NONIMMIGRANT VISAS
<WORK VISAS>
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Yes, you must follow the visa application guidelines established by the US Government. You do not, however, have to do it alone. Find an informed ally within the visa industry. Visas USA has 17 years of experience assisting foreign citizens to gain access to all the benefits the US has to offer!
Temporary, Nonimmigrant Employment Visas
L-1A Intra-Company Transferee Visa
E-1 Treaty Trader or E-2 Treaty Investor Visa
H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa
L-1A Intra-Company Transferee Visa
This visa can be used by Corporations that have one or more subsidiaries in the United States, to transfer their managers of executives to that or those subsidiaries. It can also be used by entrepreneurs and others who own a business that can operate without them, and who wish to start a new business in the United States. The visa is given for one year and can be renewed for two years each time for a maximum of three times.
In order for an L-1A petition to be made, the following minimum requirements must be met:
The non-U.S. company must have bee doing business for one year or more;
The petitioner must have worked for the non-U.S. company in a managerial or executive position for a minimum of one year out of the last three;
The U.S. subsidiary company must be owned for at least 51% by the non-U.S. company.
The non-U.S. company and the U.S. subsidiary company do not have to engage in the same business;
During his or her stay in the U.S. in L status, the beneficiary may not work for another company besides the subsidiary;
The non-U.S. company must continue to do business while the beneficiary is in the United States.
There are no minimum capital requirements for the U.S. Company, but the immigration authorities need to be convinced that the U.S. operation will be viable.
The spouse of an L-1A visa holder may apply for a work permit and work anywhere that he or she wishes.
In the normal course of events, the L-1A visa can lead directly to permanent residence, also known as the Green Card.
The L-2 visa is for spouse and dependent children.
E-1 Treaty Trader and E-2 Treaty Investor Visa
E-1 is a visa that depends on the volume of trade that the visa applicant generates between his or her home country and the U.S. The second, and more well-known, visa is the E-2 Visa, an investment visa, where the applicant makes a substantial investment in an existing or new business. Both are based on treaties of friendship and commerce existing between the United States and every West European country as well as numerous other countries around the world.
The E-2 visa requires a non-U.S. beneficiary to invest his or her own funds in a U.S. business in which he or she will be actively engaged as an owner. The visa is normally given for five years and can be renewed indefinitely.
The E-2 visa is subject to the following minimum requirements:
The individual or the business must possess the nationality of the treaty country;
The applicant must have invested or be actively in the process of investing;
A minimum investment of $100,000 must be contemplated; the amount can under certain circumstances be less;
The funds must be the beneficiary’s own, or can be borrowed from him or herself, for instance as a first or second mortgage on a home owned by the applicant;
The funds may be used to set up a new company in the United States or to purchase an existing one;
The investment must be “substantial”, which means that it must cover most or all of the actual cost of the business purchased or set up;
The business purchased or set up must be a real and operating commercial enterprise;
The investment must be more than a marginal one, solely for earning the applicant a living;
The applicant must be in a position to "develop and direct" the enterprise;
The applicant must intend to depart the United States when the E-2 status terminates; however, when it is about to expire, he or she can renew the visa for another five years indefinitely as long as the circumstances under which the visa was originally granted have not changed substantially.
The E-2 visa never leads to permanent residence (the "Green Card"). Children of E-2 visa holders who become 21 years old no longer fall under the visa and either must get their own visa to remain in the United States, or return to their home country.
The spouse of an E-2 visa holder may apply for a work permit and work anywhere that he or she wishes to.
H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa
A U.S. employer – non-U.S. employee relationship underlies this visa. It is meant for persons who have a professional or occupational specialty that is sought after in the United States, and for which not enough or no American employees are locally available.
H-1B visas are subject to a yearly quota of 65,000 Bachelor’s Degree holders or equivalent, plus 20,000 Master’s Degree holders. Quota years run from October 1 to September 30 of the following year. Quotas tend to fill very quickly.
Requirements for the H-1B visa are:
Employee:
Must have an educational level that is at least the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor’s Degree, or four years of U.S. college education;
Alternatively, must have three years’ work experience in his or her chosen field for every year of college education that he or she does not have;
Must have an occupation for which there is a need in the U.S.;
Must have a job offer at a wage level at least equal to the prevailing wage for that job.
Employer:
Must show that the qualifications of the applicant are necessary for the position offered;
Must obtain the approval of the U.S. Department of Labor to be able to hire the non-U.S. applicant for the job, and must keep a copy of that approval available for public inspection.
The spouse of an H-1B visa holder (H-4) may NOT apply for a work permit.
The H-1B visa can directly lead to permanent residency or Green Card.
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