NON IMMIGRANT VISA
Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who
wishes to enter the United States must
first obtain a visa,
either a
nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay or
an immigrant
visa for permanent
residence.
Non-immigrant visas, unlike
immigrant
visas,
allow a person to enter the U.S. for a
temporary period of time and are
restricted to the activity
consistent
with
the visa.
B visa for visitors
The visitor visa is a nonimmigrant visa for
persons desiring to enter the United
States temporarily for
business (B-1) or
for pleasure or medical treatment (B-2).
A
B-1 visa is available to foreigners
visiting the United States
to conduct
business. A B-2 visa is available for
foreign
persons visiting the United
States for
pleasure. Citizens of
certain countries
are exempt for 90 days under the Visa
Waiver
Program.
E visa for traders/investors
E visas are issued pursuant to bilateral
treaties of friendship, commerce, and
navigation between the
United States and
various countries. The E-1
classification is
authorized for a
national of a country
with which the
United
States has a
commercial treaty, who is coming to the
U.S.
solely to engage in trade of a
substantial nature principally
between
the U.S.
and the applicant's country of
nationality.
The E-2 classification is authorized for a
national of a country with which the
United States has a
commercial treaty,
who is coming to the United States
solely
to direct and develop the
operations of
an enterprise in which
he or she has
invested, or is actively involved in the
process
of investing a substantial
amount of
capital.
F visa for students
The Immigration and Nationality Act provides
two nonimmigrant visa categories for
persons wishing to study
in the United
States. The "F" visa is reserved for non
immigrants wishing to pursue academic
studies and/or language
training
programs,
and the "M" visa is reserved for non
immigrants wishing to pursue nonacademic
or vocational
studies.
J visas for Exchange Program
Participants
A J-1 visa is issued to applicants who have
been accepted to participate in exchange
visitor programs
designated by the
United States Information Agency
("USIA").
This may include students,
scholars,
trainees, teachers,
professors,
specialists, foreign medical graduates,
international
visitors, government
visitors, camp
counselors,
au pairs, and
participants in summer travel/work
programs.
K visas for Fiancés
Fiancés wishing to visit or live with their
respective partners will need a K-1 visa
that enables them to
receive the proper
authorization to remain in the United
States based on
their social status. K-1
visas are
usually
straightforward and
simple to obtain provided there is proof
of the relationship.
L visas for Transferee Employees
Global multinational corporations are
constantly transferring their staff from
abroad to their U.S.
workplaces. The L
category allows the transfer of key
employees to the
U.S. from affiliated
companies abroad
for
temporary periods.
To qualify, the applicant must be
working
in a capacity as a manager,
executive
(L-1A) or in a position
that requires
specialized knowledge (L-1B).
H visas for Professional Employees
The H-1B visa is for workers in specialty
occupations. Examples of specialty
occupations are
professional positions
in the fields of Architecture,
Computers,
Engineering, Mathematics,
Physical
sciences,
Medicine, Education,
Business, Accounting, Law, and the Arts.
Generally, the H-1B visa is available
for those workers who
have a bachelor's
degree in a technical field who will be
working in a
technical position that
requires an
undergraduate
degree.
Individuals who do not have an
undergraduate degree
may utilize their
experience (at least
12 years experience
in
the specialty
field) to compensate for any years
unfinished in
their undergraduate
education.
TN visas for Canadians and Mexicans
The TN visas are also temporary work visas.
The TN status is for Canadians and
Mexican persons engaged in
activities at
a
professional level. This category is similar
to the H-1B except there is no statutory
limitation on stay
such as exists for Hs
and Ls, and it generally covers a
broader range of
occupations. The
applicant must fit
within a
specific
group of professional occupations listed
in NAFTA
(e.g. lawyers, biologists,
accountants,
interior designers).
In almost all
cases, a degree or license is
required.
IMMIGRANT VISAS
Immigrant visas (or "Green Cards") enable a
person to live and work in the United
States indefinitely. A
person may obtain
a green card by being sponsored by their
employers or their relatives.
EMPLOYMENT-BASED GREEN CARDS
The U.S. Congress has designated certain
groups to which it gives preference for
immigrating to the
United States based
on employment. These groups of
individuals
are divided into five
categories in
order of preference. The
first
employment-based preference, usually
requiring an offer
of employment in the
United States,
includes: managers and
executives
subject
to international transfer to the United
States; outstanding professors and
researchers with
universities or private
employers that have established
research
departments; persons of "extraordinary
ability" in
the sciences, arts,
education, business,
and athletics. The
second
employment-based preference includes:
persons of
"exceptional ability" in the
sciences,
arts; business
advanced-degree
professionals; or national interest
waivers.
Normally, for second
employment-based
categories, a labor
certification and a
job offer is required; however, these
requirements are
waived if applying for
the national
interest
category. National
interest waivers have become an
important
feature of second preference
cases.
