Employment Based Immigration Law

Harris & Moure represents multinational corporations, emerging companies, investors and individuals in all areas of business immigration law. Our corporate clients include high technology, international trade, scientific, media, research, industrial, manufacturing and financial institutions. Our business immigration is nationwide with corporate and individual clients throughout the United States and overseas. Our goal is to provide a top-flight client service at competitive rate.

Nonimmigrant (temporary) visas

B-1/B-2 Visitor Visa

If you seek to enter the United States for tourism, business or medical treatment, a visitor visa is generally required. A visitor visa is a temporary (nonimmigrant) visa for business (B-1) or for pleasure or for medical treatment (B-2). B1/B2 visitor may be admitted for not more than one year and may be granted extensions of temporary stay in increments of not more than six months each.

Visa Waiver Pilot Program

If you are coming to the U.S. for tourism or business for 90 days or less from a qualified country you may be eligible to visit the U.S. without a visa. Currently, 28 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Pilot Program: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.

If you enter on the Visa Waiver Pilot Program, you are not allowed to work or study while in the U.S., and you cannot stay longer than 90 days or change your status to another visa category.

E-1 Treaty Trader Visa

E-1 visas are available to citizens of only selected countries which have trade treaties with the U.S. and wish to come to the U.S. to carry on trade between the U.S. and their home country, including trade in services or technology. There are no quota restrictions for E-1 visas. Those countries with treaties currently in effect are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brunei, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, United Kingdom and Yugoslavia. Iran is a treaty trader country, however, the treaty is inoperative because of the U.S. Executive Order preventing trade with Iran. A list of the treaty countries can be found here:

http://travel.state.gov/reciprocity/list of treaty countries.htm.

To qualify for an E-1 visa, you must be coming to the U.S. to trade on behalf of or develop and direct the operations of a business, at least 50% of which is owned by citizens of your treaty country. The company may be owned by you or others. The 50% of the volume of international trade conducted by the U.S. entity must be between the United States and the treaty country. You must be a 50% owner or a key employee meaning a manager, executive or one who has essential skills.

E-1 nonimmigrants are not required to maintain a foreign residence, but they must have an intention to depart the United States and not permanently remain. E-1 visa can be issued initially for up to five years and renewed indefinitely as long as the company and the individual continue to qualify for E-1 visa. Upon each entry into the United States, E-1 visa holders are generally granted two years of E-1 status on form I-94, provided that E-1 visa is valid at the time of entry.

E-2 Treaty Investor Visa

You qualify for an E-2 visa if you are a citizen of a country that has an investor treaty with the United States and you are coming to the U.S. to work for a U.S. business supported by a substantial cash investment from nationals of your home country. There are no numerical limits on E-2 visa. The countries with treaties currently in effect are:

Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Grenada, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman , Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Yugoslavia. A list of the treaty countries can be found here:

http://travel.state.gov/reciprocity/list of treaty countries.htm.

To qualify for an E-2 visa you must be coming to work in the U.S. for a company you own or one that is at least 50% owned by other nationals of your home country. You must be either the owner or the key employee of the U.S. business meaning a manager, executive or the one with essential skills. You or the company must have made a substantial cash investment in the U.S. business. The U.S. business must be actively engaged in trade or the rendering of services.

E-2 nonimmigrants are not required to maintain a foreign residence, but they must have an intention to depart the United States and not permanently remain. E-2 visa can be issued initially for up to five years and renewed indefinitely, as long as the company and the individual continue to qualify for E-2 visa. Upon each entry into the United States, the E-2 visa holders are generally granted two years of E-2 status on form I-94, provided that E-2 visa is valid at the time of entry.

F-1/M-1 Student Visa

If you are coming to the U.S. to study full-time in a program leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate, you must be entering a U.S. government-approved school to qualify for a student visa. Academic and language students get F-1 visas , while vocational and technical school students get M-1 visas. The primary difference are that F-1 visas may be held for a much longer time than M-1 visas, and F-1 students have greater opportunities to get work permits.

