Visas are Documents Issued by Consular Sections in U.S. Embassies Abroad to Give Permission to Foreign Nationals to Enter the United States. While there are many different types of visas, they generally fall into two categories: “immigrant” and “nonimmigrant.”
Immigrant visas are granted to those individuals who will be immigrating to the United States to live permanently. These visas are given to people who are beneficiaries of family or employment-based petitions that have already been filed and approved by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Once the petitions are approved, they are forwarded to the National Visa Center so that the immigrant visa application and required documents can be submitted in preparation for the immigrant visa interview at the embassy. The beneficiaries of immigrant visa petitions must also prepare for the visa interview by obtaining, among other things, police and background checks, as well as medical exams. If successful at the immigrant visa interview, these individuals receive their immigrant visas stamped in their passports and can then enter the United States and live indefinitely in the U.S. as permanent residents or “green card holders.”
Nonimmigrant visas are given to foreign nationals who are allowed to visit the United States temporarily for a variety of reasons. There are many different kinds of nonimmigrant temporary visas: people who wish to visit the United States temporarily for tourism can apply for a temporary visitor visa; individuals who are in need of medical treatment in the United States that may not be available in their home country can apply for a temporary visa for medical purposes; students who have been accepted into a college or university in the United States can apply for a student visa in order to study in the U.S.; workers who receive temporary or seasonal jobs in the United States can obtain visas to enter the United States temporarily for work, and fiancés of U.S. citizens can obtain a temporary visa to enter the U.S. to be married.
The above is just a sample of the different types of temporary visas. Regardless of the reasons for wanting to enter the United States, the immigration attorneys at Dworken and Bernstein can assist the complete range of applicants with all types of visa processing. From nonimmigrant visitor visas to family-based immigrant visa petitions, our attorneys have the knowledge and experience needed to successfully see you through the visa application from start to finish.
