Elsie Hui Arias

Contact:

Email: elsie@sggimmigration.com

Elsie Hui Arias

Partner & Certified Specialist

Elsie Hui Arias is a partner at SGG Immigration LLP.  She has been certified as a specialist in immigration and nationality law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization since 2007, a designation that is conferred upon only a very small percentage of immigration practitioners that meet certain rigorous standards in California.

Ms. Arias practices in all areas of U.S. immigration, with particular expertise in EB-5 immigration.  She advises regional centers and developers in preparing EB-5 investment offerings, applying for initial and amended regional center designations (including approval of I-526 exemplars), maintaining compliance, and developing strategies in tackling complex issues that emerge during the I-526 or I-829 process.  She has also successfully represented hundreds of individual investors from Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa with their I-526 and I-829 petitions.

Ms. Arias also focuses her practice in representing U.S. employers with petitioning foreign nationals for nonimmigrant status and lawful permanent residence.  Employer-clients include multinational corporations, health care providers, financial services companies, and universities.  She also assists physicians with obtaining J-1 waivers and national interest waivers.

Additionally, Ms. Arias has extensive experience with family-based immigration, waivers of inadmissibility, citizenship and naturalization, and motions/appeals before the Immigration Court, Board of Immigration Appeals, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  She has provided pro bono representation to clients referred by nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles, including Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) and Catholic Charities.

During law school, Ms. Arias externed with the Honorable Harry Pregerson of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and worked part-time as a Teaching Assistant for the Asian American Studies Department at UC Davis.

 Speaking Engagements

  • Moderator, Foreign National Entrepreneurs: Creative Approaches to Developing an Immigration Strategy, AILA webinar (2022)
  • Moderator, I-829 Filings – The Basic and the Exotic, EB5Investors Magazine Convention (2018 – Los Angeles)
  • Moderator, Navigating the Requirements and Challenges in the I-829 Removal of Conditions Process, AILA EB-5 Investors Summit (2017 – Las Vegas)
  • Moderator, Tactics for Dealing with Investors Facing a Backlog and Processing Delays, EB-5 Investors Magazine EB-5 and Investment Immigration Convention (2017 – San Francisco)
  • Moderator, EB-5 Basics: Getting Ready for Your First Investor Case, AILA Annual Conference (2017 – New Orleans)
  • Moderator, Current Issues with EB-5 Investor Visas, AILA California Chapters Conference (2016 – San Francisco)
  • Panelist, EB-5 Attorney Workshop – Source of Funds, EB-5 Investors Magazine EB-5 Conference (2016 – Las Vegas)
  • Moderator, Direct EB-5 Transactions, AILA EB-5 Conference (2015 – Las Vegas)
  • Moderator, Does My Project Work with EB-5? (Underwriting Criteria for EB-5 – Timing, Job Count, Capital Stack & Other Considerations), com EB-5 Conference (2014 – Newport Beach)
  • Moderator, Representing the Direct EB-5 Investor, AILA Annual Conference (2014 – Boston)
  • Moderator, Aboard the Luxury Cruise Liner: EB-5, AILA New York Chapter Immigration Law Symposium (2013 – New York)
  • Moderator, E-2 Visas: Starting a Business? Investing How Much?  . . . Are You Serious?, AILA Southern California Chapter CLE Event (2013 – Los Angeles)
  • Speaker, I-526 Petitions and Source of Funds Issues,com EB-5 Summit For Attorneys and Developers (2012 – Los Angeles; 2013 – Washington, DC)
  • Moderator, The Individual Investor Process, Overseas Funding Conference (2012 – New York)
  • Moderator,  Recent Trends And Advanced Issues With E-2 Investor Cases, AILA California Chapters Conference (2011 – San Francisco)
  • Moderator, EB-5 for Beginners, AILA Annual Conference  (2011 – San Diego)
  • Panelist/Moderator, Preparing the EB-5 Case – Practice Tips and Documentation, AILA EB-5 Conference (2012 – Bahamas; 2011 – Las Vegas; 2011 – San Antonio; 2010 – Boston; 2009 – San Francisco)
  • Speaker, Grounds of Inadmissibility, Non-LPR Cancellation of Removal, and Concept of Hardship, From Extreme to Exceptional and Unusual, Immigrant Legal Resource Center (2010 – Los Angeles)
  • Speaker, Overview of Child Status Protection Act, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, (2009 – Los Angeles)