To qualify for a student visa, you must already be accepted by the school of your choice and you must have enough money to study full-time without working. You must be able to speak, read, and write English well enough to understand the course work or, alternatively, the school can offer special tutoring or instruction in your native language to help overcome any language barriers. In addition to your academic and financial qualifications, you must prove that you intend to return to your home country when your program of studies is over.

There are no quota restrictions. The expiration date on your student visa indicates how long you have the right to request entry to the U.S. in order to assume student privileges. It does not tell you how long you may stay once arrive. This is controlled by the duration of your student status. Upon entry in the United States, the student visa holders are issued an I-94 card with the annotation “D/S”, meaning, duration of status, and may remain in the United States for the period of time listed on their Form I-20 to finish their educational program.

H-1B Specialty Occupation

To qualify for an H-1B visa, you must first have a job offer from a U.S. employer for duties to be performed in the U.S. The employer must have filed an LCA with the federal Department of Labor, which, among other things certifies that the employer will be paying a least the average or “prevailing” wage for that type of job in the particular geographic area.

You must be coming to the U.S. to perform services in a specialty occupation with a college degree or its equivalent in work experience, or be a distinguished fashion model. It is also necessary to have the correct type of background for the job you are offered. If your academic and professional credentials are strong, but they do not match the job, then you are not eligible for an H-1B visa.

Currently, no more that 65,000 H-1B visa petitions are approved each year. However, you are not subject to these limits if you’ll be working for an institution of higher education, or for a nonprofit or government research organization.

H-1 B petitions may be approved for up to three years, and can be extended for up to a total of six years. After six years of H-1B status, the individual must reside outside of the United States for a year before becoming eligible to apply for H or L status. However, H-1B holders who have had a labor certification application or I-140 immigrant petition filed at least 365 days prior to reaching the six year limit may be eligible to extend their status beyond six years in one year increments.

H-2B Temporary Workers

You qualify for an H-2 B visa if you are coming to the U.S. to accept a temporary or seasonal nonagricultural job from a U.S. employer and you have the correct background or skills needed by the employer. H-2B visas are aimed at skilled and unskilled workers. To get an H-2B visa, it must be shown there are no qualified Americans available to take the job you have been offered. You are eligible for an H-2B visa only if you have the intention to return to your home country when the visa expires.

No more than 66,000 H-2B visa petitions may be approved during the fiscal year. Temporary Labor Certification takes about four months. Petition approval usually takes an additional two to four months. After the petition is approved, visas are usually issued within several weeks.

H-3 Trainee Visa

You qualify for an H-3 visa if you are coming to the U.S. for on-the-job training to be provided by a U.S. company. The purpose of the training should be to further your career in your home country. Similar training opportunities must be unavailable there. In addition, you must posses the necessary background and experience to complete the U.S. training program successfully. You must intend to return to your home country when the visa expires.

H-3 visa holders are admitted for the length of the training program, up to two years. No extension, change of status or readmission will be granted unless the H-3 trainee has resided outside of the United States for six months. The rule does not apply if the training is seasonal or lasts for less than six months.

J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa

You qualify for a J-1 exchange visitor visa if you are coming to the U.S. as a student, scholar, trainee, teacher, professor, research assistant, medical graduate, or international visitor who is participating in a program of study, training, research or cultural enrichment specifically designed for such individuals by the U.S. Department of State, through its Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. You must have enough money to cover your expenses while you are in the United States as an exchange visitor and you must intend to return to your home country when the program is over.

How long you’ll be allowed to stay in the U.S. on your J-1 visa depends on the type of program you’ll be participating and the dates of your participation. You will be asked to present a Certificate of Eligibility SEVIS DS-2019. This form is provided to you by the sponsor of the exchange visitor program in which you will take part and lists the specific dates you are expected to be participating in the program. Upon entering the U.S. with a J-`1 visa, you will be authorized to remain only until the final date indicated on the Certificate of Eligibility.

J-1 visitors who participate in programs directly or indirectly financed by an agency of the U.S. government or by the J-1 visitor’s government, are subject to a two-year foreign residency requirement. They must return to the country of nationality and reside there for two years before they are eligible to apply for H, L or immigrant visa. However, such J-1 visitors may apply for a waiver of that requirement.

