Most people migrate to America in search of better job opportunities and higher standards of living. With the strength of the dollar vs other currencies, that evidently also fuels migration.
Many people work in the United States and send money home to their friends and families in their homeland. Other reasons for moving to the US include accessing good educational systems, access to jobs and family reunions. But, migrating to the US and becoming a permanent resident is not that easy as you will need to?get an immigrant visa.
How To Migrate To America: Five (5) Immigrant Visa Categories
Now let’s check out on the top five (5) visa categories to migrate to America.
- Fianc(e) Visa
- Returning Resident Visa
- Diversity Visa
- Family-Based Immigration Visa
- Employment-Based Immigration Visa
Fianc(e) Visa category:
Under this visa category, an American citizen can sponsor his/ her fiances application to come to America. Thus he/she may have to apply for a K1 visa, which enables a person to come to the USA and live here legally for the period of three months or 90 days. During which he/she is expected to be legally married to the fiance.
Employment-Based Immigration:
An American company may sponsor employment visas for their foreign skilled workers to migrate to the United States under the Employment-Based Immigration category. Individuals with extraordinary abilities in education, arts, science, business, or athletics, outstanding professors and researchers, professionals, skilled workers, and unskilled workers can come to the US under this category of visa. However, obtaining this type of visa can be really stressful and difficult as it is heavily subscribed. Hence, many visa applicants have to tarry for many years to get it.
Returning Resident Visa:
Under this type of visa, an individual can get a permanent resident status after which he or she can legally move freely in and out of the United States. But a permanent resident is not allowed to stay outside America for more than one year at a stretch. Otherwise, a new immigrant visa will be needed to re-enter the United States. This is known as the SB1 visa.
Diversity Visas:
This category of visa accommodates countries such as Malaysia, Kenya and Nepal, who have a fewer presence in the United States. People from these countries who want to come to the USA can file in for a diversity visa.
Family-Based Immigration:
A citizen of America or a permanent resident can sponsor visas for some certain members of the family. A citizen of America can sponsor his or her siblings, parents, spouse, and children, who desire to migrate to the United States. but, a permanent resident can only sponsor their spouse or unmarried dependent children under the age of 21.
US Immigration Visa Processing Time
The US visa processing time depends on the type of visa that you file in for. It usually takes from Three (3) to Five (5) weeks for a US visa application to be processed. After the processing of the visa, the applicants may get a positive reply on their application, and the embassy or consulate as the case may be will deliver the document. This visa delivery process may take up to two other working days.
Applications rejected under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) pending other processing, may take up to Two (2) months or Sixty (60) days from the date of the visa interview to be processed. In some certain cases, the processing may take more than Six (6) months.
Candidates who are required to file in for a waiver of ineligibility in order to obtain the visa should bear in mind that they may have to wait until Six (6) to Eight (8) months from the date of their interview to get a response.
But, countries under the visa waiver program, applying under the Electronic Travel Authorization System for temporary visa, can get a response in their ESTA application under Twenty-four (24) hours.
Popular US Visa Types And Their Processing Times
Below we will examine a list of some different US visa types, and their processing time.
F-1 visa:
The F-1 visa is a student visa and it’s processing time is shorter and faster than other types of visas. The processing of this type of visa usually happens prior the interview. The interview is the penultimate step for the US Embassy to know whether they should grant you an F-1 visa or not.
In most cases, you may get the response on the F1 visa immediately after the interview. At the end of the interview, the visa or immigration officer as the case maybe, may congratulate you for getting the visa or might provide you with a document letting you know the reason for denial. There are, some cases where the response and processing of the F-1 visa takes some more days to process, so you should be patient if that happens.
B-2 visa:
The B-2 tourist visas is a visitor visa. The processing times for this visa differs from country to country. It usually take few months to process this type of visa.
H-1 Visa:
The H-1 Visa processing time depends on the country you are from or the number of applications that the US consulate has received in that period.
H1B Visa:
The processing times for H-1B visa usually takes three (3) to six (6) months. But, USA Embassies in different countries/cities have various processing times, so we advised you contact them for any information.
