54 | VISAS WORDS | Kevin Burke
Visa guide: US I
f you want to live, work or study in the US, you will need a visa. There are many types of US visas available – some harder to get hold of than others. This article will give you a brief outline.
Tourist
For tourists a visa is often not needed or, if it is needed, it will be fairly easy to obtain. If you are a national of the UK or
one of the other 26 visa waiver program (VWP) countries, then, subject to you meeting eligibility requirements and ESTA authorisation (for details see
travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/ without_1990.html) you may be able to travel to the United States without having to obtain a visa for tourism or business (not including media or employment) for stays of 90 days or less. If you are not a national of one of the following countries, you cannot meet the requirements, or you want to stay for up to six months, then you will have to apply for a ‘visitor’s visa’. This will allow you to enter the United States temporarily for business (B-1) (not including media or employment), for pleasure or medical treatment (B-2), or combination of both (B-1/B-2) purposes.
Student Visas
Student visas are fairly easy to obtain – provided you meet all the criteria and can prove it.
Where you are looking to seek a
student visa you need to ensure you are enrolling in an established school which is certifi ed by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). The visa generally applicable to universities, colleges, high school, private elementary school, seminary, conservatory or other academic institutions is the F visa. The M visa is applicable for students attending vocational or other recognised non- academic institutions, other than a language training program.
Family Reunion
This visa is fairly easy – again, just as long as you meet all the criteria and you can prove it. To obtain a family based green card, you must have a close relative who is a US citizen or permanent resident. These come under two main categories: 1. Immediate relatives.
Those who may obtain permanent residence status without numerical limitation (the spouse, widow(er) and minor unmarried children of a United States citizen, the parents of a United States citizen who is 21 or older. 2. Those subject to an annual limitation.
These immigrants are granted visas on a preference basis meaning that there is a waiting period. First Preference: unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens and children if any. Second Preference: spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent resident aliens. Third
What’s this guide for?
Being able to visit, study in or emigrate to another country are increasingly important factors for many property buyers and so increasingly important for the international property industry. This is particularly the case if you wish to sell to the Middle East, China or Eastern Europe. The OPP mini guides to visa requirements are intended to give estate agents and others in the business the ability to have a sensible conversation with those buyers. They are extremely basic and they certainly should not be used as a basis
for giving advice. Immigration requirements vary dramatically from country to country and depending upon your own nationality. They also change with frightening speed. There is no area of the law where good professional advice is more necessary. The people who have written out guides are experts in their fields. In many cases you will find more detailed information about particular categories of visa in the Info Zone at
www.opp-connect.com
BUSINESS
The US is a very desirable place to live, but its quite diffi cult to obtain a ‘green card’ to live and work in the country. Our expert Kevin Burke tells us what kind of visas are available and who they are available to...
www.opp.org.uk | JULY & AUGUST 2012
Kevin Burke is principal at American Attorney Services. He is a US attorney, li- censed to practice in Florida and Ohio. He is also a Florida Civil Law Notary & Eng- lish Notary Public. He specialises in work involving the US, including most types of visas. He has been involved in such work since 1999. He can be contacted by email
kevin.burke@americanattorneyservices.co.uk or by telephone on +44 845 519 4982
Preference: married sons and daughters of US citizens, and their spouses and children. Fourth Preference: brothers and sisters of US citizens, and their spouses and children, provided the US citizens are over 20. Lawful permanent residents of the US can only fi le petitions for spouses and their children and unmarried sons and daughters There may be a waiting period of
“To obtain a family based green card, you must have a close relative who is a US citizen or resident”
several years in some categories. Working
This visa is diffi cult. To obtain an employment based green card, applicants must be skilled/ educated – and have a job offer. The amount of employment based immigration is subject to annual limitations. The process is generally three-fold: 1. The employer must normally
fi rst obtain a “labor certifi cation” from the US Department of Labor (DOL) (showing that you will fi ll a position that the US employer cannot fi ll with a US worker). This is very diffi cult. There are very few employment categories where labor certifi cation is not required. 2. The employer applies for immigrant visa classifi cation 3. You then apply for lawful permanent residency in the United States or consular processing overseas. There are many different non- immigrant employment visas, the main ones being the H1B and L-1 visas. The application for an employment
visa is usually made by the employer or his lawyers.
Self-employment Another diffi cult one.
The question is: how much do you have to invest in buying an interest in or setting up a business in the US? If you will be investing $1,000,000,
(or, in a designated economically deprived area, $500,000), then you can acquire permanent residency. If the sum is less, then the best you are going to get is the E-2 visa, a dual- intent visa which broadly will let you stay in the USA for as long as your business continues to be profi table – but you can only remain in the USA for so long as your business continues in operation.
Retirement Sad to say, this visa just doesn’t exist in the US.
There is no visa to live in the USA permanently without working. Such an intending immigrant would need to be independently wealthy not needing to work – but would still have to qualify on an investment or family-based visa.
Settlement via Investment Relatively easy, provided you meet all the criteria and can prove it. To obtain an investment based green card, applicants must invest in a new commercial enterprise which will create full-time employment for at least 10 persons other than the investor’s spouse and children. The usual minimum investment is $1 million, but may be $500,000 if the investment is in a designated rural or high unemployment area. The required amount can be higher if the investment is made in an area of high employment.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68