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FAMILY VISAS
• K1 – Fiancé (e) of a US Citizen
• K3 – Spouses of a US Citizen
FAMILY VISAS
• K1 – Fiancé (e) of a US Citizen
• K3 – Spouses of a US Citizen
ASK YOUR QUESTIONS HERE
The United States immigration system is enormous, complex, and constantly changing. For either the recently arrived immigrant or the business citizen looking to tap into the vast wealth of skilled foreign labor, navigating through this system can be frustrating and time consuming. Allow the M&A Law Firm's team of immigration professionals work diligently to reduce the difficulties associated with the immigration process. As members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) the attorneys at M&A Law Firm have access to a wealth of knowledge and liaisons throughout the immigration community to assist you in seeking legal status, whether temporary or permanent.
Non-immigrant visas can be separated into six major categories.
The US Family visa category is for the US citizens who want to sponsor their close family members for a temporary non-immigrant visa, or a permanent residency, commonly known as Green Card. The process for different types of Family Visas is different, and has its individual rules and requirements.
A dependent of a F1 Student visa holder can apply for a F2 visa. F1 students who are married or/and have children, can apply for a F2 Visa for their spouse and children.
Documents Required for F2 Visa.
An H4 visa is issued to the spouse or children (under 21) of H (H-1A, H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, or H-3) employment visa holders. These visas are usually issued at the local US consulate office of the applicant’s home country. However, if the person is already in US, he or she can obtain H-4 visa by filing Form I-539 for change of status.
H4 visa holder is not allowed to work, but can have an ITIN for IRS Tax purpose, can have a driver’s license, and can also have a bank account.
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A J2 visa is a non-immigrant visa issued by the United States for spouses and dependents of J-1 exchange visitors. J2 visitor’s immigration status has no defined end date first. J-2 visitors may request work authorization from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by submitting Form I-765. » top of the page
A K-1 is a visa issued to the fiancé (e) of a US citizen to enter the United States. A K-1 visa requires a foreigner marry his or her US citizen petitioner within 90 days of entry, or leave the US. After getting married the foreign citizen can adjust status to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
An important aspect of K-1 visa is that it is legally classified as a non-immigrant visa, it usually leads to important immigration benefits and is therefore often processed by the Immigrant Visa Section of United States Embassies and Consulates worldwide.
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A K-2 is a nonimmigrant visa, which allows the child of a K-1 fiancé visa holder to make the entrance into the US, and await the availability of an immigrant visa. A candidate for K2 visa should be less than 21 years old, unmarried, and seeking to immigrate to the United States. » top of the page
A K3 is a nonimmigrant visa, is for the spouses of US citizens who are waiting abroad for an immigrant visa. The K3 visa holder can stay in the United States while his or her immigrant visa petition is pending. » top of the page
A K4 visa is a nonimmigrant visa, which is for the children of a K-3 spouse visa holder to enter into the US, and await the availability of an immigrant visa. Before the issuance of a K4 visa for the spouse’s child, the parent must have a K-3 visa or be in K-3 status. The applicant has to be less than 21 years old, unmarried child of K-3 applicant, seeking to immigrate to United States. » top of the page
An L-2 Visa is a nonimmigrant visa, which is for the dependent spouse or child (ren) of an L-1 visa holder. This visa is only valid for the duration of the spouse’s L1 visa. The L2 visa holder is qualified to work for any US employer, and once in US, can apply with the USCIS for Employment Authorization Document (EAD) using a Form I-765. » top of the page
An O3 visa is a nonimmigrant visa, which is for the dependent spouse and child(ren) with the age of less than 21, of a O1 or O2 visa holders. With this visa, the visa holder cannot seek employment, but can have part or full time study. The O3 visa is only valid till the O1 or O2 visa holder is in status. » top of the page
A P4 is a nonimmigrant visa which is issued to the spouse and dependent children of age less than 21 of a P1, P2, or P3 visa holder. The P4 visa holder can involve in part or fulltime study, but cannot accept any employment. » top of the page
A R2 visa is a nonimmigrant visa, which is issued to the spouse and dependent children of age less than 21, of R1 religious worker. A R2 visa holder can travel in and out of US freely, can take part in full or part time study, and can also apply for Green Card. The R2 dependent can initially reside in the US for not more than 3 years. Using a Form I-129, the R2 visa holder can apply for an extension of up to 2 years, but keeping this in mind that his or her overall stay can’t be more than 5 years. » top of the page
A R2 visa is a nonimmigrant visa, which is issued to the spouse and dependent children of age less than 21, of R1 religious worker. A R2 visa holder can travel in and out of US freely, can take part in full or part time study, and can also apply for Green Card. The R2 dependent can initially reside in the US for not more than 3 years. Using a Form I-129, the R2 visa holder can apply for an extension of up to 2 years, but keeping this in mind that his or her overall stay can’t be more than 5 years.
