October 27th, 2024 at 07:41 am
How to Get Sponsorship for a USA Visa – A Step-by-Step Guide
The most popular visa categories are well known to everyone who has visited the United States. You have either applied for a visa or traveled under the Visa Waiver Program if you have visited friends or family, traveled for business, or enjoyed a vacation in the United States.
A visa is a travel document that a nation issues to a visitor, allowing them to enter and stay in the nation for a set period and a particular purpose, such as work, study, tourism, or journalism.
When it comes to work visas, things become more intricate. These visas enable travelers to work for a US employer while they are in the nation, usually temporarily but occasionally permanently. The majority of work visas, which come in a variety of forms, require that you obtain an employer-sponsored job offer before you arrive in the nation.
Getting a US work visa is difficult and calls for legal knowledge. The most essential information you should know before beginning the procedure is covered in our basic guide. However, bear in mind that this guide’s content is meant mainly for general informative purposes and does not amount to legal advice. The most recent government directives and further information can be found at travel.state.gov.
What is a Work Visa?
The majority of the over 200 different kinds of visas available in the US are work visas. They often let a foreign citizen enter and work in the United States for a set amount of time or permanently. They could be an electronic record, a printed document, or a passport stamp or sticker.
A work permit, which is a legal document that permits someone who is already in the US to work without restrictions, is different from a work visa. A work visa allows an individual to enter the United States, whereas a work permit does not.
How Can I Obtain a US Work Visa Sponsorship?
You need to have a job offer from a specific US firm before you can even apply for a US work visa. After that, the employer will petition the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to sponsor your visa. This kind of work visa belongs to a larger group of visas known as petition-based visas.
You can then apply for a work visa at a US consulate or embassy in your home country if the petition is granted. Depending on the kind of visa you’re seeking, different requirements apply, but most people who want to apply for a work visa need to fulfill these general requirements:
- A US firm must have extended an employment offer to you.
- Your position must fall under one of the categories of occupations that are eligible for work visas.
- You must possess the training and/or work experience needed for the position.
- After your work visa expires, you must be able to demonstrate that you want to return home.
Types of US Non-Immigrant Work Visas that Need Employment Sponsorship
People who plan to work in the US temporarily before going back home are eligible for nonimmigrant work visas.
A nonimmigrant work visa can be valid for many years, in contrast to a basic 90-day B-1 business visa, which allows business visitors to enter the nation for purposes such as contract negotiations, meetings, conferences, and conventions. Usually, a US company must sponsor them, and if the employee wants to stay in the US, they must be renewed.
Here is a summary of some of the most common petition-based and nonimmigrant work visa categories. A complete list is available at travel.state.gov.
H-1B
The H-1B is the most often used kind of US work visa. Employing highly qualified foreign professionals in specialized industries including architecture, science, medicine, engineering, and information technology is made possible by this visa. Workers must have at least a bachelor’s degree (or its equivalent) in their subject of choice, and the number of applications is limited annually.
An individual can work in the United States for up to six years with a standard H-1B visa. Employees can change occupations after entering the US as long as their new employer can sponsor another H-1B visa, as they are not required to remain with the company that initially sponsored them.
L-1
This visa, which is also known as an intra-company transfer visa, allows an employee to be temporarily transferred to a US branch or subsidiary of their existing firm. The worker must be a manager or executive with specialized knowledge and have worked for the company overseas for a minimum of one year. When businesses open satellite offices in the US, they frequently employ an L-1 visa.
O-1
People with exceptional talent in their industry, such as athletes, artists, TV personalities, and movie stars, are eligible for this visa. Candidates must be able to prove what makes them “extraordinary” to fit this criterion; examples could include winning Olympic gold, starring in a successful film, or writing several scholarly articles for prestigious scientific journals.
No matter how well-known they are abroad, O-1 visa holders still need employer sponsorship to visit the United States.
Types of US Immigrant Work Visas that Need Employment Sponsorship
People who plan to reside and work in the United States permanently are the target of immigrant work visas. Almost invariably, these work visas are granted before the bearer becomes a lawful permanent resident of the United States, which is known as a green card.
Moving to the US on an employment-based immigrant visa is a difficult and time-consuming process. Before the application process can even start, candidates must receive a job offer to be eligible, and their US company must then complete a stringent set of sponsorship requirements.
Priority workers are granted the highest preference among the five categories of immigrant work visas:
- Priority workers
- Professionals with advanced degrees and exceptionally talented individuals
- Professionals and other workers
- Certain special immigrants
- Employment creation/investors
What is the cost of sponsoring a US work visa?
The cost of obtaining a US work visa might vary based on the type of work visa needed, the size of the company, and the number of current employees who are in the country on a work visa. The majority of these costs will be paid by the sponsoring employer, but the employee might also be responsible for some of them.
The following are the most typical costs for sponsoring a nonimmigrant work visa:
- Petition fee: $460
- Application fee: $190
- $750 to $1,500 in fees under the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act
- $500 is the price for fraud prevention and detection.
- An additional charge for businesses with over 50 workers, of whom half are foreign nationals is $4,000.
The official USCIS website lists all of the costs associated with filing for a US work visa.
What is a Sponsorship Letter?
The conditions of your employment offer and the sponsorship arrangement are described in a sponsorship letter from a US firm. It is one of the first items the USCIS will request after receiving your petition and is a crucial step in the work visa application process.
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