 

Publications

  • Author, The Evolving Landscape of L-1 Practice – The Impact of COVID-19 and New Policies Under the Biden Administration, Fundamentals of Immigration Law (AILA 2020-2021 ed.)
  • Author, Updated Overview of the L-1 visa: General Requirements and the Troubling Impact of Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” Order, Fundamentals of Immigration Law (AILA 2019-2020 ed.)
  • Co-author, Documenting an EB-5 Investor’s Source of Funds – Including Practical Tips and Review of Recent RFE Trends, Immigration Options for Investors and Entrepreneurs, Fourth Edition (AILA 2019)
  • Co-author, Practical Guidance in Preparing Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur,  Immigration Options for Investors and Entrepreneurs, Fourth Edition (AILA 2019)
  • Co-author, Practical Guidance in Preparing Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions,  Immigration Options for Investors and Entrepreneurs, Fourth Edition (AILA 2019)
  • Author, Updated Overview of the L-1 visa: General Requirements and Impact of Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” Order, Fundamentals of Immigration Law (AILA 2018-2019 ed.)
  • Co-author, Practical Guidance in Preparing Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, Fundamentals of Immigration Law (AILA 2017 – 2018 ed.)
  • Co-author, Practical Guidance in Preparing Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions, Fundamentals of Immigration Law (AILA 2017 – 2018 ed.)
  • Author, A Primer on the L-1 Classification: General Requirements, Recent Trends, and Practical Tips, Fundamentals of Immigration Law (AILA 2017 – 2018 ed.)
  • Author, Navigating the L-1 Labyrinth – With an Update on USCIS and DOS Adjudications, Fundamentals of Immigration Law (AILA 2016 – 2017 ed.)
  • Co-author, Practical Guidance in Preparing I-526 Petitions, Fundamentals of Immigration Law (AILA 2015 – 2016 ed.)
  • Co-author, Completing Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions, Fundamentals of Immigration Law (AILA 2015 – 2016 ed.)
  • Author, Navigating the L-1 Labyrinth – With an Update on L-1B Adjudications, Fundamentals of Immigration Law (AILA 2015 – 2016 ed.)
  • Author, Documenting an EB-5 Investor’s Source of Funds – Including Practical Tips and Review of Recent RFE Trends, Immigration Options For Investors & Entrepreneurs (AILA 2014 ed.)
  • Author, Removal of Conditions for EB-5 Investors: Practical Guidance in Preparing I-829 Petitions, IIUSA Regional Center Business Journal (2014)
  • Co-author, Transitioning the E-2 Investor to an EB-5 Entrepreneur, California Chapter Conference Handbook (AILA 2011 ed.)

 

Professional Positions Held

  • Associate Editor, Immigration Options for Investors and Entrepreneurs, Fourth Edition, AILA (2019)
  • Chair, AILA EB-5 Conference Committee (2017)
  • Member, AILA National EB-5 Investor Visa Committee (2017-2018; 2015-2016)

 

Awards & Recognition

  • Recognized as one of the Top 25 EB-5 Immigration Attorneys by EB-5 Investors Magazine (2021, 2018, and 2016)

 

Education

  • University of California at Berkeley (Bachelor of Arts in English Literature with minor in Ethnic Studies)
  • University of California at Davis, School of Law (Juris Doctor)

 

Court Admission

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of California

 

 Bar Admission

  • California (2000)
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