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The US Immigration system has a variety of employment visas. Every fiscal year, which starts from October 1st, and ends on September 30th, there are 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas are made available for qualified applicants. These employment based visas are divided into five (5) preference categories. Under some employment visa types, spouses and children can also accompany or follow-to-join the employment visa holders.
A B1 visa is for the business professional entering the United States for their business purposes. The business purpose can include: Conducting Negotiations, Soliciting Sales and Investment, discussing the planned investments and purchases, make investments and purchases, attend meetings, and participate in them fully, interviewing and hiring staff, and conducting research for business purposes.
The local US Consulates normally stamp the B1 visa for 5 to 10 years, but the visa holder can stay in the United States for the time allowed on Form I-94.
With a B1 visa the person cannot run a business, accept employment, accept payment by an organization within the US, or participate as a professional in entertainment or sporting events.
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An E1 visa is business visa for the nationals of qualifying Treaty countries who undertake a significant amount of the international trade with the United States. The trade volume must be sufficient to justify the trader or his/her employee(s) being in the United States, and at least 50% of the Trader’s exports/imports must be to or from the USA.
Countries included in treaties are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brunei, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Liberia, Lux'bourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, UK, and Yugoslavia.
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An E2 visa is a business visa for the nationals of qualifying treating countries, who make significant investment in US. There is no minimum level of investment, which is required for this visa type, but lower the volume of the investment, less are the chances to qualify for the visa. The amount of investment should be enough to justify the presence of business owner or his/her employees. The investment must be in a running business, and cannot be in buying stocks or bonds etc.
Countries included in treaties are: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, China (ROC), Columbia, Congo, Costa Rica, The Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Grenada, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Moldovia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, The Slovak Republic, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, The Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Yugoslavia.
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An E-3 visa is non-immigrant US visa for which, only residents of Australia can apply. It was created b y an Act of the US Congress as a result of the AUSFTA agreement. President George W. Bush signed the legislation creating E-3 visa, on May 11, 2005. There is an annual quota of 10,500 for E-3 visas. Spouses of E-3 visa holder are allowed to work in United States. » top of the page
A H1-B visa is a nonimmigrant visa which allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. The specialty occupation is defined as one requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in field of human endeavor. This includes, but not limited to, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, biotechnology, medicine and health, education, law, accounting, business specialties, theology, and the arts, and requires a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent as a minimum.
The foreign worker must possess at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, and state license, if required. A H1-B holder can only have the employment at the sponsoring employer, and cannot get employment with any other employer.
The duration of a H1-B stay is 3 years, which is extendable to 6 years. The current quota of H1-B employment visas is 65,000. This quota is not applicable to workers of non-profit organizations. Non-profit organization (universities, institutes, non-profit organizations) can sponsor foreign nationals as well, but they do not fall in the 65,000 quota limit. There is also a quota of 20,000 for highly educated (holding Masters Degree) workers, which is separate from the 65,000 quota.
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A H1-C visa is for foreign nursing professionals coming to perform in medically underserved areas. This visa is initially issued for three (3) years. In some cases, USCIS can extend the visa for the completion of services. » top of the page
A H2-A visa is suitable for the foreign nationals who are employed in US as agricultural or Farm workers. An US agricultural employer who anticipates a shortage of US workers needed to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature may file an application requesting temporary foreign agricultural labor certification. » top of the page
A H2-B is a nonimmigrant visa, which is issued to non-agricultural temporary workers who are sponsored by the US employer to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs. A Form I-129 needs to be filed, for the Petition of Nonimmigrant Worker, on the behalf of a prospective worker. » top of the page
A H3 is a nonimmigrant visa, which is issued to foreign nationals to enter the United States to receive training in a US company. The training has to be a special training, and cannot be available in the applicant’s home country. The training cannot include Medical Training or Graduate Program.
