So what is the difference between a non-immigrant and immigrant in the US and thus the immigrant and non-immigrant visa as it is a different classification than most countries’ systems?

The Non-Immigrant Visa

Well a non-immigrant is anyone who had to establish prior to coming to the US that their permanent residence is outside the US and that they intend to return their after their temporary stay is over.

So of course non-immigrants includes tourists, including those on the visa waiver program, but this also includes those on H-1B visas, E-3 visas, J-1 Work and Travel Visas, J-1 Internship Visas, L-1 visas, TN visas, F-1 visas, B1/B2 visas, etc. All of these people in one form or another have to prove to their US consular or embassy officer that they have strong ties to their country of residence and intend to return their at the end of their US stay.

S0me visas like the H-1B and L-1, have what is known as a dual-intent provision which basically means they can apply for permanent status via their employer while on their non-immigrant status. The E-3 visa in practical terms seems to allow this too although it is not explicitly stated like the H-1B visa for example.

So what constitutes Strong Ties?

There is no set definition and the practical workings of this seem to differ greatly by country and also where a person may be born and even their heritage.

For example someone born and raised in Canada or the UK seem to have to prove little to prove they will return home as it assumed as they come from a rich Western country, probably with strong family and property/asset ties to home, they will return.

On the other hand someone who is from a 3rd world country or is a foreign born and raised citizen of say Australia, seems to have a higher burden of proof to prove strong ties and that they will return home as the US views them as a higher risk. Many view this as a racist policy and in some ways it really is but that tends to be the nature of modern immigration systems in Western Countries.

A strong tie can be;
- family members all residing in home resident country
- bank accounts held in country
- property ownership or significant assets like cars, businesses, etc.
- or anything seen as a compelling reason for a person to return home

As I said the burden for someone to prove this at their consular interview is really dependent on where they come from and sometimes how strict their assessing consular officer may be.

Due to way the regulations are written, it is up to the non-immigrant to prove these strong ties at the discretion of the consulate  or otherwise you can be denied a non-immigrant visa under condition 241(b).

You can re-apply for a non-immigrant visa if you are denied for this reason but you have to show further evidence of your strong ties and your compelling reason to return back to your home country of residence.

The Immigrant Visa

There is less to say about these types of visa as in practical terms these are permanent residency visas of some description. They fall under 3 categories being;
- Family Sponsored (direct relatives only)
- Employer Sponsored
- Special Category

You can read about all of these categories further and their defining characteristics at our How Do I Get A Green Card post and of course about the Green Card Lottery which is another way people can obtain permanent status in the United States.

Thus people in this section do not have to prove ties to their home country as their intention is to reside in the US. However you should note there are limited quotas with most of these visas as well as strict criteria to obtain one and long wait periods particularly in the family sponsored section for certain direct relatives.

Many people apply to transfer to an Immigrant Visa from a Non-Immigrant Visa like H-1B but depending on the country of residence this can also be a long wait as well.

I hope this helped clarify the difference between Immigrant and Non-Immigrant status in the US and this confusing part of the US Immigration system!

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

The INT and PCT programs are part of a broad group of programs called Trainee programs. Also under this umbrella include;
- medical trainees
- veterinary trainees
- pharmaceutical trainees
- aviation trainees
- academic/research trainees

With many of the above programs, you are generally sponsored directly by the institution hosting you like a University or Aviation Training facility and not by a 3rd party organization. This is different to most of the J-1 visa program as a 3rd party organization generally has to sponsor your visa.

I will say for your information that many people use these J-1 visa programs a prelude to life in the US before moving on to a full working visa sponsorship like the H-1B visa or E-3 Visa. The J-1 visa also has a J-2 dependent visa for generally spouses of trainees to present in the US as well. The J-2 dependent visa has the added bonus allowing spouses to work as well, which makes it more flexible in some ways than the H-4 visa which is the partner visa of the H-1B visa.

I will focus on the INT and PCT programs as that covers most people who want to work in the US who may be have qualifications in business, arts, design, fashion, media, engineering, IT, science, law, etc. So you can see there is a broad range and can cover most people.

