Attorney John V.A. Holmes, of Counsel to Maney & Gordon, P.A., specializes in Immigration and Naturalization Law. He and his assistant, Joyce Lien, have been working together for over twenty-five years. They seek always to serve the clients of the firm in a highly professional manner, with utmost regard for the confidential nature of all client-related communications.

Mr. Holmes handles business, work, investment and family related matters. From his point of view, there is no such thing as a simple matter. Immigration Lawyers are often seen as people who do nothing more than complete simple forms for people who don't read or speak English well enough to fill out forms for themselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. In any given matter there may be several approaches, several strategies, perhaps to be persued in a definite order, with a plan not only for the short term for the intermediate and the long term as well. Mistakes made in an early stage may not be noticeable at the time. An initial benefit may be obtained. But if the matter has been approached without art, without understanding, mistakes may show up a latter stages to completely defeat the client's overall objectives. Therefore, in every single case it is necessary to sit and talk with the client or clients at length, gathering the facts, to be sure, but also formulating possible courses of action in light of the disclosed situation of the clients, including there overall objectives. Invariably, the more an Immigration Lawyer listens to his clients the more the not immediately apparent complexities of the matter come to light.

It is on the business side of immigration law benefits that Mr. Holmes concentrates his efforts. He advises high tech and other companies of professionals wishing to employ educated and qualified aliens. He advises aliens wishing to seek employment in the U.S. He advises multinational companies and other often less substantial foreign businesses on the expansion of their business into the markets of the U.S. and the transferring of management and specialized knowledge employees to the U.S. He often helps to define the nature of the business to be entered into in the U.S., assisting with contract negotiations and the structuring of acquisitions to best fit into the immigration law requirements for the transferring of personnel to the U.S.

Being totally familiar with the Central Florida area, he can often advise aliens transferring to the U.S. about the character of the better neighborhoods in Central Florida, the schools, medical care facilities, sources of local information. Finally, he advises individuals wishing to invest in commercial enterprises in the U.S. Investments are structured in such a way that money is not fully paid until after the visa has been obtained. This protects investors against the possibility of their closing on a business and parting with their money before obtaining a visa permitting them to come to the U.S. to manage and direct their investment.

Mr. Holmes began practicing law in 1965 with a then mid-sized law firm in Orlando, Florida. He was primarily interested in commercial litigation and the structuring of commercial transactions. Here he gained valuable experience as a trial lawyer in both State and Federal Courts. In 1968 he opened his own office in Winter Park, Florida, to engage in the general practice of law. Although he did handle some criminal defense and domestic relations cases, he primarily handled corporate matters, real estate transactions, and commercial litigation. For the next twenty years he pursued the general practice of law, sometimes as a partner with others, but for the most part as a sole practitioner. In 1974 he became the lawyer for a federal credit union and soon his practice became primarily a banking practice. As the credit unit grew from one small branch with less that $1,000,000 in deposits to thirteen branches with deposits in excess of $100,000,000, he represented the credit union in all of its affairs. Throughout this period of time the credit unit had only one general manager. When that general manager was replaced, Mr. Holmes was also replaced. At this point Mr. Holmes returned to the general practice of law.

Immigration Law was not a viable specialty in the Central Florida area. Walt Disney had not entered the scene and the Orlando International Airport was just a dream. It was not until 1982, after eighteen years in practice, that Mr. Holmes accepted his first immigration-related matter.

As time went by Mr. Holmes accepted more and more immigration and visa-related matters. Finally, realizing the complexity of immigration law, he concluded that he could not continue to practice immigration law unless limiting his practice exclusively to that field. Needless to say, this was a difficult decision for Mr. Holmes. Finally, he chose to specialize in immigration law because the demand for the services of an immigration lawyer was growing in the Central Florida area and because there were no other immigration lawyers in the area at that time. He believed that small and highly specialized law firms would become the preferred way to practice law in the future.

Mr. Holmes made the final decision to limit his practice to Immigration Law in 1992. Since then he has further limited his practice to family and business related matters on the benefits side, as opposed to the enforcement side of immigration law. He is a long time member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and a charter member of the Central Florida Chapter of AILA. Over the years he has served that organization in various capacities. Mr. Holmes will consult by telephone with potential clients and others simply seeking information about relocating to the U.S. There is a fee for such consultation that may be paid by credit card.

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