Visas are usually issued to foreigners who enter a foreign country. Some are issued before you are allowed entry, while others are applied for and issued while in the country. This is a visa guide to ensure that you know which type of visa to apply for making sure the immigration visa process is easygoing when the time comes.
Immigration Visa and types of Immigration Visa
This document is issued and granted to individuals who have one or more reasons to live and permanently reside in the country for the foreseeable future. If the individual stays long enough and fulfills several legal requirements, he/she might qualify to be granted permanent citizenship in the country. Here is a quick rundown of the different kinds available:
- Spousal Visa, which is granted for the spouse of a citizen settling in that particular country.
- A family visa is issued for close family members of a nation to become citizens of the country.
- Marriage visa; given for intending marital couples to complete the marriage rites.
Some questions need to be answered truthfully, and they are:
- Why do I want to immigrate to this country?
- Do I have a spouse who is already a citizen of the country?
- Do I have a real employment opportunity waiting for me in the country? If the answer to this particular question is yes, you might have to consider applying for a work visa.
- Do I have a boyfriend/girlfriend who is already a citizen of the country, and there are concrete intentions and plans for marriage?
For the immigration visa process, you must first have someone in the country that would help you file an immigration petition, and the individual could also act as your sponsor. There also exist other categories within this through which you could also apply, and they are:
- Asylum: This is offered to nationals of another country who had to unwillingly leave the country because of forces or circumstances beyond their control, such as war or threat to life because of many various reasons. These kinds of people are called asylum seekers, and they are welcomed and offered protection from the other country while the application is being processed. The government sometimes assists them.
- Refugee: This status is granted to those asylum seekers who fulfill some requirements and are now recognized as refugees. The requirement includes but is not limited to persecution and concrete fear of persecution and torment due to some factors, which include race, religion, sexual orientation, or even political affiliation. This fear keeps the individual from returning to the home country.
Another reason you would need to apply for an immigration visa if you are one of those selected for the diversity immigration program. This program aimed to introduce foreign immigrants into the country and thereby increase and diversify the population of the immigrants located in the particular country. The only major requirement for this is to be born or be a national of one of the numerous countries eligible for the program.
U.S requirements for Immigrant and Non-immigrant Visas
Work Visa
A work visa is a document issued to an individual for work. This allows the individual to take up employment in a company or organization within the country. If the individual wishes to do business or earn and have a regular income source within the country, this is required.
It would be a good idea to apply for a work visa if:
- You already have a job offer from the country in question. Even though you were offered a position or a job in the company, to fully and legally accept and begin carrying out your work duties, you would first have to be allowed to work in the country by the government. Some companies might even assist you in the process of applying for a work visa, and few might offer to pay for the charges, depending on how valuable you are to the company in question.
- The company you intend to work for or are already working for has a certification from the Department of Labor. This certification will prove to the government that you are indeed important and needed in the organization as your offered position cannot be filled by a national.
- The company that intends to employ you has already filed a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker with the Citizenship and Immigration Services. This is very important as you cannot be granted a work visa without the approved petition it.
There are also numerous kinds and types of work visa, and hopefully, if you fall into one of these categories, then you are free to apply under the category:
- Suppose you are a foreigner or foreign individual who possesses extraordinary ability in your field, engineering, Information Technology, or even medicine. This group also includes professors and researchers.
- If you have one or multiple advanced degrees and also show exceptional ability.
- Suppose you are a skilled worker or a skilled professional. This includes people in which their occupation requires not less than two years of training and experience and that their jobs and services are always in demand regardless of time or season.
- If you are a foreign individual willing to invest upwards of $500,000.
- If you are an Iraqi or Afghan translator and interpreter and has worked for not less than one year (twelve months)
- Special Medical graduates. Those who are trained and graduated from medical schools.
- If you are a member of a religious sect or group with a recognized non-profit organization within the country and you intend to work with them.
- If you are a religious minister and enter the country to carry out your religious duties and jobs.
So after going through this visa guide, just before you apply for any of the visas, do your due diligence and find out which correct one to apply for that suits your situation and need so you don’t waste your time applying for the wrong one.