Visas

Visas

An approach to reality

types-of-visas

Types of Visas

There are a variety of visas to enter into the United States, and each one has a specific purpose. All visas must be requested and processed in advance at the United States Consulate in your home country.

For this guide purposes, only a few visas will be mentioned. All other visas available for immigrants and non-immigrants can be viewed at:  http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/general/all-visa-categories.html

Temporary non-immigrant visas

B-1 / B-2 Business and Tourism Visas

B-1 is a business visa that allows you enter the United States to sign contracts, go to business meetings, conventions, etc.

B-2 is a visa for tourism, holiday, visiting friends, participate in musical events or otherwise, take a short course of a few days, etc.

Visas B-1 or B-2 let you form a company or buying real estate in the United States but remind that you are not authorized to work and to stay longer than the date of the visa expiration. Visas B-1 and B-2 allow you to stay up to SIX months. If you need a time extension, you must make request to the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services).

L Visa – Executives Transfer

L Visa is for transferring employees within a company and, in principle, it requires the employee a special expertise and to be a company’s executive.

E-1 / E-2 Trade and Investment Treaty Visa

Are eligible for E-1 (trade) / E-2 (investment) visas citizens of those countries that have a trade and/or investment treaty with the United States.

See list of countries http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/fees/treaty.html

These Visas are not difficult to obtain investing a relatively small amount of money in a business venture or in real estate in the United States. But you must be well advised by an experienced immigration lawyer.

Visa Waiver

Is a Visa exemption agreement between the United States and certain countries whose citizens don’t need visa to enter the United States, although it is necessary to inform electronically 72 hours in advance before the trip. This visa is similar to the B-1 / B-2 but allows you to stay up to 90 days.

WARNING: Be careful if you plan to leave the US and re-enter from a neighboring country – like Canada or Mexico – that the time you are outside the United States will be calculated within 90 days of validity of the visa.

Immigrant Visas – Obtaining Residence

DV – Diversity Visa

Each year the United States grants 50,000 immigrant visas through a lottery draw. The visas are distributed to applicants from over 100 countries worldwide. Those interested should register online a year before the draw. Remember that it is a lottery and as such, the chances of obtaining a visa are very unlikely.

EB-5 Investor Visa

Subject to certain requirements, this visa allows a foreign investor to become a Conditional Permanent Resident. For it must invest $ 500,000 plus expenses of its own capital in a venture business or trade project “at his own risk” or one implemented by the Regional Centre in the form of a trust. There are many Regional Centers designated by USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) across the United States.

Some guidelines for the EB-5 visa are:

  • The investor may be passive and there is no need that he manages the project.
  • This program is based on a venture investment project that aims to promote the progress and welfare of US citizens, conditioned to the project must give -direct or indirect- employment opportunity to at least 10 people who are US citizens, permanent residents or any others immigrants authorized to work in the United States.
  • The investor and his immediate relatives are benefited from this Visa and can move and live in the United States same as any US resident.
  • May the project prove successful the investor can apply for permanent residency.

The “Green Card” – Permanent Resident Card

The much desired “Green Card” can be obtained relatively easy:

  • Marrying a US citizen.
  • Having an immediate family member who is a US citizen to sponsor you before the immigration authorities.
  • Getting an employment contract from an American company applying for a L-1 work visa. The owner of the American company should hire you and get involved in the whole process with the immigration authorities. After a time process you may apply for the “Green Card”.
  • Purchasing some low-cost properties. Contact us

Whatever your chances might be or the decision you make, it is essential that you get the advice of a good immigration attorney and consult with the US Consulate in your home country.

WARNING: There is an international regulation that prohibits anybody entering a country with more than $10,000 in cash per family. If you travel to the United States carrying with you more than this, you must declare the amount on the immigration form the airway gives you on the flight before landing. When passing through customs – if asked – give immigration officers a reasonable justification about the reason why you are carrying more cash than the allowed. Otherwise they could give you a hard time, delay your entrance, imprison or deport you in a blink of the eyes – with the risk that you will not be allowed to enter into the United States again.

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Disclaimer: The information provided in our website is for basic general guidance only and DOES NOT constitute legal advice or intends to replace the advice of an attorney or a certified public accountant. We believe the data displayed in our site and its sources to be reliable; however, Pegasus Luxury Realty makes no warranty, guarantee or representation about it. Any interested party must seek appropriate professional advice.

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