For H3 visa, you must be coming to United States to receive training in professional areas like commerce, agriculture, government, professions, finance, or industrial establishment. A H3 visa holder can travel in and out of United States, and can also bring the spouse and children (under 21 years of age), on a H4 visa.
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A J-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa issued to exchange visitors participating in programs that promote cultural exchange. The applicant needs to be sponsored by a government or a private sector. J1 visitors may stay in the US, until the end of their exchange program, as specified on the FORM DS-2019. After the end of the J-1 visitor’s program, the visa holder can remain in the United States for an additional 30 days, which is a Grace Period for preparation of departure. » top of the page
An L-1 is a nonimmigrant visa issued to the employees of companies, who are operating both in United States and overseas, and want to transfer certain employees from its foreign operations to the US operations. This can be done for a period of up to seven (7) years. The employee must have worked for at least one year for a subsidiary, parent, affiliate, or branch office of the US Compawhat ny. The company based in US, may apply to the relevant USCIS service center for an L1 visa for up to three years. » top of the page
An O-1 visa is a nonimmigrant employment visa that is for aliens with extraordinary abilities in the science, arts, education, business, or athletics, which they have demonstrated, and want to come to US temporarily for continuing their work in the area of extraordinary ability. An O-1 is initially granted for up to three (3) years. It can be extended for one year at a time, and there is no limit to the number of extensions that may be granted. » top of the page
An O-2 visa is a nonimmigrant employment visa that is issued to the persons accompanying O-1 visa holders. The worker must demonstrate that his/her skills and/or experience with the O-1 visa holder that cannot readily be provided by an American worker, and which is important for the success of the O-1 visa holder.
An O-2 visa is initially issued for a period of up to three (3) years, and can be extended in increments of one (1) year, depending on the event or activities.
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A P1 is a nonimmigrant visa, which is issued to the foreign nationals who are athletes, artists, and entertainers to enter into the United States for a specific event, competition, or performance. An internationally recognized artist, entertainer, or athlete may enter into the US to participate in a performance for a US employer or an international employer working through an American agent. The performer needs to be internationally recognized, and must have the proof of his prior worldwide performances. The performer is allowed to enter United States, and perform for payment or prize money.
A P-1 visa holder can apply visa for accompanying support staff, sponsor P-4 visa for dependent Spouse or child (ren), and can also participate in part time studies.
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A P-2 is a nonimmigrant visa issued to the artists and entertainment groups, and their supporting staff for entering Unites States to perform under a reciprocal exchange program between US to perform under a reciprocal exchange program between US and a foreign country.
The dependents of P-2 visa can stay in US, for as long as the visa holder maintains his/her P-2 status. The visa holder and dependents can travel freely in and out of US as long as the visa status is maintained.
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A P-3 visa is a nonimmigrant, which is issued to foreign nationals to enter into the US to perform, teach, or coach as artists, or entertainers, individually or as a part of a group, under a culturally unique program. » top of the page
An R-1 nonimmigrant visa issued to the foreign nationals to come to United States to perform the duties of a religious worker. The applicant needs to be associated with the religious profession. An R-1 visa applicant needs to be a Minister of a Religion and/or working in a professional capacity in a religious occupation.
An R-1 visa holder can engage in fulltime study in US, travel freely in and out of United States, can get paid for the services he is providing, and his/her dependent spouse or child (ren) can apply for a R-2 visa.
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A TN visa is a nonimmigrant visa, which is for the residents of Canada and Mexico. With this visa status the visa holder can work up to Three (3) years, but can indefinitely renew it in three-year increments. This visa type is quite similar to H1B, but with some differences. The set of allowed occupations under this visa type, are limited as compare to H-1B visa. » top of the page