Since I launched my website almost a year ago, I frequently get questions that come to me via my "Ask Vida" button. I personally answer these questions from visitors to my website and thought it would be helpful to post some commonly asked questions here and share the answers with everyone.
One of the most common questions is, "How do I get a work visa?" Work-based visas normally require the sponsorship of an employer. Therefore, you generally have know the company you will be working for before you can obtain a work visa because they have to submit the application letting USCIS ...
President Bush announced this past week that nationals from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, the Republic of Korea, Lithuania and the Slovak Republic will be added to the list of Visa Waiver eligible countries. The Visa Waiver Program allows visitors from approved countries to travel to the U.S. for business or pleasure for 90 days or less without having to obtain a visa. Twenty-seven countries currently on the list are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the ...
Congratulations! You've finished your studies and you've finished your optional practical training period (OPT). What now?
This is the first part in a three-part series.
Non-Immigrant Visas - The H-1B Skilled Worker Option
An H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa which allows U.S. employers to employ highly skilled temporary workers. H-1B workers are admitted for an initial period of three years, which may be extended for an additional three years. In some cases an extension beyond the six-year limit is allowed.
Basic Requirements
1) The position must be a "specialty ...
Overview
When you enter the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa, such as on a visitor (B), student (F1), temporary worker visa (H-1B; L; E etc.), you are allowed to be present in the U.S. for a specific purpose and for a limited time period.
The time period allowed will typically be stamped by a U.S. immigration inspector after the inspector has examined your passport and visa. The inspector will provide you with a Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) which is normally a white card stapled inside your passport. This record should indicate when you must leave the U.S. When you leave the U.S. ...
The U.S. State Department has announced an increase in the application fees for a U.S. non-immigrant visa. Effective January 1, 2008, fees will increase from $100 to $131. The increase is related to the cost of new security measures. The full text of the State Department's release is provided below:
Application Fees for Non-Immigrant Visas to Increase On January 1, 2008
Effective January 1, 2008, the application fee for a U.S. non-immigrant visa will increase from $100 to $131. This increase allows the Department to recover the costs of security and ...
NOTE: After you read this post, see the February 2009 update with current wait times from the Visa Bulletin.
The answer depends on whether you are a permanent resident (green card holder) or a U.S. Citizen. U.S. Citizens can sponsor additional family members that green card holders cannot sponsor. Additionally, U.S. Citizens can petition for a fiance/fiancee to come to the U.S. to be married, while a green card holder is not given the same privilege. The person filing the petition is called the Petitioner. The person you are filing for is called the Beneficiary.
Your ...
Why Become a U.S. Citizen?
Some permanent residents have held their green cards for decades and for various reasons have not applied for citizenship through the process known as naturalization. One client had been wavering back and forth for about 30 years as to whether or not he should apply. When he came to meet me for his immigration consultation he brought in the various versions of the forms that changed over the decades and showed me a history of the fee increases over time. He had finally felt it was time to become a citizen after seeing how the forms had only gotten longer and ...
Winning the visa lottery would be the equivalent to some as winning a multi million dollar jackpot. Just with any other type of lottery though, as the saying goes, "you gotta play to win..."
Find out about how to apply for the 2009 visa lottery.
The visa lottery is formally known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. The U.S. government makes available up to a maximum of 55,000 diversity green cards annually. 5000 of these visas are reserved for a visa program for certain Central American nationals, leaving 50,000 visas available to be drawn at random from a pool of applicants ...
