US VISAS SELECTION STRATEGIES
The
US immigration section contains a
discussion describing all of the methods of getting
US
green cards and the most common types of
non-immigrant visas in detail. This section starts with a brief profile
explaining the uses of
US visas, quota
limitations and the length of time it takes to get a US visa. This is followed
by an explanation of who qualifies in that visa category. As you learn about the
qualifications necessary for each
US green card
and US visa, you may find that you do not
meet all the requirements of your first choice.
If that is the case, you should consider the possibility of changing
conditions in your life so that you can get the
US
green card or
US visa you want. For
example, making an investment in or
starting business in the US is one step you can take to improve your
US immigration chances. Increasing your
education or finding a job with a US employer are some of the things you can do
to make yourself qualified for certain types of
US immigration benefits.
Making the necessary changes to qualify yourself for for a US green card or
US visa is not always easy. It may require a major sacrifice on your part.
Whether or not it is worth the trouble is a question that only you can answer.
If you believe so, you will be happy to know that there is often a way to become
qualified for US immigration benefits.
Besides changing your living situation or background qualifications, the most
important winning strategy in US immigration is picking the right US green card
or US visa category. Many people lose out just because they apply in the wrong
category. They may choose one type of non-immigrant visa when another type of US
visa would better fit the situation. They may try to get a US green card and
fail because they are not qualified, without considering that a non-immigrant
visa that they can get will serve the purpose just as well.
Check the profile
of each US green card and US visa category, you are likely going to find several
possibilities that meet your needs. If you don't qualify in one category , check
another and you may have better luck. Consider your qualifications, needs and
resources to see how you can fit into the US visa system. Visitors
You can act as a tourist and transact temporary business for a foreign
employer on a visitor's visa, but you cannot accept work. When someone enters
the United States with a visitor's visa, he or she is given permission to stay
for six (6) months. There is a lot of confusion about the six-month rule. Some
people think the law allows foreign visitors to remain in the United States up
to a maximum of only six months in any twelve-month period. That is not true.
Technically, you may leave the United States at the end of six (6) months,
return the next day and be readmitted for another six months. Alternatively,
when one six-month period is up, you can apply for an extension of stay without
even leaving. If the extension is approved, you will usually get to remain for
another six months. Some people may have found a loophole in the system, try
to live permanently in the United States by taking short trips out of the
country every six (6) months and then returning again. Unfortunately, this
tactic does not work for long. A condition of being admitted to the United
States as a visitor is that you truly plan to leave at a specific point of time.
The genuineness of your intent to leave the United States is measured by your
acts. If an officer of the
Bureau of Citizenship and
Immigration Service (BCIS) ---formerly known as the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS)--- sees from the stamps in your passports or hears
from your answers to his questions at a border checkpoint that you are spending
most of your time in the United States, he will conclude that you are an
unauthorized resident. Then you will be stopped from entering the country. You
may get away with living in the United States on a visitor's visa for as much as
a year or two without being discovered, but sooner or later you will be turned
away. |