Immigration and adjustment of status can be a confusing and difficult process. My firm, Kats, Jamison & Associates, in Philadelphia helps make this process easier for our clients.
There are many ways to adjust your status if you wish to come the United States legally. If you are in this country and your legal status is overstayed, for the period of more than six months, you will not be eligible to adjust your status on any other ground other than the marriage to a citizen of the United States. And if you came to this country without being inspected on the border, you will not be able to adjust the status automatically, even if you marry a United States citizen. Other than marriage to a U.S. citizen, there are other ways to adjust your status.
The new popular form of adjustment of status is the Immigrant Investor Program (EB-5) Visa, but this only helps if you are a wealthy individual. Congress created the program in 1990 as a means of stimulating the economy through foreign investment and job creation. EB-5 investors must invest in a new commercial business. The business must be either purchased and the existing business be restructured, or the business should be reorganized in such a way that a new commercial enterprise results in or is expanded through the investment so that a 40-percent increase in the net worth or number of employees occurs.2 The EB-5 visa may be a great option for some. If you would like to apply for this visa, please call us to speak to an immigration lawyer Philadelphia investors rely on for such advice. For more information about the EB-5, Immigrant Investor Program, please see the Job Creation Requirements for eligibility.
There are a number of visas for immediate relatives and family sponsorships. They are: spouse of United Citizen, Spouse of a U.S. Citizen awaiting approval of an I-130 immigrant petition, Fiancé(e) to marry U.S. Citizen & live in U.S., Intercountry Adoption of Orphan Children by U.S. Citizens, Certain Family Members of U.S. Citizens, Certain Family Members of Lawful Permanent Residents.
There are also a number of nonimmigrant visas. If you are an individual with extraordinary ability or achievement, you may apply for the O-1 nonimmigrant visa. This visa is specifically for “individuals who possesses an extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.”1
Another nonimmigrant visa is the The H-1B Visa or Employment-Based Immigration Visa. This visa is for nonimmigrants in a “specialty occupation,” such as accounting, architecture, biotechnology, business specialties, chemistry, education, engineering, law, mathematics, medicine and health, physical sciences, social sciences, and theology with at least the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, although there have been exceptions. The H-1B Visa also requires that you be sponsored by an employer.
There are a number of visas that you may qualify for, whether you would like to stay the in country permanently or only for a specific amount of time. For more information about visas and which one is best for you, please call us at (215) 396-9001 to speak with an immigration lawyer Philadelphia trusts for results. Our law firm is able to accommodate you in almost any language, if it is difficult for you to communicate in the English.
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