How to get a work visa in the US

There are many subtleties and nuances that are worth knowing to those who want to get the right to temporary residence and work in the United States. Depositphotos.com photo

For some, the abbreviation H-1V does not mean anything, but those who want to work in the United States will immediately realize that this is an American work visa. Getting a work visa is not an easy procedure, requiring the collection of a large number of documents confirming the extraordinary ability of the candidate to receive it, as well as the reliability of the inviting American company.

You cannot apply for this visa of your own free will. An entrepreneur who wants to hire you must submit a petition. There are many subtleties and nuances that are worth knowing to those who want to get the right to temporary residence and work in the United States.

You can work not only for a legal entity

The H-1B visa is issued for a period of 1 to 3 years, but can then be extended for a maximum period of 6 years. It is worth considering that an American employer can be not only a legal entity, but also an individual. The main thing is that he has permission to hire you (it is issued by the Federal Department of Labor).

Your future work must require high qualifications, and your education and experience in the specialty must exactly match the qualification requirements of this job. Simply put, a specialist in the field of organic chemistry can not qualify as a programmer, although both of these specialties require high qualifications.

Qualification is not always a diploma

Your high qualification as an employee is confirmed, at a minimum, by a bachelor’s degree or equivalent diploma. But in some cases, instead of a diploma of higher education, proof of high qualification may be documented significant work experience in the relevant specialty.

There is a special category of persons who do not need to have a diploma of higher education. These include recognized professionals whose evidence of fame and qualifications are: national or international recognition and prizes for outstanding achievements, as evidenced by publications in reputable publications (newspapers, magazines, etc.).

Also, proof of high qualification can serve as work in well-known companies, certificates and documents issued by world-renowned organizations.

How can an employer prove that he needs you

A work visa in the United States is possible if the employer proves that:

- your future workplace is truly necessary and requires professional skills;

- your future salary will not be less than the typical salary for workers in this profession in a certain territory of the country;

- his financial condition will allow him to pay you wages in the above amount;

— you are a professional in the industry in which you are offered to work.

You can get a visa while in the US

A work visa is issued at the American consulate in the territory of the country from which you leave, but the law allows you to obtain H1-B status and in the United States of America. For this you need to provide the following information:

— the name and position of the representative of the employing company who signs all the necessary documents;

— information about the company with a description of the services it provides;

— a list of your professional achievements;

— the name of your position, description of job responsibilities;

- proposed salary;

— date of foundation of the company;

— employer’s tax number with the IRS;

— number of employees in the company;

— a copy of your passport;

- photos;

- Form I-94 and related immigration documents;

- summary;

— diplomas from the educational institutions in which you studied, with transcripts of grades;

— information about your status in the United States at the moment;

— information about your previous places of work;

— a detailed description of work experience and skills within your specialty.

Work visa - step to green card

Having obtained a work visa, you not only have the opportunity to work legally in the United States, but also through 2 years of living in America you can qualify for a green card. In this case, during the validity of the visa, you have the right to leave the United States and return.

If you receive H1-B status, your family will also be able to come to the United States - your spouse and children under 21 years of age are eligible to receive an entry visa if they are not married.

Who is eligible for H-1В status

The US H-1B work visa is available to individuals invited to work as temporary workers in a workplace that requires specialized professional skills, such as accountants, computer analysts, engineers, financial analysts, scientists, architects, lawyers. The employee must have documentary evidence of his professional skills. This may be a bachelor's degree in a specialty or its equivalent. A bachelor's degree can be obtained after 4 years of study at an American or foreign university. In the latter case, the visa applicant must prove that the diploma he received from a foreign university is equivalent to the diploma obtained by studying for 4 years at a US university or college. In the event that the applicant's duration of study at a college or university is less than the required 4 years, then the actual time of study plus 3 years of work in the specialty for each missing academic year may be considered equivalent to a bachelor's degree obtained as a result of 4 years of college or university.

Who is eligible for an O-1 work visa?

People who have shown outstanding ability in the arts, science, education, business or sports, who have reached significant heights in the film or television industry and have received national or international recognition can apply for an O1 visa in the United States. It can be scientists, doctors, programmers, teachers, businessmen of a very high level. The world fame, which you have achieved in any field of activity, is a sufficiently weighty reason to apply for a 1 visa. A visa in the United States O-1 is issued, as a rule, for a period of three years or for the period of implementation of a specific project.

The O-1 visa has the following advantages over the H-1B work visa:

— It is not subject to quotas by the state, that is, the number of people who can receive such a visa per year is not limited.

— Documents for an O-1 visa can be submitted at any time of the year.

— The O1 visa in the USA is not strictly tied to the employer. Therefore, you can change your place of work - your visa will not be canceled if you quit. If you want to change jobs, all you have to do is find a new job (that matches your O-1 visa area of ​​expertise) and ask the potential employer to fill out Form I-129, expressing their desire to hire you and their request to remain in the country.

