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L-1 visas give foreigners a chance to chase American dream(Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ORLANDO, Fla. _ For Brazilian Renato Rosa, crisis equals opportunity. Rosa thinks the current economic recession presents a chance for him and other foreigners to start companies _ and achieve a piece of the American dream. "You can have a crisis anywhere," Rosa said. "A lot of my friends think I'm crazy for starting a business here, but I'm strong," he said. In September, Rosa opened an Orlando subsidiary of ArtiPlacWood, a 50-year-old wood-import business his father started in Brazil with little money. Rosa said his father's legacy gave him the courage to start an Orlando subsidiary, despite the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Many foreign nationals have taken the same leap of faith. Like Rosa, they have come to the U.S. on a L-1 business visa. They are non-immigrant visas typically used by large foreign companies to create subsidiaries or to send employees with specialized knowledge to work in existing U.S. offices. L-1 visas, which can take from a couple of weeks to four months to process, are being issued in larger numbers: from 54,000 in 2000 to more than 84,000 in 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs. Many small foreign businesses have used L-1 visas to expand internationally, with most of the visa holders coming from England, India, Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia, according to immigration lawyers. Brazilian Mario Chiavegatti, 52, and his wife, Roseli Zambon, 48, are among the many foreign nationals who have opened businesses this year. Their company, DynaSource, sells radiation oncology machines to Florida hospitals and clinics. Chiavegatti and Zambon said launching their business in the U.S. was easier than it would have been in Brazil, where they said rampant corruption and lack of capital are big hurdles. "From the difficulty we have in Brazil selling this equipment, selling it here is a piece of cake," Chiavegatti said. "Crisis?" said Zambon. "You have to go to Brazil to see what a crisis is." Immigration lawyer James Lavigne said people such as Chiavegatti and Zambon are vital to the U.S. economy because their visas stipulate that they must hire American workers. "The best time to start a business is when business is bad for everybody," Lavigne said. "It helps our economy now because people are bringing money here to invest and hire people." Carlos Thurdekoos, a business broker whose clients include foreign nationals, said plummeting real estate prices have allowed many foreign start-ups to expand cheaply and fill a void in the marketplace. "They're strategically placing themselves to provide services in the midst of the crisis," he said. Rosa and Chiavegatti already have plans to expand their businesses. Chiavegatti said he has hired two people and plans to hire a few more in coming months. He is in negotiations to sell four machines _ at $300,000 to $400,000 each _ to hospitals and clinics in the Orlando area. Rosa is taking advantage of real estate bargains, buying a warehouse at the end of last year. He said the warehouse will benefit him and the U.S. economy. "There's a trickle-down effect," Rosa said. "When I buy the warehouse, I have to pay taxes on the warehouse, and I have to hire people to run the warehouse." One concern for Rosa and Chiavegatti is that their companies must be successful for them to remain in the U.S. The recession makes their residency status even more tenuous. Both men have bought homes and plan to reside permanently in Orlando. They said they aren't worried about returning to Brazil if their businesses fail. "We're still excited. If we're all negative about the crisis, then it's going to get worse," Chiavegatti said. Rosa also has a positive outlook. "This is a challenge for me, but this is also a dream for me," he said. "Hopefully I'll reach the American dream." ___ (c) 2009, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.). Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. Copyright ? 2009 The Orlando Sentinel |