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Status of Spouse and Minor Children
A spouse or unmarried child of an H1B visa holder is entitled to an H-4 visa and the same length of stay as the principal. The spouse and dependent minor children cannot accept employment, but can attend school in the United States.

L Visa: Open Branch, Subsidiary or Affliliate Company or Transfer an Employee

If you work for a multi-national company [such as, Hewlett Packard, Apple, Nokia, etc] and are looking to get transferred to the US affiliate this is usually the visa for you. And for the most part, your company will take care of the details of your application.

Who is Eligible?
The good news is there are no quota restrictions and the application moves pretty fast. Petitions are normally approved within four to eight weeks. Visas are usually issued within several weeks after petition approval.

You qualify for an L-1 visa if you have been employed outside the US as a manager, executive or person with specialized knowledge for at least one out of the past three years, and you are transferred to the US to be employed in a similar position. The US company to which you are transferring must be a branch, subsidiary, affiliate or joint venture partner of your non-US employer. The non-US company must remain in operation while you have the L-1 visa.

O Visa: People of extraordinary ability in the arts, athletics, sciences, education, & business

First of all, if you believe you fit this category of visa, it's also likely you'll have an agent or department that'll take care of your application for you. Although, we'd still like you to hang around newyorkbrits.com though and keep us appraised of your success in the U.S of A.

Who is Eligible?
The O nonimmigrant visa category applies to you if you have extraordinary ability in the arts, athletics, sciences, education and business and are coming to the US to perform temporary services relating to an event, such as coming on tour with your new band. It's also available to those who are coming to assist in the artistic or athletic performance of the applicant.

The arts may also include applicants in the film or TV industry. To qualify for an O-1 visa, individuals in this industry are held to a slightly different standard that others applying for an O-1 visa. They must show extraordinary achievement through a demonstrated record of "distinction" or prominence. Distinction meaning a high level of achievement and skill and is leading, or well-known in that particular field.

Employment Visas [H1]
Normally, your new employer will already be aware of the requirements for this visa. But for your own peace of mind you should read through the details.

Eligibility
For those individuals who seek temporary entry in a speciality occupation as a professional, the H1B visa maybe the one. Some examples of speciality occupations include accountant, computer analyst, engineer, financial analyst, scientist, architect or lawyer. A petition can be approved with a combination of university course work and three years' work experience for each year of university education missing. Together this would be deemed equivalent to a four-year bachelor's degree.

There's a limited number of H1B visas issued each year. For example, for the year 2004 there were only 65,000 issued.

HOW TO APPLY
A Labor Condition Application (LCA) is first filed with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Then a Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, with H Supplement, is filed with the USCIS Regional Service Center having jurisdiction over the city of your intended employment. A fee of $190 is required and the petition must be filed by your US employer. Once approved, the USCIS will forward the petition to the US consulate in Britain.

For those individuals seeking to perform temporary services in a specialty occupation, the petition must be filed with the following documentation:

a) An approved LCA from the DOL

b) Documentation that the job qualifies as a special occupation*.

c) A copy of your degree which must be evaluated and certified as a education equivalency to a US baccalaureate degree or higher.

d) A copy of any required licence to practice the occupation in the state of intended employment.

e) A copy of any written contract between the employer and you or a summary of the terms under which you will be employed if there is no written agreement.

*A special occupation is one that requires the application of highly-specialised knowledge and the attainment of a baccalaureate degree or higher as a minimum requirement for entry. The employer may show that the nature of the job can be performed only by an individual with the required degree.

Visa Duration
Approved for an initial period of up to three years, with a maximum of six.

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