Employment-Based Immigration: Pathways to Permanent Residency Foreign professionals across various fields may be eligible for employment-based visas to work temporarily in the United States. However, those seeking to remain in the country indefinitely often pursue permanent residency, commonly known as a “green card.” This article outlines the process of transitioning from temporary work visas to permanent resident status through employment-based immigration. Temporary Work Visas vs. Permanent Residency Temporary work visas, such as H-1B, L-1, or O-1, allow foreign nationals to live and work i ..read more

Finding the right professional to fill the role of a company executive or manager can be quite challenging. Organizations may spend months going over domestic candidates to no avail. Particularly when a company employs an unusual approach to daily operations, executives with prior experience may not always be the best fit. Companies might look into international hiring, only to realize how complex that process could be. Securing visas for highly-skilled professionals can leave employers at the mercy of visa lottery systems. It could be years before the company secures a visa in some cases. Org ..read more

Immigration is a very complex process. People born in other countries typically have to submit special paperwork to obtain visas, green cards or citizenship. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) receives thousands of applications for different immigration programs annually. The organization does charge fees to help offset the administrative costs of paperwork processing and interviews. People hoping to obtain visas, adjust their status or naturalize may need to save a bit more because many fees for different immigration programs are about to increase in April 2024. Ma ..read more

Introduction If you are a successful business person, you may be considering expanding your operations to the United States. One avenue to achieve this is through the E-2 treaty investor visa, which allows individuals from certain countries to invest in and manage a business in the U.S. This article will provide a concise overview of the main features and principal requirements for qualifying for and obtaining nonimmigrant E-2 treaty investor status. Additionally, we will briefly point out the differences between the E-2 nonimmigrant and EB-5 immigrant investor visas. E-2 Treaty Investor Visa ..read more

A job opportunity is often how people legally enter the United States. Many companies have difficulty hiring the best workers domestically, especially when there are shortages of  qualified candidates within a specific industry. These companies may then consider hiring foreign nationals or arranging for foreign workers to transfer to work within the United States. Someone with an advanced degree or years of experience in a particular profession can qualify for a specialty work visa. With support from an employer, they can legally move to and work in the United States. Accepting a job in t ..read more

Entrepreneurs know the dangers of standing still. When it comes to business innovations, if you stand still, you go backwards. The need to constantly move forward and grow is vital and can also serve as a major problem, especially when looking to expand into other countries. A prime example are the many hurdles that come with expanding business operations into the United States. Can I expand business operations into the United States? The first and most important hurdle is whether or not getting business operations established in the United States is a viable option. This is a common question ..read more

There are many ways for successful professionals to use their careers to gain entry to the United States. Sometimes, workers apply for openings at domestic companies and then partner with those organizations to pursue a visa. Businesses that have trouble locating the right skilled and educated talent domestically may happily extend job offers to international candidates with the right education or skills. However, it can be a challenge for foreign professionals to find job opportunities with domestic employers. An L visa allows someone to transfer within a company that currently employs them t ..read more

Persons seeking to become business owners may develop their own business concept to access a previously untapped market and/or need, or they may decide to buy an existing business or a franchise. Unlike starting a new business from scratch, franchise investments help connect prospective business owners with a pre-existing business model and potentially an established demand for certain goods or services. Franchise companies may invest heavily in marketing and may already have a trusted domestic brand, which can potentially lead to faster growth and greater overall profits. Franchise owners oft ..read more

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) allows those with special work visas to bring their spouses and minor, unmarried children with them to the United States. This allowance helps to keep family units intact and makes work-based immigration more feasible for successful employees from other countries. Dependent spouses typically receive an H-4 visa, which allows them to live in the country but does not authorize them to pursue a job. The established rules in the United States, therefore, often leaves the entire family dependent on the income of one individual, which ca ..read more

Every year, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) receives tens of thousands of applications for visas in a variety of different programs, and the process of reviewing those applications can be very lengthy. The extensive background checks, medical reviews and interviews required for most visas and immigration programs take a long time to complete. There is so much work involved, in fact, that USCIS often fails to approve its allocated number of visas in certain programs. Although USCIS does have a limit on the number of visas that it can award in many programs each year ..read more