UNITED STATES VISA SERVICES

United States Visa Advice

Temporary Visa Categories

Visitor's Visa - The visitor visa is a type of nonimmigrant visa for persons desiring to enter the United States temporarily for business (B-1) or for pleasure, tourism or medical treatment (B-2). International travelers with visitor visas comprise a large portion of temporary visitor travel to the United States every year.

The types of Visitor Visa's are as follows:

Business (B-1):

consult with business associates
attend a scientific, educational, professional, or business convention or conference
settle an estate
negotiate a contract

Tourism and Visit (B-2):

tourism, vacation (holiday), visit with friends or relatives, medical treatment, participation in social events hosted by fraternal, social, or service organizations, participation by amateurs in musical, sports, or similar events or contests, if not being paid for participating, enrollment in a short recreational course of study, not for credit toward a degree (for example, a two-day cooking class while on vacation).

Visa Waiver Program:

Travelers coming to the U.S. for tourism or business for 90 days or less from qualified countries may be eligible to visit the U.S. without a visa if they meet the visa waiver program requirements. Travelers must be eligible to use the VWP and have a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval prior to travel. If you are eligible to travel on the VWP, but prefer to have a visa in your passport, you may still apply for a visitor (B) visa.

Immigrants To The US

Immediate Relative and Family Sponsored

If you want to become a lawful permanent resident based on the fact that you have a relative who is a citizen of the United States or is a lawful permanent resident, your relative in the U.S. will need to sponsor you and prove he/she has enough income or assets to support you, the intending immigrant(s) when in the United States.

Family Immigration is a 3 stage process:

1. The USCIS must approve an immigrant visa petition, I-130 Petition for Alien Relative filed by your sponsoring relative for you.

2. Most sponsors will need to demonstrate adequate income or assets to support the intending immigrant, and accept legal responsibility for financially supporting their family member, by completing and signing a document called an Affidavit of Support.

3. Then the intending immigrant will apply for the immigrant visa.

Marriage to a Foreign National

If you are an American citizen you have two ways to bring your foreign spouse (husband or wife) to the United States to live. They are:

Immigrant visa for a Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1 or CR1) - An immigrant Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-130 is required.
Nonimmigrant visa for spouse (K-3) - It is important to note that application for the nonimmigrant visa for spouse (K-3) who married a U.S. citizen must be filed and the visa must be issued in the country where the marriage took place. After the visa process has been completed, and the visa is issued, the spouse can travel to the United States to wait for the processing of the immigrant visa case. Two petitions are required: Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-130; and Petition for Alien Fiance, Form I-129F.

Fiance

If you are an American citizen, you may bring your fiance to the United States to marry; and live here. An I-129F fiance petition is required.

Nonimmigrant (V) Visa for Spouse and Children of a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR)

To qualify for a V visa, a spouse or child (under age 21) of a U.S. lawful permanent resident (LPR) must meet all of the following criteria:

The U.S. LPR spouse and/or parent MUST have filed Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of his or her spouse/child(ren) on or before December 21, 2000;
The petition’s priority date must be at least three years old;
The priority date must not be current;
The applicant must not have already had an immigrant visa interview or be scheduled for an interview;
The petition must not already be at a U.S. embassy or consulate for immigrant visa processing; and
The applicant must be otherwise eligible as an immigrant.

Adopting a Child

Intercountry adoption is governed by both the laws of the country in which the child lives and the country in which the adoptive parents live.

Employment-Based

Employment First Preference (E1): Priority Workers
Employment Second Preference (E2): Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees and Persons of Exceptional Ability
Employment Third Preference (E3): Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Unskilled Workers (Other Workers)
Employment Fourth Preference (E4): Certain Special Immigrants - eg. Ministers of Religion, Interpreters/Translators
Employment Fifth Preference (E5): Immigrant Investors (See Information below)

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

For more information about the EB-5 Visa and our current Regional Center Projects open for Investment, please go to the following website page:

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

To qualify as an immigrant investor, under the EB-5 program, a foreign national must invest, without borrowing, the following minimum qualifying capital dollar amounts in a qualifying commercial enterprise:

$1,000,000 (U.S.); or
$500,000 (U.S.) in a high-unemployment or rural area, considered a targeted employment area.

A qualifying investment must, within two years, create full-time jobs for at least 10 U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or other immigrants authorized to work in the United States, not including the investor and his/her family.