Internship (INT) Program:

• The student must be enrolled on a full-time basis at a nationally accredited tertiary institution like a college or university but they can start their role up to 6 months from their graduation.
• The person must be at least 18 years old.
• The person must have sufficient English language ability to function normally in a business setting.
• The student must be at least one year into their chosen field of study and the end result of their study must result in a degree, certificate, qualification, etc. like a Bachelors Degree
• The trainee program should have correlation with the student’s course of study (this is loosely applied given that most roles have such vague job descriptions)
• You can go on the INT program multiple times, however it has to be shown that the new program is not a duplicate of a previous program

Professional Career Training (PCT) Program:

• The trainee has to be graduates of a tertiary institutions with at least 1 years non-US work experience related to their qualification OR have at least 5 years work experience
• The trainee must be a high school graduate
• The trainee should be between 20 and 40 years of age.
• Like the INT program, the person must have sufficient English language ability to function normally in a business setting.
• Also similar to the INT program, if this is a subsequent PCT program it has to be shown it is not duplicative of previous training or work experience
• Since 2007, a 2 year Bearer Rule applies to all countries. (aka 2 year residency rule or 2 year home residency rule) This basically means after a PCT program you have to remain outside the US for at least 2 years before being allowed to apply for any other US visa (not including visa waiver program).
• There is a 2 year residency rule waiver option in certain circumstances

It is up to the Sponsor Organization like CIEE, Inter Exchange, Intrax, etc. to confirm that the company hosting you is legitimate, as is your role and your background information. To verify your job details some sponsor organizations only have locations within the US and do it all from there where as others have offices or partner organizations all over the world who do a lot of the verification of identity and qualifications work locally.

That organization also has to validate your Insurance poilicy which is mandatory for the J-1 (and J-2) visa holders. The type of health insurance only has to be a travel type policy but must cover your entire time in the US. Some companies like CIEE actually administer their own policy which is mandatory for you to take up should they be your sponsor.

We also have more information on How to Apply for your Social Security Number as well as general Health Insurance Information in the US.

There are a number of costs associated with being able to get the J-1 visa and these include;

- Program Fees to your Sponsor Organization and/or Local Affiliate (generally this is calculated by how many months your program is can be up to $1,500 for a full 18 month program last time I looked). Often this may include your Insurance as well
- Insurance coverage if not included above. (your sponsor organization will often give you a list of approved providers if they don’t include themselves)
- SEVIS Fee (I-901 form) which stands for Student Exchange Visitor Information System (currently $200 for most people but is occasionally free for some government sponsored cultural positions)
- US Consulate/Embassy Application costs (or if within US, USCIS transfer visa fees)

Some Important Definitions and Information for this Trainee category of J-1 Visas:

- DS-2019 Form – This is the form provided to you by your sponsor organization after they have approved your position that you have to take to the consulate for your visa application and that you show when you enter the United States. The number on that form is an important identifying number.
- Letter of Good Standing – If you decide to travel outside the US during your J-1 visa program, you need to get a letter from your sponsor organization that you may need to show US Customs when you re-enter the US that your visa is fine as far as your sponsor is concerned (more often than not you won’t be asked for this but is important to have)
- Sponsor Organization – As mentioned for INT and PCT, you will be sponsored by a 3rd party organization who is registered with the US State Department. They will report your progress and other details periodically
- Host Company – If you are on the INT or PCT program, the company that hires you is not called your employer but your Host company
- SEVIS – As mentioned aboved this system fee is something you have to pay, It came in after September 11, 2001, to keep track of high school, work and travel, trainee and other student/cultural visa holders.
- 2 Year Bearer Rule – As I also said above with the PCT (and also programs like high school exchange particularly if US Government funded) you will have the 2 year residency rule applied to be outside US once your program completes. The link I attached is how you can potentially get this waived but it can be a very long process and not always successful. Before mid 2007, uS consulates abroad would arbitrarily apply this rule to visa (usually always to non Western countries citizens) but now it is mandatory for all countries
- Taxes – The good news on the J-1 visa if you are earning an income is that you DO NOT have to pay either Social Security (aka FICA or payroll tax) or Medicare taxes. This is a great saving as Social Security taxes are a lot and given the people on work visas like H1B, E3 and L1 have to pay these taxes with no access to the benefits, it certainly is fair for the J-1 visa holders.

