The Comprehensive Report of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (4)

The MainStream Non-Immigrant Visas in the United States

F-1 Student Visa

F-1 spouses can take an F-2 visa to accompany him or them, but they aren't allowed to work. Children of F-1 holders can attend public schools in the United States.

But how can students with F-1 Visa legally work?

CPT that can be applied after one year of admission (allow you to find part-time, maximum 20 hours a week)

After graduation, you can get an identity called OPT (give you a temporary work permit for 1–3 years depending on the major you study)

During the validity period of OPT, you must find an employer to help you apply for the next work visa, which is the H-1B.

H-1B

Many employers know that the lottery for work visas is difficult, so they simply do not look for foreign students without work visas. Even though some employers are willing to help students apply, they are unable to provide positions related to their majors. The winning rate of masters and doctoral students is less than 40%, and the winning rate of undergraduates is about 20%. Science and engineering students majoring in STEM can draw 3 times in 3 years, but liberal arts students basically only have one chance, and the difficulty can be imagined. H-1B is issued for 3 years at a time and can be renewed once for a total of 6 years. After being drawn, you can change jobs in the middle. But beware: H-1B visas cannot help us immigrate. If the employer does not apply for EB-2 or EB-3 for us during the 6 years, we will still have to return to our own countries.

B1/B2: Tourist Business Visa

it is a ten-year visa, honesty visa, accompanied student visa, etc. But, in essence, it is a short-term visa that allows the holder to engage in tourism, business activities, medical treatment, and short-term study tours. Each time you enter the United States you can stay for 6 months. B1/B2 does not allow you to work and earn a salary in the United States. Some will take this opportunity to work quietly and illegally after the visa expires. B1/B2 does not allow immigration tendency. If you apply for B1/B2 first, you may encounter difficulties.

J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa

Depending on the type of J-1 Visa, you can live in the United States for 6 months, 1 year, 18 months, 3 years, 7 years, etc. J-1 also does not allow immigrant tendencies. J-1 spouses and children can accompany them to the United States on J-2 visas, work and children can go to school.

E-2 Visa

The E-2 nonimmigrant classification allows a national of a treaty country (a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation, or with which the United States maintains a qualifying international agreement, or which has been deemed a qualifying country by legislation) to be admitted to the United States when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business. Certain employees of such a person or of a qualifying organization may also be eligible for this classification. (For dependent family members, see “Family of E-2 Treaty Investors and Employees” below.) It is the visa with the highest degree of freedom. It is a work visa issued by the United States to foreigners who come to the United States to invest in a business in the United States and live in the United States for 2 years each time you enter and can renew it indefinitely. E-2 holders can work and receive wages in the business they invest in, while E2 spouses can work in the United States at will, and children can go to school for free.

Asylum

You can obtain legal work through political asylum, but it is a road of no return. It is easy to leave a permanent bad record, which seriously leads to being unable to go to the United States for life.

Don’t feel hopeless!

Don’t feel hopeless!

Don’t feel hopeless!

There is another luck-based Green Card Method!!!

Green Card Through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

The system began in 1995. U.S. State Department issues 50,000 green cards each year to foreign nationals and their families who are eligible to immigrate to the United States.

Requirements

Applicants for Diversity Visa Lottery Registration must be natives of eligible countries.

Applicants should have a high school education or an equivalent level of knowledge

Applicants should have 2 years of work experience in the past 5 years, with a minimum of 2 years of training experience required.

The winners are randomly selected by the computer, and the number of winners of applicants from the same country (region) will not exceed 7% of the total number of places.