Obtaining a visa category O-1 is not an easy procedure. The attitude of the immigration and consular officers is often based not only on the applicant’s proven outstanding ability, but also on his own opinion. Therefore, petitions prepared by qualified lawyers for an O-1 visa contain up to 100 and more applications proving the candidate’s extraordinary abilities.

What is a religious visa

The R-1 Religious Visa is a non-immigrant visa that gives a foreigner the right to enter the United States to perform various kinds of religious work on a temporary basis. It implies the right to free entry and exit from the United States for a certain period and to receive a salary from an American organization for performing work of a religious nature. Work need at least 20 hours per week. Your family can travel with you (on an R-2 visa), and your children have the right to visit US schools.

Having entered the United States on an R-1 religious visa and lived there for 5 for years, you can apply for a green card.

During your stay in the US, you have the right to change your employer. In this case, the new employer must send I-129 to USCIS.

Religious workers are persons who are authorized by the official religious organization to perform religious ceremonies (priest, rabbi, etc.); people with a religious vocation (monks, nuns); professional religious workers with religious education; persons engaged in various spheres of religious activity (soloist in the church choir, missionary, church official, translator, etc.).

To obtain an R-1 visa, you must meet the following criteria:

Before applying for a visa for at least 2 years, being a member of a denomination, which in the United States is recognized as a voluntary non-profit religious organization, exempted from or eligible to pay taxes.

Have an intention to work in the United States as a servant of this denomination or another religious specialist (provided that this religious organization is recognized in the United States as a non-profit organization exempted from paying taxes);

Before applying for a visa, live for at least 1 years outside the US, if you previously belonged to this category for 5 years.

To obtain a US R-1 visa, like all non-immigrant visas, you must pass an interview at the US Embassy. An applicant for this visa must convince the embassy staff of their strong ties with their home country. At the same time, there is no requirement that you have a permanent place of residence outside the US that you are not going to change. Despite this, you must demonstrate your intention to leave the United States after the expiration of the legal period of stay in this country, if during this time there are no special circumstances (evidence) to extend this status.

If you want to buy a business, do it

Many people mistakenly believe that only programmers apply for work visas to the United States. But that's not true. For example, one of our clients is the owner of a number of companies in Russia. For several years, through cooperation and exchange of experience, he maintained close ties with a small American company and received an offer from its owner, who wanted to retire and sell the business.

Having resorted to the services of AmericanCorporate Services, Inc., he successfully completed the transaction. And now we are dealing with the registration of the status of L-1, which, in the event of further successful work of an American company, will give the client the opportunity to apply for a green card.

Who is eligible for an L1 work visa?

The L1 visa is required for employees who are transferred from a foreign enterprise to a US company. To comply with the requirements for obtaining an L-1 visa, the employee must be a manager, manager or possess special professional knowledge and work in a foreign company for at least a year. To obtain this type of visa, documentary evidence of continuous work experience in a foreign enterprise during the 1 year from the last 3 years preceding the filing date of this application is required.

To meet the requirements for obtaining a US L-1B visa, the applicant must have the necessary knowledge in the field of products manufactured by a potential employer, his research, services provided, equipment used, be aware of the company’s work and management methods, etc. The employee may be considered eligible. such requirements, if he is a high-level expert in the field of technological processes and methods used in the company.

Although all the conditions for obtaining a work visa are available, I advise you to entrust the preparation of documents to a specialist - an immigration lawyer licensed in the USA. If all documents are executed correctly and all requirements are met in full, then you can get a work visa in the USA with minimal loss of time, nerves and money.

Therefore, you should contact only a lawyer licensed in the United States who knows not only the law, but also all possible obstacles from the immigration service. The lawyer will not only prepare the entire package of documents required to file a petition for a work visa, but will also assist during the entire application process by the US authorities, as well as be able to file an appeal if the US immigration service refuses to approve the petition.

For all immigration issues in the United States, please contact AmericanCorporateServices, Inc.

[email protected]

www.USA-ACS.ru

www.Business-Visa-USA.com / www.Business-Visa-USA.ru

Telephone: 415-682-2550

Facsimile: 415-682-2551

SKYPE: AmericanCorporateServices

Our Lawyers speak Russian.

readership ForumDaily can get FREE CONSULTATION immigration lawyer in office AmericanCorporateServices, Inc. In the city of San Francisco, calling the code - ForumDaily.

Only communicate with Attorney! Do not discuss your immigration case with intermediaries, paralegals, notaries and other unskilled persons.

See also:

What you need to know, applying for asylum in the US

How to get political asylum in the United States

10 about honest ways to stay in the USA

Personal experience. How I moved to the USA

How can I get a green card for work

New rules for changing migration status published in the USA

Everything you need to know about US work visas

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