In terms of finding a postion. For the most part part it is best to use the services of your Sponsor Organization or Local Affiliate as they have a list of companies willing to hire foreigners. Often the fact you are using their list while probably making it easier to land a role mean that the Program Fees you pay will be on the higher side of the numbers described above.
Many people avoid paying the higher program fees by searching on their own which can be difficult from abroad but certainly not impossible and thousands do it each year. For the best resources as to where to find a trainee or internship position, use this link.

Finally in terms of salary. You should note many, if not most roles are unpaid or often paid with a basic stipend or living expense but certainly not enough to live AND entertain yourself on. Particularly in the current economic climate, many companies are often looking for cheap labor. However there are many fully paid positions as well, you just have to fight harder
I will cover this is an upcoming post but negotiation of salary is a big part of US culture, so if you play your cards correctly you can often get more than what is advertised and certainly more that what may be initially offered.

See you soon in the USA

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

Of course this list is just as relevant to E-3 visa holders and even L-1 or J-1 Interns as they show the companies willing in large numbers to hire foreigners and more open to the sponsorship process.

There is do freely available list I am aware of for E-3 visas (they may for all I know lump into this list).

There is also no list for L-1 I am aware of and reportedly somewhere in the vicinity of 400,000 annually come on this visa in recent times. (there is no quota for L-1). However as this is an internal company transfer for multi-national companies that you have to be working at for at least 1 year, I am sure the companies you work for and apply to should be able to tell you more about transfer opportunities down the track to the US.

This list of course changes from year to year but the majority of companies you will see will consistently employ large numbers of foreigners and sponsor a lot of visas. Over the next few days we will reveal more of the list including tips for applying to the different types of companies on the list and the sectors they are in.

You will notice that this Top 100 is dominated, no unexpectedly, by companies in the IT sector. As that for many years has been where the shortage of US talent has been. Thus many people from India in the last decade especially have dominated the ranks of the H-1B visa approvals.

There are also a lot of academic institutions in this list as well which interesting because many of these organizations despite sponsoring a lot of visas will not have them counted in 65,000 quota!
This is of course great information for you when applying there as your chances improve greatly of securing your visa if offered a position so you are not competing against other applicants.

(to note many but not all non-profit, government and academic institutions do not have a quota binding them as the private instituitions do with 65,000 (+20,000 ADE) quota.

This is exactly what I was talking about when denouncing sites like H1Base as worthless and bordering on SCAM sites as they will send you this same list as part of their package as a major item. The only difference between them and me is they will charge you hundreds of dollars for it.

The full list actually contains close to 25,000 companies for last year so there are plenty of options just from the current batch of visa hiring pool from last year. However as mentioned in my recent guest author post about H-1 Visa Quota Predictions and the necessity to get your application in on April 1.

Ok without further delay here are the Top 100 US Visa Sponsoring Organizations from last year.

I hope this initial list is of benefit to you all and look forward to more of this list in the days to come

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

The Seattle Times and many other news organization have being reporting on the H1B visa fraud that has been rife whereby companies mainly in the IT sector have been illegally employing immigrants under the terms of the H1B visa.

Without going into to many details, simply put, the rules of this visa state you must be;
- gainfully employed by your approved employer
- working only on approved job sites for extended periods
- paid the prevailing wage for your profession and location
- be a full employee and some sort of contractor or consultant paid for specific projects
- be treated as any other employee under all relevant labor laws

Essentially these firms that have been engaging in this visa fraud for years, have been violating many and sometimes all of the  above requirements.

