The US State Department issues all US Visas

USA Visas

The US State Department issues all US visas

A United States embassy or consulate in your home country is the best place to get complete and accurate information about visas. Another good source of information can be found on the web pages maintained by the US State Department. www.travel.state.gov We will try to explain the basic information here, but the rules are complex and continuously changing, so you should not use us as your final source of information.

There are many types of visas

Visas generally fall into one of three categories. Visitor visas, also known as tourist visas, are the easiest to obtain. They permit the recipient to visit the USA for up to three months, but do not permit the visitor to work in the USA. Temporary employment visas are severely restricted and thus more difficult to get. They permit the holder to work in the USA for a set period of time usually between six months and five years. Immigration visas allow the recipient to permanently live in the USA, to work in the USA and to enjoy most of the privileges of citizenship. Depending on the individual circumstances, Immigration visas can often be difficult or even impossible to get.

No visa required for some tourists

Many tourists and business travelers to the USA will require no visa or a simple visitor visa. The State Department currently allows residents of 27 countries to enter the USA without a visitor visa under the Visa Waiver Program. If you hold a valid passport of one of the following countries and wish to visit for 90 days or less, you are not required to obtain a visitor visa: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marion, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

© Art Today
United States Passport

How to get a visitor visa

If you permanently reside in any other country or plan on staying more than 90 days, you must get a visitor visa before entering the USA. You must apply for the visa at a US embassy or consulate in your home country. You will be required to show evidence that you maintain a permanent residence or have strong ties in your home country. Such evidence could include ownership of property or a business in your home country, family ties, a permanent career, a letter from a US resident assuming responsibility or other factors that indicate that you will return to your home country within 90 days. You must present sufficient evidence to convince the examining officer at the US embassy that you will return to your home country.

Temporary employment visas

There are many categories of temporary employment visas that apply to a wide variety of circumstances. They cover executives transferred from overseas offices, specialty occupations, seasonal agricultural workers, entertainers, artists, teachers, religious workers, certain trainees and cultural exchange workers. If you have special job skills or you are a famous entertainer or artist, you will probably have little trouble obtaining a temporary employment visa. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to obtain an employment visa.

Working while touring the US

Young people often ask us about the possibilities of working in the USA while touring the country. The best possibilities are in the student visa or cultural exchange programs. Student visas (J-visas) are available to students that are accepted into an approved educational program in the USA. They do not automatically allow employment but many work-study provisions are available. Cultural exchange visas (Q-visas) include temporary employment in the USA, but you must have a job with an approved cultural exchange employer before you apply for the visa.

The Disney Corporation is one of the largest employers of cultural exchange students in the USA. Au pair jobs are available through a number of temporary employment agencies overseas.

Written by: Mike Leco
Top Photo Credit: © Mike Leco / USA Tourist.com
Photo Description: The Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in West Virginia

Understand the U.S. Work Visa Options

As talented as you might be, the United States government only authorizes labor-based non immigrant visas for people in certain limited categories. The most likely visas include, in brief:

• E-3. Nationals of Australia who will work in a specialty occupation that requires a bachelor’s degree (B.A.) or higher education.
• H-1B. Workers in a specialty occupation that requires at least a B.A., or else it’s equivalent in on-the-job experience. This category also included distinguished fashion models.
• H-1C. Registered nurses who will work in areas where health professionals are in short supply.
• H-2A. Temporary agricultural workers who will fill positions that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has recognized as facing a labor supply shortage.
• H2B. Workers of various kinds who will perform temporary jobs for which there is a shortage of available, qualified U.S. workers.
• O-1. People of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.
• O-2. Essential support staff of people with O-1 visas.
• P-1. Internationally recognized athletes and entertainers and their essential support staff.
• R-1. Ministers and other workers of recognized religions.

We’ve left off of this list various visas in narrower categories, say, where your existing employer might arrange for a short training stint in the U.S., or you might come as part of a group to give an artistic performance.

After reviewing this list, you might develop a better idea of which of your job skills can be put toward finding a job in an existing visa category.

Identify Employers in Need

Despite high levels of unemployment in the United States, there are still employers who cannot find the employees they need. Such employers might be happy to help someone from another country obtain a visa to work in the United States.

Look through want ads and at job posting websites for companies hiring large numbers of employees or that have been posting the same job for months.  Those employers may be feeling desperate and may be more willing to go through the immigration process (which can be lengthy, complicated, and expensive) to fill their employment needs.

Look for Employers With Experience Hiring Foreign Workers

Employers with a history of hiring foreign workers are more likely to hire you than employers that don’t have much experience with the process. (Because immigration law is complicated, they may not even know what their options are.) Some large corporations have entire departments and in-house lawyers dedicated to bringing in foreign workers.

But even a smaller employer who has been through the process before, and successfully so, may be interested in bringing foreign workers to fill their needs. Keep your eyes open for employers who are advertising abroad. Also read the company’s press releases or online self-descriptions regarding hiring foreign workers.

Use — and Expand — Your Network

Start by asking everyone you know (including, of course, in your online social networks) whether they know anyone who has been hired by a company in the United States. Then contact those people to ask how they found their jobs, and whether they know of any openings or can ask around.

Contact the Employer

Once you identify employers that might be willing to hire foreign workers, you have to reach out to them. Use any names you might have as connections and try to have a name of a specific person at the employer to contact. Even if no job opening has been posted, there’s no harm in sending a resume and a letter introducing yourself, just in case. If a job has been posted, carefully follow their application guidelines.

In preparing your resume, be sure to read U.S.-authored books on what’s expected in terms of style and tone. You might even want to ask someone from the United States to review and edit your resume. Remember, it will be your responsibility to prove to the employer that your skills and talents are worth the process that it will have to go through to bring you to the United States to work for them.