Meet the Team: Aaron Labreque - U.S. Immigration Attorney

CH: Mr. Labreque, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. To begin, what has inspired you to specialize in immigration law and how has your upbringing in South Florida influenced your career path??

AL: I grew up in Miami, and I'm sure you're aware that Miami is a major multicultural city. As a child, throughout middle school and high school, I was friends with people from all over the world. Those are your formative years, and it has a lasting effect on you. There were times when, in terms of the immigration aspect, I didn’t know that some of my friends maybe weren’t permanent residents or were in different stages of their processes, but that didn’t matter to me.?

As I got older, went to college, and then law school, I wanted to carry that with me. I wanted to reconnect with that upbringing. That’s what inspired me. Getting into immigration law is really a way to honor my upbringing and the impact it had on me.?

In your experience with EB-2 NIW cases, what are the most common challenges foreign professionals face when navigating this process??

AL: When I first meet clients, I think they have an idea of what this process is and what it is about, but when they come to us, the elements of substantial merit and national importance are not clearly defined. They're discussed in Dhanasar, but they're not fully explained, and there aren’t even examples provided. I think this makes it challenging for clients to understand what the boundaries are for an endeavor and what will qualify as one.?

I don't want them to worry about: “Oh! Is this nationally important?” or “Does this meet the standards for an NIW?” because those are legal questions, and those are questions that myself and my team should answer for the client. So, I just need them to tell me about themselves, because that's the one thing I cannot do. You may be an expert in artificial intelligence or cancer research, but I am not, my team is not, and the officer reviewing your case is not going to be an expert either. So, the best thing you can do to help me is to talk about your work, because I can take that information, do additional background research, and then, as part of the model plan, I will connect it to broader initiatives and goals set forth by federal agencies and the White House.?

?What strategies have proven most effective for representing clients seeking EB-2 NIW approval, especially in complex cases??

AL: Not just in complex cases, but I take this approach with all my clients. Since I started at the firm over two years ago, I’ve had clients who are entrepreneurs, scientists, or researchers. They come from a broad range of fields and disciplines. However, I maintain one simple approach: I tell the clients we’re going to focus on a problem and a solution. What I mean by this is my goal is to present one simple idea, one clear concept to USCIS, so that if they read nothing beyond the first sentence of the endeavor, they would immediately understand what the client is trying to do, why they’re trying to do it, and how they’re going to accomplish it.?

That is my approach in every single case: I ask the clients to identify a problem or challenge they face in their work on a daily basis, and then I say, give me a solution to that. It’s also important to address the reason: why do we do the things we do? There’s always an underlying reason. For example, a client might say, “I want to ensure that underserved communities get access to broadband internet.” So now we know the what, but we don’t fully understand the why. There’s a reason why this client wants to bring greater broadband connectivity to underserved communities.?

If you do some background research, you begin to understand that underserved communities, rural areas, and disadvantaged communities lack access to broadband services either because they can’t afford it, or the area doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure. With this context, you start to see the bigger picture.?

Could you discuss a memorable case where your legal approach made a significant difference in the outcome for your client??

AL: Absolutely. This is a case I was assigned just a few months after starting at the firm. One thing I look for in terms of the strength and viability of an endeavor and of a case overall is consistency. That's consistency between the client's educational background, work experience, the endeavor, and, of course, any support they’re able to provide. This case lacked those connections.?

The client is an entrepreneur with over a decade of experience running, operating, and managing businesses, and each business was different from the others. There was no consistent field—it wasn’t like five automotive businesses or five manufacturing businesses. It was a range. I thought, okay, so what's the endeavor? What are you trying to accomplish here? His endeavor was focused on social programs, and he had a few different ideas. One was to help bring expectant mothers back into the workforce, and I said: “It's not a bad idea, but I don’t really understand how your background supports that. If we can't make that connection, I don’t know if this is going to be viable as an endeavor to present.” Because at the end of the day, I can help clients write the most beautiful endeavor, but if there's no evidence to support it, that’s not going to help them. Still, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I said, “Okay, I want to hear more,” again, going back to listening to the client.?

This person managed several businesses, and it wasn’t really listed in his CV, but he had worked on, in addition to his business ventures, many different social projects over a period of 5 to 10 years. So, he mentioned that, and I thought, “Okay, there’s something there.” Speaking with the client, I noticed that he has experience in different fields, but the common denominator throughout all of them is that he oversaw and managed them. So, I argued in the petition that he is a social project manager. From speaking with him, I collected evidence of the different types of social projects and other projects that benefited certain communities in Colombia and Venezuela, where he worked. I presented the application and, thankfully, it was approved.?

