Rafael Casanova<\/strong>\u00a0recalls that when he came to the\u00a0United States from Mexico for the<\/strong>\u00a0first time, at age 18, he would never have imagined that\u00a0one day he would own his own company.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “My dream was to come for a while to raise some money, make my house and come back,” Casanova explained. I think that is in most cases the dream of all immigrants, but then the months go by, the years go by, and you get used to it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearly 30 years later,\u00a0Casanova<\/strong>, who\u00a0is married and the father of three<\/strong>, walks through what will soon be the\u00a0new headquarters of his construction company<\/strong>\u00a0across from a shopping mall in\u00a0Mint Hill, North Carolina<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He points to the front of the space and walks through what is going to be the main entrance to his\u00a014,000-square-foot office<\/strong>. Around 60% of the space will be used by your company and the rest will be leased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He started Casanova Siding\u00a020 years ago<\/strong>, after living between Mexico and the United States for a few years. He had worked as a mechanic and in a roofing construction company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now Casanova is one of nearly 25,000\u00a0undocumented entrepreneurs in North Carolina<\/strong>, according to the research group\u00a0New American Economy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He says that because of his\u00a0immigration status and not speaking English<\/strong>, it became more difficult for him to launch his company. But after receiving advice from a friend, he submitted an application for his\u00a0Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)<\/strong>\u00a0which allowed him\u00a0to start a corporation and pay taxes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “There wasn’t a lot of information. They didn’t really tell you how you could do it,” Casanova adds. “I did it, but it wasn’t easy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although he had an ITIN, he says his\u00a0immigration status<\/strong>\u00a0made it difficult for him\u00a0to receive loans from banks<\/strong>. Things changed when his partner, who has documents, started working with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “That part is a bit complicated for someone who also sometimes doesn’t have a lot of studies or doesn’t really know how to do it,” Casanova explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just as\u00a0it was moving forward<\/strong>, the\u00a0economic recession of 2008<\/strong>\u00a0began. Casanova recalls having to take back roofing construction work and was even forced to sell vegetables at a market to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/lanoticia.comhttps:\/\/eaganimmigration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMG-3236.jpg?resize=780%2C585&ssl=1\")
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