Rishi Sunak’s U.S. Immigration Path

whose pinnacle is made of rubies. It is decorated with various jewels, so it remains brilliantly effulgent through all seasons of the year. The temple is beautified with bright-colored canopies, glittering with various gems, and endowed with ruby-decorated coverings and jeweled gateways and arches. Its splendor is equal to millions of suns, and it is eternally free from the six waves of material miseries. In that temple there is a great golden throne inlaid with many jewels. In this way one should meditate on the divine realm of the Supreme Lord, Sri Vrindavanadhama.” (Gautamiya Tantra 4)

“I worship that transcendental seat, known as Svetadvipa where as loving consorts the Lakshmis, in their unalloyed spiritual essence, practice the amorous service of the Supreme Lord Krishna as their only lover; where every tree is a transcendental purpose-tree; where the soil is the purpose-gem, water is nectar, every word is a song, every gait is a dance, the flute is the favorite attendant, effulgence is full of transcendental bliss and the supreme spiritual entities are all enjoyable and tasty, where numberless milch-cows always emit transcendental oceans of milk; where there is eternal existence of transcendental time, who is ever present and without past or future and hence is not subject to the quality of passing away even for the duration of half a moment. That realm is known as Goloka only to a very few self-realized souls in this world.” (Brahma-samhita, 56) Sri Nandanandana Dasa previously known as Stephen Knapp has dedicated himself to spreading the deepest and most practical levels of spiritual knowledge about the soul–our real identity. Though this world may give us numerous challenges, when we rise above the basic materialistic view and its limited search for solutions, our evolutionary development on all levels greatly accelerates. By recognizing that we are all spiritual beings who are, basically, attempting to achieve the same essentials for our existence–namely love, acceptance, harmony, peace, and happiness, not to mention the ordinary needs of food, water, clothing and shelter–we can reach a new level of cooperation with each other. Stephen has written many books on this and related subjects and studied with A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada becoming initiated into the spiritual line of Brahma-Madhava-Gaudiya sampradaya. He is also president of the Vedic Friends Association.

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Rishi Sunak’s U.S. Immigration Path

We are all very excited to learn more about the newly elected British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. What do we know about his U.S. Immigration journey?

This is a very interesting and timely question and one I was asked a few times over the last few days. While I don’t know the exact facts concerning his immigration journey, I can speculate approximately how and when the various steps were taken. Did he follow a common International Student Path from F-1 visa to an H-1B visa to a Green Card? Sunak’s story may be a bit complicated to understand for nonimmigration attorneys, but it is fascinating to investigate, and I really enjoyed researching and writing this article.

The Honorable Rishi Sunak was born in England to parents of Indian descent. Instead of coming to the United States for college on an F-1 visa, hestayed home to attend prestigious Oxford University. After graduating from Oxford in 2001, Mr. Sunak began working for Goldman Sachs in the U.S. as an investment banker. Goldman Sachs likely sponsored Sunak for an H-1B visa under a specialty occupation specifically to the financial field. Since the H-1B lottery was not created until 2007, obtaining an H-1B or sponsoring an employee for an H-1B was a much simpler process back then. Like clockwork in 2001 Sunak would have received his H-1B visa (which typically last 3 years) and then worked for GS from 2001-2004 in H-1B status.

Since we know that Mr. Sunak was a U.S. Green Card holder (before he recently renounced it in 2021), he would have likely obtained his permanent residence by means of an employer sponsorship. So, when did he get his U.S. Green Card? H-1B visas are “dual intent visas” where you can adjust your status to a lawful permanent resident (green card). It is possible that the future British PM got his Green Card while working for Goldman Sachs. However, I don’t think that is the case. If Goldman Sachs sponsored him for an employment-based green card (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3) he would have been ineligible for a Fulbright Scholarship. “Persons applying for or holding U.S. permanent residence in the

United States are not eligible”. We know that Sunak studied at Stanford as a Fulbright

Scholar so he would have had to have instead “entered” the U.S. under the J-1 visitor exchange program run by the

State Department. Therefore in 2004 he was still not a U.S.

Lawful Permanent Resident but, on a J-1 visa. As on script, Sunak then returned home to England upon graduation from Stanford in 2006, a condition of the 2-year foreign residency requirement for J-1 visas.Many J-1 exchange visas require the student to leave the United States and return to their home country for two years before returning to the U.S. for education or work.

In 2009 he came back to the United States to launch a new hedge fund firm called Theleme Partners. Based on my research Rishi likely entered the U.S. on an investment visa such as an E-2 or under an L-1 visa for executives and managers. It is also possible that he could have even self-petitioned and applied for his own EB-1 or EB-2 green card as an individual with extraordinary or exceptional ability. Based on his already impressive education and work experience in the U.S. and back in the UK, he

Path 1 Path 2 Path 3 Path 4*

Common Green Card Paths for International Students 1st Stage 2nd Stage 3rd Stage 4th Stage 5th Stage

F-1 Visa H-1B Visa Green Card F-1 Visa F-1 Visa F-1 Visa OPT OPT Green Card H-1B Visa STEM OPT

Green Card H-1B Visa

Green Card

Path #4 is less common and generally occurs with students having advanced degrees and/or extraordinary ability © Finberg Firm PLLC

would have been a strong candidate for an extraordinary ability visa.

Therefore, the new occupant of 10 Downing St. likely obtained his U.S. Green Card sometime after 2006. I am sure the details will emerge in the near future once more indepth biographies are requested and created. While the U.S. Green Card is the goal for so many, why on earth would he ever renounce his U.S. residency? Let’s not forget there are tax consequences and sometimes political restrictions for those holding U.S. permanent residence. I think in this case it worked out okay for the UK’s new PM to eventually give up his U.S. status. Interestingly, I have had clients consult with me about trying to get back their U.S. residence or citizenship after renouncing them. Remember that renouncing or abandoning your U.S. residence is a decision you should make only after carefully consulting with both a qualified international tax specialist and an experienced U.S. Immigration Attorney.

This article does not constitute a solicitation or provision of legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. The answers provided should not be used as a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. You should always consult a suitably qualified attorney regarding any specific legal problem or matter on time.

U.S. Immigration Attorney Seth Finberg is a 2005 graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law. Seth is a member of the Georgia Bar, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and serves on the Business and Investment Committee for the South Florida chapter of AILA. Mr. Finberg is the owner and founder of South Florida based Finberg Firm PLLC and he represents clients nationwide and internationally in business, employment, and familybased immigration. He can be reached by phone at (954)-843-3568 / (954) 249-6603 or by email at seth@ finbergfirm.com or www.finbergfirm. com.

About the Author

U.S. Immigration Attorney Seth Finberg is a 2005 graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law. Seth is a member of the Georgia Bar, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and serves on the Business and Investment Committee for the South Florida chapter of AILA. Mr. Finberg is the owner and founder of South Florida based Finberg Firm PLLC and he represents clients nationwide and internationally in business, employment, and family-based immigration. He can be reached by phone at (954)-843-3568 / (954) 249-6603 or by email at seth@finbergfirm.com or www.finbergfirm.com.