The third employment-based preference
includes: professionals with bachelor's
degrees not qualifying
in the second
preference; skilled workers (filling
positions
requiring at least two years
of training
and experience); and
unskilled workers.
Both labor certification and an offer of
employment are required. Only 10,000
visas of the annual
allotment may be
assigned to unskilled workers,
effectively
creating a separate sub
preference. The
fourth
employment-based preference
includes certain special
immigrants,
including religious workers. The fifth
employment-based
preference includes
investment-based
green
cards for
individuals seeking to enter the U.S. to
engage in a
new commercial enterprise.
The
individual must prove that
he/she has
invested or is actively in the process
of investing
at least $1,000,000, or
$500,000 in a
targeted employment area
(a rural area
or
an area with high unemployment), in a
business which will benefit the U.S.
economy and create
full-time employment
for no less than ten U.S. citizen or
immigrant
workers.
1. Persons of Extraordinary Ability
2. Please contact us for a detailed review of
your case.
3. Persons with Advanced Degrees or
"Exceptional Ability"
Please contact us for a detailed review of
your case.
National Interest Waivers
Normally, if an applicant qualifies for the
second employment-based category
(holding an Advanced Degree
and Persons
with
Exceptional Ability in the Arts, Sciences and
Business), the labor certification is
required. However, a
limited exception
exists if the employment is in the
"national
interest" of the United
States.
Please contact us for a detailed review of
your case.
Investment-Based Green Cards
Please contact us for a detailed review of
your case.
LABOUR CERTIFICATION
An employer must file a labor certification as
a prerequisite for obtaining a
green
card for an employee
whose eligibility
is based on a job offer. Labor
Certifications are
specific to the
employer, job
opportunity,
and
geographic location stated on the
original application.
The certifying
officer may reduce
partially or
completely the
employer's
recruitment efforts through the State
employment
service by decreasing the
number of days
that the job
advertisement must run. The
requirement for posting the job
opportunity may
also be reduced
partially or completely.
This
provision,
Reduction in Recruitment, may be
exercised when it
is clear to the
certifying officer that
the labor market
has
been adequately
tested.
FAMILY-BASED GREEN CARDS
Another major avenue by which individuals can
obtain a green card is through a family
member. Certain family
member
relationships are more advantageous than
others in
obtaining a green card. An
applicant may
have more than one
green card option
available due to multiple familial
relationships.
Thus, it is important to
evaluate all
the
possible routes to
determine the most time-efficient
one.
Spouses
A person who marries a U.S. citizen can obtain
a green card. If the marriage was
entered into within 2 years,
the person
will
receive "conditional permanent residence".
This means that the permanent resident
status can be
terminated if, within two
years after the permanent resident
status is granted,
the marriage is
annulled, ends in
divorce,
or was
completely fraudulent. On the other
hand, if the
marriage is not doing well
so that the
couple is not together,
so long as they
are not legally separated, the marriage
is
still considered "valid" for green
card
purposes.
Parents
Permanent residency can also be obtained for
parents of U.S. citizens. There is a
two-step process for a
parent to become
a
legal immigrant. First, the USCIS must
approve an immigrant visa petition.
Second, if the parent is
outside the
United
States, he/she will be notified to go to
the local U.S. consulate to complete the
processing for an
immigrant visa. If
inside the U.S., he or she may apply to
adjust his or her
status to that of a
lawful permanent
resident.
Siblings
Permanent residency can also be obtained for
siblings of U.S. citizens. There is a
three-step process for a
brother or
sister
to become a legal immigrant. First, the
USCIS must approve an immigrant visa
petition. Second, the
State Department
visa bulletin must show that a sibling
immigrant visa is
available to your
sibling, based on the
date
that you
filed with the immigrant visa
application. Third, if
the brother or
sister is outside the
United States when
an
immigrant visa
number becomes available, he/she will be
notified to go to the local U.S.
consulate to complete the
processing for
an
immigrant visa.
APPEALS
All immigration applications must be
accompanied with the appropriate
evidence. The failure to
provide
sufficient
evidence will often result in a "Request
for Evidence", delay and/or a denial of
the visa.
Our firm not only drafts applications, but
also works with an applicant to help
organize evidence in
support of an
application. Each application requires
different
evidence based upon the types
of
visa.
U.S. CONSULATE
SERVICES
We also deliver U.S. visa services where
applicable. Our services include
assistance with applications
to U.S.
embassies
worldwide and visa application interviews.
We strive to deliver timely and complete
advice pertaining to
consulate
matters.
U.S. Supreme Court
Opinions
Our searchable database of the Supreme Court
decisions since 1893 (U.S. Supreme Court
Decisions: US Reports
150-, 1893-).
Browsable by year and US Reports volume
number
and searchable by citation, case
title
and full text.
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Lawyers & Immigration
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