01/30/2015
Areas of Practice include the following:
NON - IMMIGRANT - TEMPORARY STATUS
B-1/B-2 Visitor's Visa; B1 - Visitor for Business; B2 - Visitor for Pleasure
For coming to the U.S. for business or pleasure. B-1 business visitor visas are for brief visits and do not allow employment. Nationals of some countries are allowed to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa.
E1 - Treaty Trader; E2 - Treaty Investor
Investors/traders and their employees may receive visas to carry on their business in the U.S. if the home country has a commercial treaty with the United States conferring visa eligibility.
F1 - Academic Student
Persons doing a full course of study at an educational institution in the United States may be eligible for a visa for the course of their study and a period for practical training (P/T) in their field.
H1B - Specialty Occupation, DOD Employee
Professionals with at least a BA (bachelors or its equivalent work experience) may be eligible for a nonimmigrant visa. Their employers should demonstrate that they are paid the minimum prevailing wage for the job.
H-2A-Agricultural Labor
H-1A visas are for temporary or seasonal agricultural workers
H-2B-Other Temporary Labor
People providing temporary services or labor usually associated with one time occupancy, seasonal need, peakload need or intermittent need.
H-3-Trainee
A person receiving training in any field of endeavor, i.e., agriculture, commerce, communications, finance, government, transportation, for the professions, as well as training in a purely industrial establishment, excluding physicians.
I-Representatives of the Media
Individuals working on temporary assignments.
J - Exchange Visitor
People coming to the U.S. through an approved exchange program may be eligible for the J-1 Exchange Visitor's visa. These are students, scholars, job trainees, faculty, professors and research scholars, specialists, government visitors etc. Sometimes, a J-1 program will require that the beneficiary spend at least two years outside of the U.S. before being permitted to switch to a different nonimmigrant visa or to permanent residency.
K - Fiancé/e of US Citizen
A Fiancée) of a U.S. citizen is eligible for a nonimmigrant visa on the conclusion of the marriage within 90 days.
L - Intra Company Transferee
L-1 visas are available to executives, managers and specialized employees moving to their employer's U.S. affiliate sites. Executives and managers holding L-1 visas may be eligible for permanent residency without the need for a labor Certification.
M-Vocational Student
Used by students attending a vocational high school, community college, or junior college which provides non-academic training, excluding language training.
O1, O2 - Extraordinary Ability
The O-1 category is for foreign nationals with extraordinary ability. They are entertainers, athletes, scientists, business people etc.
P1, P2, P3 - Athletes and Group Entertainers
For athletes, artists and entertainers.
Q-International, Cultural Exchange Program
Individuals participating in practical training, employment, and the sharing of the history, culture and traditions of the country of the alien's nationality.
R - Religious Vocation
Religious workers apply for the R-1 visa.
TN - Trade NAFTA Professionals
A special visa category for nationals of Canada/ Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement and the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement.
Dependents of the Above
IMMIGRANT - PERMANENT STATUS - EMPLOYMENT BASED
EB1 - First Preference
A. Persons of Extraordinary Ability
B. Outstanding Professors and Researchers
C. Multinational Executives and Managers
In these categories, the candidate can petition for permanent residency without the time consuming process of labor certification.
EB2 - Second Preference
Members of Professions holding Advanced Degrees or Aliens of Exceptional Ability.
Visa holders under normal circumstances must have a job offer and the employer must complete the labor certification process.
The labor certification involves testing of the job market to show that the potential visa holder is not taking away a job from a U.S. worker. If the individual can show that his/her entry is in the national interest, the job offer and LC requirements can be waived.
EB3 - Third Preference
Skilled Workers, Professionals and other Workers.
Visa holders under normal circumstances must have a job offer and the employer must complete the labor certification process.
EB4 - Fourth Preference - Special Immigrants
Religious Workers, Commuters from Border, Retired G-4 (Employee of international Organizations), Returning Resident, etc. Ministers of religion are eligible for permanent residency.
EB5 - Fifth Preference - Employment Creation Investors
With the 1990 Immigration Act, Congress has kept aside up to 10,000 visas per year just for alien investors in new commercial enterprises who will create employment for at least ten individuals. There are two investor groups under the program - people who invest at least $500,000 in "targeted employment areas" (rural areas or areas experiencing high unemployment of at least 150% of the national average rate) and those who invest $1,000,000 elsewhere. Not less than 3,000 of the annual allotment of visas in this category must go to the targeted employment areas.
The information provided above is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts and/or circumstances. It should not be considered as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the firm of Watts & Watts or establish an attorney-client relationship.
