional limits on the number of people who can make final action on their visas.
Basically, you can't get a visa until Congress tells you you can get an employment or family based visa.
The good news about having a first preference visa is that they are the most likely to be current. So, assuming that Ilya applied for his EB-1A shortly after he won the Stanley cup in 2014 (say October), his priority date (the date that the feds received his application. Not his approval date) would be available instantly. Yes I looked up the 2014 visa bulletin. We are in the fucking thick of it.
Therefore, he could file for adjustment as soon as his visa gets approved.
Here is where Ilya hits a snag though.
There is no rush processing for LPR adjustment. I can't see how long it took for an I-485 (the adjustment application) to be approved in 2014, but currently these applications take a while, averaging 14 months.
Now the processing time is location specific. Some locations take less time than others. Considering Ilya primarily resides in Boston, I'd imagine it's on the longer side.
But after this hurdle, it's easy sailing!
We finally made it to the end of the road y'all!
In order to get a U.S. passport, you must be a U.S. citizen (not really but we don't have time for that!).
A LPR may naturalize after 5 years of maintaining LPR status, so long as they meet the following requirements:
Continuous residence for the 5 years preceding the application;
At least 30 months of physical presence in the U.S. during that 5 year span;
Good moral character during that 5 year span;
Be able to read, write and speak basic English;
Have knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals U.S. civics (this is that infamous test you probably can't pass if you are American 🙄); and
Take an Oath of Allegiance to the United States.
Again assuming, arguendo, that he received his green card in early 2016, he would be eligible for naturalization in early 2021.
Let me remind you that the infamous trip to The Cottage™️ occurs in July 2017.
This would mean that even in the best of circumstances, Ilya would still have to wait another 4 years to be able to even apply for naturalization.
And then he has to get approved and take the test and oath.
We are looking at 2022 before he can even think about applying for a passport.
This is what Ilya and literally millions of people in this country have to go through. And Ilya has literally every resource available to him.
Imagine being a regular person like you and me.
It's a lot of money and waiting around. The system is antiquated. The laws are not efficient nor all that effective.
The system is pretty fucked.
This is what we are talking about when we say Immigration Reform.
