There are several ways to immigrate to the United States. The two most common ways to emigrate are through FAMILY and/or through EMPLOYMENT.
Through family:
U.S. citizens and residents have the possibility to petition their immediate family members who are abroad.
The categories are as follows:
Wives or husbands of U.S. citizens: This petition is called a direct petition, because it has no waiting time. It can be done through consular processing, that is, at the American embassy in the country where this person resides or it can be done while in the US without having to leave the country, as long as the person has entered the country legally.
Parents of U.S. citizens (over the age of 21) are also considered immediate relatives and children under the age of 21 of U.S. citizens are also direct relatives. As we mentioned earlier, these categories have no waiting time i.e. they are not on the visa bulletin.
The other categories do have waiting time and are not considered DIRECT requests, beneficiaries must wait for the priority date:
They are as follows: the first preference is the unmarried children of American citizens. (obviously over 21).
The second preference – 2A – is spouses of residents and unmarried children of residents under the age of 21.
Category 2B are the children of residents over the age of 21, who are not married. Residents may not ask their parents or married children.
The third category is married children of American citizens and the fourth category is siblings of American citizens.
The form that is sent to immigration is form I130 and has a cost of $ 420. Although the waiting time is long, these two categories include the spouses or husbands of the beneficiary and children under the age of 21.
The other most common way to immigrate to the United States is through employment. For example, a skilled worker who comes to work on a temporary H1B visa can become a resident if he is sponsored by a company that makes him a job offer. The H1B visa is for special occupations of professionals. Not everyone qualifies for this type of visa. A credential evaluation must be made: of the studies completed and work experience of the beneficiary. Also those who have come with an L1A visa, as an executive or manager can also become residents. With the H1 visa it takes much longer since you have to prepare a Labor Certification or PERM. With the L1A visa this step is not needed. The I-140 form is used, which has a cost of $ 580.
You can also emigrate through the visa lottery (as long as your country is on the list of qualified) and also through the well-known EB5, investment of 500,000 thousand dollars for regional centers or one million dollars.
In future installments we will explain each of these visas more extensively.
In terms of immigration, the only major change in 2012 was the deferred action for young people who arrived in the country as children. Of the rest, we will have to continue waiting for immigration reform.
We reiterate that before making or presenting any procedure or form to immigration to any consulate, consult a professional, any error can be very expensive.