How do you stay current with changes in U.S. immigration policies, particularly those affecting the EB-2 NIW process, and how do these changes impact your clients??

AL: There are a few things. First, I’m a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, or AILA, as most immigration attorneys are. They hold conferences on immigration updates throughout the year. There’s a national chapter, and then we also have our local Central Florida Orlando chapter, where we host our own events and meetings. This is one way to get a broader understanding of what each administration is doing and how to respond to it.?

Another thing is, given the breadth of our work at the firm, we are fortunate enough to see the bigger picture of what's happening at USCIS. I monitor this through the different RFEs I receive with each case. When they come into my inbox, I read every single one and analyze what the officer is saying. Sometimes it’s just a very pro forma, templated RFE, but other times I notice something new, and I make a note of it. I adapt my strategies based on that information. Likewise, I share this information with the RFE and refile teams, and we discuss the best ways to approach different strategies. This allows new clients, and other clients as well, to benefit from the changes within USCIS.?

?What is your philosophy when advising clients on the EB-2 NIW category, particularly in terms of demonstrating national interest??

AL: This is the most practical advice I give clients, and it comes from “where can you get support from the US perspective?”, so I'll go through with them. I said, well, I want to understand their endeavor, and sometimes they have a few different ideas to say, okay, I think the choice of which endeavor to go with depends on where you could possibly get like a letter of interest from or different forms of support.? If I can make the strongest case possible for you as a client, I need you to go out, I need you to do your homework and talk to your network, see who other people can get you in contact with, because that aspect of providing investment from us perspective, or potential client that wants to use your services, I think factors really heavily into USICs decision? in adjudication of your application. ? A consistent narrative and then maintaining internal consistency between the client's education, the endeavor itself, and the different pieces of objective evidence that we provide in the application. At the end of the day, that's what's going to be beneficial to you versus just presenting a better idea. The idea needs to be supported. The endeavor needs to be supported with objective events.??

Could you elaborate on your role at Colombo & Hurd and how the firm’s values align with your personal mission as an immigration attorney??

AL: I always want to understand the client, so I listen to them. Everyone has a story to tell, and like I said, I've worked with clients that were entrepreneurs, people in telecommunications, scientists, researchers, all sorts of different fields, and I think where my value, as an attorney, comes in is to kind of see? what the client cannot themselves articulate. Sometimes it's hard to put down on paper and explain what you do, so,? I think that's where my value comes in with my team as well as attorneys, and we have to recognize that, and we have to pull that out of clients and work with them. That would be the key, because then I build off that information it connects to research; it connects to the endeavor. Then once I understand what the client does, I'm able to say, well, this is the type of evidence I think will be helpful. Concentrate on that, if that?makes sense, if it helps.??

How do you believe cultural diversity influences the legal landscape in the United States, especially in the field of immigration law??

AL: We represent clients from all over the world. They come to us with different cultural perspectives and different challenges, so I have to take this into consideration. Most of the time in initial meetings, you're speaking to clients, of course, they want to get a green card, and it comes down to they want to do better for themselves and their family.? So I have to understand this is? affecting them professionally and personally. Sometimes I've talked to clients and professionally they're fine, but sometimes personally, there's a lot of things going on in their lives. I have to kind of meet them halfway to kind of guide them and help them through that process. So what I try to do is, again, going back into creating the narrative in the petition. Once I have a better understanding of? where they're at in their professional life, I try to take that and again, weave it into that narrative in the petition. And the idea is builds trust with the client.??

Immigration itself is political. It's complex. Even though I've done this for almost ten years, sometimes it's hard for me to understand. I can't imagine what it's like for someone else, that they're not a practitioner and they're just coming to us for the first time for help, whether it's in professional circumstances, so that's what I mean. Everyone comes to us with different professional, personal challenges, and we must take those into account to effectively represent them.??

What do you enjoy doing in your free time when you're not helping your clients get their green cards????

AL: If you ask my friends and other colleagues here in the office, they will tell you, I'm a foodie. I think Orlando is a great city for, again, different types of food, so anytime there's a new restaurant. I'm always telling people:“oh, guys, there's a new restaurant. We need to go try it.”, and I'm not like a food blogger or anything, I don't review anything, but I kind of go around, and I'm like, oh, yeah, I tried that place, It wasn't as great as I thought, or I want to go back and try it in my free time. That's where you'll find me. Also say I'm a big fan of taking cruises, so a couple of times a year with my family or with friends, I would try to go on cruises, sort of as a vacation type thing.??

Mr. Labreque, your story and insights are incredibly valuable. Thank you for sharing them with us.?