K-1 visa

If you intend to marry a U.S., citizen, your fiancé may bring you to America for the wedding with a K-1 visa. Although it is a nonimmigrant visa, it can easily be converted into a green card.

To get a K-1 visa, both members of the couple must be legally able to marry. Not only must the couple actually intend to marry, but, with limited exception, they must have met and seen each other in person within the past two years.

L-1 Intracompany Transferee visa

You qualify for an L-1 visa if you have been employed outside the U.S. as a manager, executive, or person with specialized knowledge for at least one out of the past three years, and you are transferred to the U.S. to be employed in a position that utilizes your special knowledge and skills. The U.S. company to which you are transferring must be a branch, subsidiary, affiliate or joint venture partner of your non-U.S. employer. The non-U.S. company must remain in operation while you have the L-1 visa.

L-1 status may generally be approved for up to three years, and can be extended for up to seven years (for manager/executive) and up to five years for transferees with specialized knowledge. After the end of the maximum L-1 period of stay, an individual must reside outside of the United States for a year before becoming eligible to apply for H or L status.

O-1 visa: Persons of Extraordinary Ability in the Arts, Athletics, Science, Business and Education

O-1 visas are available to persons of proven extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. To be considered a person a person of extraordinary ability, you must have sustained national or international acclaim, or, if you work in motion pictures or television productions, you must have a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement.

There is no annual quota on O-1 visa. It may be approved initially for up to three years, and may be renewed indefinitely in one year increments. The O-1 visa allows dual intent: the approval of a permanent labor certification or the filing of an immigrant petition shall not be a basis for denying an O-1 petition. O-1 workers are not required to maintain an unabandoned foreign residence.

P-1 Visa: Outstanding Athletes, Athletic Teams, and Entertainment Companies.

P-1 visas are available to athletes or athletic teams that have been internationally recognized as outstanding for a long and continuous period of time. Entertainment companies that have been nationally recognized as outstanding for a long period of time also qualify. A written statement from an appropriate labor union or peer group confirming the group’s stature in the industry is a required document in these cases.

Like O-1 visas, P-1 visas are issued only for the time needed to complete a particular event, tour, or season. You may also be allowed some extra time for vacation, as well as promotional appearances and stopovers incidental and/or related to the event. Individual athletes, however, may remain in the U.S. for up to ten years.

R-1 Visa: Religious Workers

R-1 visa is available to those who have been members of a legitimate religious denomination for at least two years and have a job offer in the U.S. to work for an affiliate of that same religious organization. R-1 visa may be issued to both members of the clergy and to lay religious workers.

The maximum stay is five years. An R-1 nonimmigrant may be admitted for an initial period of up to three years with extensions in two-year increments. The R-1 visa is not a dual intent visa, however, R-1 holders are not required to maintain an unabandoned foreign residence.

TN-1/TN-2 NAFTA Professional visa

The TN visa is available to citizens of Canada and Mexico who have been offered temporary U.S. employment in a profession or occupation identified by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The applicant must document proof of citizenship, the appropriate credentials for the profession, and an offer of employment in the United States.

TN application procedures for Canadian and Mexican citizens differ. Canadians may apply for TN-1 status at any Class A port of entry. Mexican applicants for TN-2 status must pursue a more standard visa issuance process. U.S. employers of Mexican citizens must petition USCIS for TN-2 classification approval. Mexican citizens must obtain a TN-2 visa from a U.S. Consulate or Embassy prior to entering the United States. The applicant will only be admitted to the United States for an initial one-year period. Extensions of TN authorization may be granted in one year increments.

Getting a Green Card Through Employment

To qualify for a green card through employment:

• you must have a job offer from a U.S. employer
• you must have the correct background in terms of education and work experience for the job you have been offered, and
• there must be no qualified American willing or able to take the job – except in categories of green cards where Labor Certification is not required.

Green cards through employment are divided into five preference categories. The first one has no Labor Certification requirements. The rest do. All employment preference categories are subject to quota.

Employment First Preference (“EB-1”). Priority Workers.

Priority workers are divided into three categories:

Persons of extraordinary ability, outstanding university professors or researchers, and transferring executives or managers of multinational companies.

