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Basic
immigration concepts
An alien making a temporary visit to the U.S. is a nonimmigrant. If
the alien is overseas, depending on the classification requested,
the alien may submit an application to the INS to receive approval
for a visa classification. If the petition is approved, he can apply
for a visa stamp at a U.S. embassy or consulate in the foreign
country he is in. With other nonimmigrant visas, application to the
INS is not necessary and he can submit the request directly to the
U.S. consulate. Whether or not the alien will be able to work will
be dependent on his visa’s classification. This will apply to
studying in the U.S. as well.
Once the alien receives
a stamp in his passport, he is entitled to seek admission at the
U.S. border. Simply having a visa stamp in his passport does not
guarantee that he will be permitted to enter. He will be inspected
at the border: an officer will determine if any bars to admission
apply. If not, then he’ll be permitted to enter for a period time.
Typically, the length of time the alien can stay in the U.S. will be
indicated on a white I-94 card stapled into his passport. If an
alien wishes to remain in the U.S. beyond the expiration date on his
I-94 card, he will need to file an extension. This is if the alien
wants to continue in the same visa classification he has been in.
If the alien wishes to
stay but in a different classification, he will need to apply for a
change of status from one visa classification to another. Reasons
for doing this could be because the alien has exhausted the total
number of years available for that particular classification or
because the alien wants to engage in certain activities that his
current visa does not allow. For example, a student who has been in
F-1 status for four years may, upon completion of her studies, wish
to remain in the U.S. and change her status to a visa classification
which will permit her to work full-time. An H-1B visa will permit
this and she could apply to change her status to H-1b.
Aliens granted green
cards are called "permanent residents". A key advantage to
having a green card is that one can stay in the U.S. indefinitely.
Furthermore, he can travel in and out of the U.S. relatively freely.
In most cases, qualifying for a green card involves the sponsorship
of a close family member or sponsoring employer. There are two ways
to obtaining an immigrant visa. Like the temporary nonimmigrant
visas, the alien may apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate
in their home country. This is referred to as consular processing. A
more convenient procedure for those aliens currently in the U.S. is
to apply to adjust their status from a nonimmigrant status to
permanent residence.
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