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The USA FAQ

117K views 50 replies 37 participants last post by  Top 35 
#1 · (Edited)
This is a work in progress....

[Okay, about time we had an FAQ!

General plan is:
It's a sticky at the top of our forum.
If you want to contribute to our body of knowledge, just post a reply on this thread and I'll cut and paste it into this post so it's not all spread out.
All contributions, however small, will be credited at the bottom of the thread.]

Immigration

Abbreviations
CIMT - crime involving moral turpitude
CBP - Customs and Border Protection
DCF - direct consular filing
DV - diversity visa
GC - green card
IV - immigrant visa
NIV - non-immigrant visa
NIW - national interest waiver
POE - port of entry
PR - permanent resident/residency
UKC - UK citizen
USC - US citizen
USCIS - United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
VWP - visa waiver program


Overview


Visiting
VWP B-1/2
ESTA

Immigrant visas
Family sponsorship
US citizens may sponsor: spouse, fiancée, parents, sons and daughters, and siblings. The last two categories will involve a substantial wait.
Permanent residents may sponsor: spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters. All categories involve a substantial wait.

Diversity visa
Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available 50,000 permanent resident visas annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Eligibility depends on place of birth, not citizenship, but you can claim the birth place of your spouse or, in some limited case, that of your parents.

Excluded countries for 2010 are: BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, PERU, POLAND, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM.

Official entry site is: Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery and entry in the lottery is free.

EB-5

Non-immigrant visas
Family sponsorship

Non-immigrant visas
F-1 and J-1 visas


Practicalities


Driving License
Licenses are issued by state governments, and requirements and rules vary. You can find information by Googling for 'statename drivers license' and choosing the site that ends with '.gov'

You can drive on your home country license, as long as it has a picture, for a limited time after arrival. Each state will have a time limit for how long you can live there without getting a new license. This applies to us, too, when we move from state to state. Validity varies. Florida licenses are good for seven years, some states make you renew every year.

Bank Account
You are not required to have a Social Security Number in order to open a bank account; however, once you receive one you will be asked to provide the number to the bank.


Schools


Social Security Number
if you are ineligible to receive a Social Security number, you may open certain interest-bearing accounts that enable you to obtain an ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) which, for most intents and purposes, functions the same as an SSN

You are not required to provide your SSN to any private company that requests it (such as cell phone companies, cable companies, etc); however, they reserve the right to not do business with you if you do refuse to provide it.

Do not apply for the SSN until you have been lawfully in the US for at least 10 days. Your information takes approximately this long to trickle from the Port of Entry (POE) to the national systems such as Social Security. If you apply before the Social Security Administration can see your information on their screen, your application will likely be set aside and might take months to receive the card. If you wait ten days after arrival, your information should be visible in their system and you will receive the card between 2-6 weeks.

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Credits: Tiffani, synthia
 
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#41 ·
Hi guys

I'm looking for some advice on how to Emigrate to Canada or the US.
I'm a mature UK student in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, I will finish my Beng Honors Degree in June 2015. But previous to this I worked on the overhead lines up and down the UK for over 8 years this ranged from 11kV pole lines TO 400kV transmission lines.
I will be 35 when i graduate will that be a problem and how would i go about getting a job
Kind Regards
Steve
 
#42 ·
I have the same problem in the UK being a US citizen. I have a university degree, and many, many years of experience in social services management, but cannot put this to use in the UK. Working entry level jobs in the field for a year so far. I can't get sponsored for gaining qualifications in the UK because (catch 22) I have a university degree, and only non degree holding employees can access the training. : (
 
#47 ·
My current location is India and I am looking for h1 sponsor. I have almost 8 years of work experience in Clinical SAS as statistical programmer. Wanted to know what could be the best way to find jobs/employers who offers sponsorship to international candidates ?
 
#50 ·
Hi there,
You say that your medical qualifications aren't valid in the US? How did you find that out and how on Earth are you coping with it?
I've got a PhD in Physics from South Africa, which also took the better part of 10 years to get. Hopefully that will be recognised in the US or I start from scratch again.
 
#51 ·
Working with VWP in the USA

Hi!!!

I would like to know if a EU worker paid by a EU company could work in the USA developing tasks as assembly of electrical installations or other type assembly work in the home of customer located in American territory.

Thanks a lot!!!
 
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