Immigration is always a complicated issue. Whether you are looking for a visa for yourself or you are a business owner needing to sponsor a new employee, you cannot afford to make any mistakes. The process can be long but here is a breakdown of the different visas to help you get started.
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Student Visas
Apply for a F1 visa if you are coming to the United States to study at university, high school, a seminary, a conservatory, or a language training program. Look at F2 visas if you are coming the US as the dependent of a student who has a F1 visa. Talk to your academic institution about the support they can offer.
Temporary Work Visas
Talk to an immigration attorney if you are hiring immigrant workers for temporary employment in the US. Apply for an H1B visa if you need foreign workers with experience in highly specialized areas. Apply for an H-2A visa if you are in agriculture and you need immigrant workers for seasonal labor.
Remember that you will need to demonstrate that employing non-US workers will not impact the working conditions or the pay of US workers in a similar field. Show that you tried to find US workers and were unable to do so. Talk to an attorney about the other conditions of the H-2A visa program. Work with experts such as Farmer Law PC. Look at H-2B visas for employees doing temporary non-agricultural work.
Permanent Work Visas
Apply for an EB1 visa if you can demonstrate extraordinary achievements or ability in business, education, athletics, education, arts, or science. Apply for an EB2 visa if you can show that the United States would benefit from you working here. Gain the visa easier if you have five years of experience in your field and a higher education degree.
Look at an EB3 visa if you are coming to the US to work with a job offer from a US-based company and your employer can demonstrate that they could not find an appropriate worker in the US. Find out if you could be eligible for an EB-5 visa if you are an investor travelling to the US for business.
Visitor Visas
Look at B1 visas if you are visiting the US for business purposes. Remember that this includes meeting with US-based business associates, settling any outstanding estates, visiting for conferences and business or education events, and negotiating any contracts. Apply for a B2 visa if you are visiting for purely tourism purposes.