One of the most common is “benching” employees and treating them as contractors and only paying them when they are on a specific project. Then often taking a portion of the salary as some sort of agency fee and threatening deportation and bad conditions to employees who dare to complain.

A trick they often engage in is to force employees to sign documents to say they have ill for long periods and unable to work to legally get around the fact they have to continue to pay them the salary stated in the initial visa petition.

Now in some cases also, applicants and immigrant employees have also being engaging in fraud by forging credentials, degrees, etc. but usually that is in full cooperation with a company who is well aware this is the case as ultimately a company should always know whom they are employing and what their background is.

Like with Ellis Island 100-150 years ago and following World War 1 and World War 2, waves of immigrants do want to begin a new life in the US and give the best to their families. However today it is much of corporate America that is screwing these International workers and at the same time their American counterparts by becoming involved in this conduct.

US workers are angry that they are losing jobs to immigrant workers and are angry that they are being laid off while immigrants are retaining their jobs. You can understand this type of anger and definitely sympathize with it.

However when elements of the media and especially members of all levels of government engage in spreading falsehoods and a “blame the immigrant” mentality to cover up their own crappy performance and policies, that is when you get mad!

This sort of public spin has of course gone on for hundreds of years towards the Irish, the Greeks and Italians, the Hispanics and now the educated Asians but in the end it is all these groups of people and numerous other groups that make the USA what it is.

A company like Google would not exist if it wasn’t for this same immigrant story and think how many Americans it employs all across the country let alone the immigrants which intern has create a whole industry which further employs people and so the cycle continues.

I came across a site called Immigrant Voice which is another site along with this one trying to help people on H-1B visas and all the others like E-3, L-1, F-1, J-1, etc. fight their battles in an already tough environment.

So please share you story here so we can all learn..

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

The US Health System is first and foremost a business and secondary a process for caring for people!

So while there a few exceptions, most processes follow that rule and also is why the corporate players in this industry make a lot of money  (i.e. owners of clinics, pharmaceutical executives, owners of pharmacies, etc.).

As foreigners (or non=immigrants as we are classified) on a working visa like H-1B, L-1, E-3, etc. or other types of visa like J-1 we also have an additional set of things we need to be wary of when living in the US. Some states like Massachussets make health insurance mandatory either via the employer or paying yourself.

For the true working visas; H-1B, L-1, E-3, etc. there is no specific requirement that you have health insurance. In most cases you will be with employer who either mostly or fully pay your monthly premiums on your behalf for medical, prescription, dental and vision insurance. At the corporate negotiated rates this probably amounts to hundreds of dollars a month (probably minimum $350-$400/month for all three).

There is no public health system in the US…Repeat….There is no public health system in the US

So If your employer does not provide you with private health insurance and you don’t take it out yourself, you are not covered for anything in any situation. Should you choose to visit a doctor for a general check up at the casual rate, your bill can run into the hundreds of dollars!

While I will give you further tips in another post, even if you have health insurance, the insurers are looking to deny you coverage at any possible opportunity so don’t assume automatically they will pay for your visit. Like I said it is a business firstly!

So stay tuned in the future as I will tell you how to frame doctor visits and write letters to insurance companies to appeal their ridiculous judgments.

For the J-1 visa holders, your health insurance is mandatory in most cases and either via your sponsor organization or an approved insurer you will need to pay for a travel type insurance policy. (occasionally some interns will have nice employers that provide them full insurance but this is rare).

This travel policy generally is designed to cover only the basics when you are truly sick or hurt performing general activities. It is not for general check ups, issues with sexuality/pregnancy, usually only emergency minimal dental, no optical coverage, no alternative care or chiropractic, etc.

Depending on your policy for all visa holders , you will also have to pay what is known as a co-pay (co-payment) for your doctor visits and this ranges mostly between $0-50 depending on your plan. So often even with full coverage insurance that applies to your visit you will still have to pay money! This increases even more if you are talking about hospital visits and surgeries.

I know this post sounds like all doom and gloom…well it is for a large proportion of US citizens as well but I will do my best in my posts to help you navigate through the mess!

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.