EXPLORING THE UNITED STATES’ VISA CHOICES: GET TO KNOW THE RIGHT ONE FOR YOU

 

Introduction

The United States is one of the most favourite destinations for people all over the globe. In the US, you can find the population of more than 40 million folks born outside this country. Every year, thousands of students, workers, and tourists come into the US to study, work, or just travel around.

To live in the US for study purposes, job employment, or for a visit, non-US citizens have to apply for a visa. There mainly exist two kinds of visas: non-immigrant visas for a short-term visit and immigrant visa for long stays in the US.

Barring a few categories of people applying for immigrant visas, almost all students, tourists, businessmen and researchers in the US will be needing a non-immigrant visa for a short visit to the US.

The US visa means so much to many because the visa opens a door to innumerable opportunities concerning travel and tourism. While traveling to the US, one must file a visa application for the settlement process, which differs according to visa application type. Each type of US visa has a different focus and allows stays of different lengths.

It is very important to understand the types of US visas available before you start planning anything. The following is a discussion of some of them.

The broad US visa chioces

The US mainly grants two kinds of visas in its immigration category: immigrant and non-immigrant. Depending upon your purpose of travel and few other details in relation to the purpose, under the US immigration law, you may apply in one of the classes of visa. While filing the application form for the same, it solely depend on applicants to ensure that they come under the qualification criteria of a particular class they are applying for.

Immigrant visa refers to a visa which enables a person to finds a way of settling in the US to reside and work indefinitely. In this case, an immigrant visa is what one calls it because this visa allows settlement and working in the US for as long as one likes; hence it is often referred to as a "green card" visa. Most of the immigrants are usually required to have a sponsor, typically either an employer or relative.

A non-immigrant visa is one that allows one into the US for a limited period. This could be a range from three months to as long as 10 years. This category suits students, business people, temporary workers, tourists, or people visiting for purposes of medical treatment.

The visa-type for visitors (B-type visas)

There are two kinds of B-type visas available in the US; B-1 and B-2 visas. B-1 is for the businessperson on a trip to the US for business reasons, while B-2 applies to those that would want to go to the US for pleasure or medical reasons including visiting family members, vacationing or attending social events.

You may also apply for a B-1/ B-2 visa. Those who apply for the B-2 visa need to satisfy the consular officers that, during sojourn in the US, they have adequate means to support themselves and family. The visitor visa is not permitted, by the way, to have work in the US.

The US work visa choices

If coming to the United States to work temporarily, a work visa, based on the type of work you will be doing is needed.

For this, a petition needs to be filed in your behalf (Form I-129) with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). First, it will be filed on your behalf by your sponsor just to get approval from the USCIS and for you to further apply for work visa through the embassy or consulate where you belong in your home country.

In visiting the consulate for visa interview carry a copy of I-129 petition with a copy of Form I-797. Other miscellaneous types of working visas of US are:

-          H1-B visa.

The H1-B type of visa is issued to the foreign worker who can work in US on particular professional jobs. The least required for acquiring this visa is a bachelor or higher degree in the relevant field concerning the job. Then, it will be the duty of the USCIS whether you come on the requirement of a job or not. Your future employer is bound to file the LCA that includes mentioning your job contract with the US Department of Labor.

-          H2-A visas.

H2 -A visas permit US employers to hire non-residents for non-permanent farm work. The employer has to file form I-129 for the applicant which is for non-immigrant workers. Incidentally, a person holding an Indian and Bhutan passport is not eligible for an H2-A visa.

-          H2-B visas.

This class of visa allows aliens to work temporarily or seasonally in those jobs in the US which cannot be filled by the US workers. The H2-B visas must be sponsored by a Department of Labour-approved employer.

-          Trainee visas (H-3 visas).

With this visa, an individual may enter the US for up to two years to receive training from a company in any field. While an employer is allowed to pay this individual, it is in reality an uncompensated, on-the-job training where they do not actually have to engage in regular work.

-          Dependents - H-4 visas.

A wife and unmarried children under 21 years of a principal H-visa applicant are entitled to apply for an H-4 visa to enter the US with that applicant.

-          Intracompany transferee visas for employees of multinational companies (L-1 visas).

If the employee is working with an international firm that is posting them to its US affiliate on a temporary transfer, then it requires an L-1 visa to enter US shores. You must be working in a managerial position or having specific knowledge for the company you apply with and you shall be willing to accept employment similar to one with the US Company. You should have at least a year of work experience outside the US from the last three years from the date of applying for this visa.

-          L-2 visas to L-1 visa holders dependant.

Dependents of an L-1 visa, i.e., married or unmarried kids under the age of 21 are eligible to get an L-2 visa for admission to the US. Spouses to holders of L-1 visa wishing to apply for employment in the US have to file form I-765 along with the application fee. Your children may not apply for employment in the US.

-          Q-type US visa.

The Q-visa category applies to aliens who come to the US for participation in a cultural exchange program. It is to impart practical training along with sharing culture, history, and tradition of the applicant’s country of residence. An applicant for a Q-visa must have a sponsor. The sponsor will file a petition that has to be approved from the USCIS.

The US visas for foreign students

US student visas are for those aliens who intend to come to the United States to study. For you to be issued a US student visa, you must apply to and get accepted by an accredited school first. Once accepted, the school will provide the documents you must include in submitting your application for a student visa. You can apply for a US student visa no more than 120 days before your studies begin and may enter the US no more than 30 days before your program start date noted on the Form I-20.

F-1 is the category issued to most foreign students. F-1 visa category includes students who are coming to an accredited college or university, a private high school, or to an English language program approved by the USICS. Students whose classes are over 18 hours a week may obtain F-1 visas.

You can get to know about other categories of visa choices available in the US by chatting with an immigration attorney. It can be super fun talking to immigration attorneys about your case.

Get help!

There are so many different ways through which foreign-born individuals can obtain visas that could help them enter the United States. Sometimes, all these many choices give a feeling of being overwhelmed. In this aspect, it may be very important and helpful to hire an immigration attorney.

The immigration attorneys at Gehi and Associates are good enough to guide one through the procedure for getting the right US visa applicable to your situation. Backed by the volume of successes over the years, be rest assured that we attend to all your immigration applications with seamless processes. Please do not waste any more time. Reach out to us today and find out how we can be of help.