Foreign aid by Lilian De Falco Shea, Esquire

Foreign aid

The changing world of polo visas

By Lilian De Falco Shea, Esquire

Those of us in the polo world understand the importance of bringing good polo player professionals to elevate games, and support personnel or grooms to care for their strings. For the past 20 years, I have been helping polo players—high and low goal—with their immigration needs. I am now married to a polo player and sponsor, and we own a polo farm in the Denver area with operations in Colorado and Argentina. As an Argentinian, I grew up loving the sport from afar, but now get to live and breathe polo, its beauty, the horses, and the sacrifices we make to experience this passion.

For several years, polo players, as well as grooms, have had a relatively easy experience when filing new visa applications or renewing their visas. This has changed dramatically with the Trump administration, and is likely to further change as a result of Covid 19.

What has changed?

The P-1 visa can be attained by professional athletes or people in show business to come and compete or perform temporarily in the United States. One of the crucial elements for this visa to be approved is to show that the polo player has “international recognition.” Your lawyer should be able to give you an idea of whether the evidence you provided will suffice to meet this criteria.

There is a strong element of discretion and inconsistency in administration of this requirement. We have encountered situations where the applicant did not have much evidence of international recognition but the government still approved the case. This is an element that requires careful preparation. It can also be extremely challenging for pros involved in low- and medium-goal polo. The government frequently takes the position now that

evidence of participation in club polo does not require international recognition as a criteria for participation, and denies visas on this basis.

Lately, the government has been issuing more Request for Evidence (RFEs) for more proof than usual, which is concerning for several reasons. In most cases, the government wants more proof the player is actually internationally recognized, meaning this particular player has played and been recognized in other countries besides his native country. What is really concerning is the government is also requesting an explanation of the importance of the tournaments to be played as described in the application, something that never happened before. In some cases now, we are forced to explain why in the proposed tournaments the presence of these players is required.

Things are becoming more challenging for grooms too, not just because the players are getting more scrutiny. The government not only is requesting proof of the relationship between the player and the groom, but now is also requesting details on the importance to the player of this particular groom. In some cases, the government has analyzed prior cases filed by the applicant and questioned some aspect of those prior visas in the context of the current application. For example, if you have a polo player petitioning for a groom but the same groom was sponsored by a different polo player in the past, the government has questioned the validity of the current application, claiming the groom cannot be essential to the applicant and also to his past professional sponsor. We have responded to RFEs on this exact question. If the government does not receive a satisfactory explanation that complies with the regulatory criteria, this could lead to a denial.

Increase the chances of success

Under the Trump administration, immigration officers, as well as consular posts, are rigidly following the black letter of the law. The amount of visa denials and additional demands for supporting evidence requested by the government has increased exponentially. Far greater diligence is required by polo professionals, their sponsors and their lawyers when seeking these visas.

There are frequent consequences when this process is not done right and we observe, regrettably, negative outcomes when immigration lawyers with little understanding of the sport are involved. In our experience, some lawyers fail to advise professionals of future consequences of their visa applications and related RFEs, and sometimes avoid the hard questions prior to the filing in order to avoid any ethical issues, or knowing the applicant does not qualify for this immigration benefit.

For lawyers who do not get to observe the collateral devastation to the applicant’s life and career, this is just a business. Select a lawyer who

Immigration issues are become more challenging for grooms, and in some cases, a groom’s prior applications are being analyzed.

Select a lawyer who fully understands the sport and is willing to spend time explaining it to officials, if necessary.

understands this very specialized field of law, is willing to spend time explaining to the government what we know instinctually about the sport and who cares about the potential impact to the applicant and to polo.

Today, the amount of cases approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, but denied at the consulate has increased tremendously. The government frequently uses the consular interview process to find problems with P-1 petitions already approved by the USCIS. It is critical to be pro-active and ask questions and follow up with your lawyer.

Important points to consider prior to filing are, for example, Grounds for Inadmissibility: • Have you ever lied in any document filed previously with immigration? • Have you in the past overstayed any visitor or any type of visa? • Have you stayed under your tourist visa too long for the government to suspect that you were working without work authorization?

These are all the questions your lawyer should be asking you, but if not, it is likely because he or she is only concentrating on the USCIS filing procedure, not the consular aspect. Prepare with your lawyer for possible outcomes in order to achieve your goal without committing fraud and potentially getting disbarred for life. The consular interview process, which used to be routine once the visa was approved by USCIS, is becoming far more challenging under the Trump administration.

Critical to maintain legal status

Immigration, not surprisingly, is scrutinizing and denying cases for those applicants who have violated immigration law. The P-1 (player) and P1- S (groom or pilot) give the applicant the right to work only for the petitioner. For several years, many players and grooms came to the U.S. with an approved visa but frequently worked for another person. This is a violation of immigration law. Our concern is that given the increased analysis of these petitions, the government may start tracking down people that change employers without filing the appropriate forms. While this was not enforced previously, and indeed how many polo professionals operated, it is an area that can cause problems and inadmissibility. If you need to have more than one sponsor, you can file a concurrent visa, which will allow you to be employed by more than one person at the time and avoid any immigration violations.

The government is becoming more aware that foreign polo professionals “overstay” in the United States, past the time allowed to remain by their visas instead of returning to their country. Because of the increasing amount of players and grooms overstaying their visas, USCIS has limited the first visa of a groom to one year, even when the applicant has requested more than that. I believe this change in policy by the government is due to the amount of immigration violations within the P visa world. It is critical that the polo community is made aware of the danger of overstaying in light of recent enforcement policy as well as the importance of complying with the visa requirements.

The government may ask for more proof that a professional player is internationally recognized.

Immigration in moments of world crisis

The coronavirus and the crisis in our world is changing the way we do business, the way we interact and therefore might affect the world of polo visas. The Trump administration’s harsh stance toward highly-skilled technical applicants in conjunction with an overburdened federal government, working remotely or entirely closed, increase the likelihood of more denials of polo visas.

Despite the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, these cases are still winnable and we are still getting a high percentage of approvals. It is critical to be diligent and thorough when filing these visas. It is the shared responsibility of the applicant, the lawyer, and the American sponsor who can greatly assist in making the case to bring these professionals to the United States.

There is no substitute for good preparation and teamwork. Polo professionals can no longer wait until that last minute to seek legal help on their visas. The key is early and diligent preparation, anticipate potential problems and prepare to respond to RFEs. In the process, educate immigration officers about polo and the need for foreign professionals to participate in the sport in the U.S. •