1. Workers of Extraordinary Abilities

You qualify for a green card as a priority worker if you have extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. Your achievements must have been publicly recognized, and resulted in a period of sustained national or international acclaim. You do not need a specific job offer as long you will continue working in your field of expertise once you arrive in the U.S.

1. Outstanding Professors and Researchers

You qualify for a green card as a priority worker under the outstanding professors and researchers subcategory if you have an international reputation for being outstanding in a particular academic field. You need a minimum of three years of either teaching or research experience in that field. You must also be entering the U.S. to accept a specific tenured or tenure-track teaching or research position at a university or institution of higher learning. Alternatively, you may accept a job conducting research in industry or with a research organization. The U.S. company or institution employing you should have a history of making significant achievements in research and must employ at least three other full-time research workers.

1. Multinational Executives and Managers

You qualify for a green card as a priority worker under this subcategory if you have been employed as an executive or manager by a qualified company outside the U.S. for at least one out of the past three years, or, if you are already in the U.S. on a temporary visa, one of the three years before you arrived here. You must now be going to take a similar position with a U.S. branch, affiliate, or subsidiary of the same company. The U.S. company must have been in business for at least one year.

Employment Second Preference (EB-2)

This category is for professionals holding advanced university degrees, and for persons of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business.

1. Advanced Degree Professionals

To qualify for this subcategory, you must hold a graduate level degree, or a professional degree requiring postgraduate education. There is a substitute for having an advanced degree. You can also qualify if you have a baccalaureate degree plus five years of work experience in a professional position. Your work experience can be either in the U.S. or abroad.

b. Persons of Exceptional Ability

This subcategory includes only those in the sciences, arts and business. Something less than the international acclaim required for extraordinary workers is enough for the exceptional ability subcategory. Proven sustained national acclaim in your field will meet the required standard.

Employment Third Preference (EB-3)

This category is divided into the following subcategories: professional workers, skilled workers, and unskilled workers.

1. Professional workers.

This subcategory is for members of professions who hold only bachelor’s degrees and have fewer than five years of work experience. Occupations that have routinely been approved as professional include accountants, computer systems analysts, architects, lawyers, physicians, engineers, etc.

1. Skilled Workers

Workers engaged in occupations that normally do not require college degrees, but do need at least two years of training or experience, qualify in the subcategory of skilled workers.

1. Unskilled Workers

Generally, this category includes occupations requiring less than two years training or experience. Whatever requirements the job does have must be met by your own qualifications or you will not be able to apply successfully for a green card in this subcategory.

Employment Fourth Preference (EB-4)

This is the fourth category of employment-based workers, also called “Special Immigrants”. It encompasses religious workers, which include ministers and religious professionals. The category also includes various miscellaneous categories of workers.

Employment Fifth Preference (EB-5)

This employment category is for investors willing to invest a minimum of $500,000 to $1,000,000 in a new U.S. business that will create jobs. The minimum amount depends on the location of the enterprise.

Family Based Immigration Law

Harris & Moure handles naturalization and family based petitions for individuals who have immediate U.S. citizen relatives and for permanent residents filing for various family members. We also accept a limited amount of political asylum cases and assist victims of domestic violence and abuse in obtaining immigrant visa rights.

You qualify for a green card if you have a close family member who is a U.S. citizen or green card holder. You may qualify for a green card through relatives if you fall into one of the following categories:

• immediate relative of a U.S. citizen
• preference relative of a U.S. citizen
• accompanying relative of someone in a preference category.

Immediate Relatives

These people qualify as immediate relatives:

• Spouses of U.S. citizens
• Unmarried people under the age of 21 who have at least one U.S. citizen parent
• Parents of U.S. citizens, if the U.S. citizen child is over the age of 21

Preference Relatives

Family First Preference: unmarried people, any age, who have at least one U.S. citizen parent.

Family Second Preference 2A: Spouses and children under 21 years old, of green card holders; and 2B: unmarried sons and daughters of green card holders who are at least 21 years old.

Family Third Preference: Married people, any age, who have at least one U.S. citizen parent.

Family Fourth Preference: Sisters and brothers of U.S. citizens, where the U.S. citizen is at least 21 years old.

Accompanying Relatives