Working in the United States

Interview with Dr Avi Carmel

If you have made the decision to move to the US from your home country, one of the first considerations is immigration. You will need a visa to travel to the US for work, but the type you need depends on your skills and the length of your stay.

I sat down with one of Israel’s experts on the issue who lately returned to Israel after teaching in some of the US most reputable Universities. He explained to me the logistic challenges of working in the US receiving work visas in the US.

There are several types of US work visas depending on the purpose and the kind of work that you want to do.

Here are the types of US Temporary Work Visas:

H1B visa: Person in Specialty Occupation. To work in a specialty occupation. Requires a higher education degree or its equivalent. Includes fashion models of distinguished merit and ability and government-to-government research and development, or co-production projects administered by the Department of Defence.

H-3 visa: Trainee or Special Education visitor. To receive training, other than graduate medical or academic, that is not available in the trainee’s home country or practical training programs in the education of children with mental, physical, or emotional disabilities.

I visa: Representatives of Foreign Media. The visa allows journalists and those who work in the information or media sector to complete their work while in the US.

L1 visa: Intracompany Transferee. To work at a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of the current employer in a managerial or executive capacity, or in a position requiring specialized knowledge.  Individual must have been employed by the same employer abroad continuously for 1 year within the three preceding years

P-1 visa: Individual or Team Athlete, or Member of an Entertainment Group. To perform at a specific athletic competition as an athlete or as a member of an entertainment group. Requires an internationally recognized level of sustained performance. Includes persons providing essential services in support of the above individual.

P-2 visa: Artist or Entertainer (Individual or Group). For performance under a reciprocal exchange program between an organization in the United States and an organization in another country. Includes persons providing essential services in support of the above individual.

P-3 visa: Artist or Entertainer (Individual or Group). To perform, teach or coach under a program that is culturally unique or a traditional ethnic, folk, cultural, musical, theatrical, or artistic performance or presentation. Includes persons providing essential services in support of the above individual.

R-1 visa: Temporary Nonimmigrant Religious Workers. To help foreign nationals to come to the US and work in a religious organization. Only ministers and those who are directly tied to religious work are qualified.

O1 Visa: Visa for persons with extraordinary abilities. The O1 visa is for those who show expert knowledge in science, business, education, athletics, or art, including international recognition for their work.

Labor certification approval by the Department of Labor (DOL)

Some of the work visas, more specifically the H-1B, H-1B1, H-2A, and H-2B also require your employer to have a certification from DOL. Your employer should apply for the DOL on your behalf before even filing the petition with USCIS. The US government requires this certification as proof that US employers need foreign workers. They have to prove that they cannot fill those work positions with US employees. In addition, the certification is needed in order to ensure that temporary foreign workers are not having an impact on job opportunities for US citizens in a negative way.

Another type of nonimmigrant category that permits employment is the E-1/E-2 treaty trader or investor classification. The E-1 treaty trader visa allows a foreign national to engage in substantial international trade in the U.S. The E-2 treaty investor visa allows an individual to enter the U.S. for the purpose of actively investing a substantial amount in an enterprise.

The trader/investor must have the nationality of a treaty country. At least 50 percent of the U.S. entity for E-1 trader or E-2 investor visas must be owned by non-U.S. resident nationals of a treaty country.

Employees of traders and investors who are executives, supervisors or “essential workers” also may obtain E-1/E-2 visas. These employees must have the same nationality as the employer. In addition, spouses of E-1/E-2 visa holders are eligible to apply for employment authorization.

F-1 VISA (Work Visa for those with a Student Visa)

Job candidates who are currently students may be able to work pursuant to their student visas. While primarily for the purpose of studying in the U.S., the F-1 visa also entitles the holder to seek employment relating to his or her field of study. Typically, students work with the international student adviser at their school to obtain F-1 employment authorization.

For internships or work/study positions during the school year, students can apply for Curricular Practical Training. The program must be offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with schools.

For students who wish to work outside of their academic program, Optional Practical Training (OPT) may be granted. F-1 students may engage in up to 12 months of OPT pre- and/or post-graduation. However, certain F-1 students who have earned a degree in a science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) field are eligible to apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion OPT employment authorization if they meet certain requirements.

Refusal

In order to rectify a refusal, you must follow the directions on the specific-colored form you received back. This might involve providing more documentation or simply waiting for the additional processing to be completed.

214 (b) Refusal

This type of refusal is not permanent and can be overcome if an applicant provides more evidence that demonstrates the individual’s ties to another country outside of the United States. The interview is an important aspect and can help to demonstrate that you plan on leaving the US after your visit. However, there are some cases in which an individual will not qualify until they experience a change of circumstances in their home country.

What is Degree or Credential Evaluation?

A degree evaluation is a report that compares your foreign education with the U.S. education benchmarks and standards.

There are two types of education evaluation packages usually provided by most credential evaluation services: a general document-by-document package and a course-by-course evaluation. For the immigration purpose, the USCIS usually only needs general document-by-document credential evaluation reports. Course-by-course evaluation is commonly used for U.S. university or graduate school applications, but not required for visa or green card applications with the USCIS.

If foreign work experience and skills need to be verified, some credential evaluation services also provide expert opinion or professional work experience evaluation. Professional work experience evaluation is often required when the U.S. job offer is not directly related to one’s degree education. This type of credential evaluation report evaluates both an individual’s professional work history and educational credentials to establish a bachelor’s degree equivalency.

What is a K-3 Visa?

The K-3 visa is a temporary (non-immigrant) visa for the foreign-citizen spouse of a U.S. citizen. A U.S. citizen may request the use of the K-3 visa process to shorten the physical separation with his or her foreign citizen spouse.

Spouse of US Citizen with k-3 visa

After obtaining the K-3 visa, the foreign spouse may enter the United States to await approval of the immigrant visa petition (Form I-130) or adjust status. Most K-3 visa recipients choose to adjust status to a permanent resident once inside the U.S. Eligible children of K-3 visa applicants receive K-4 visas. Both K-3 and the K-4 visa recipients may stay in the United States while immigrant visa petitions are pending approval by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Professor Avi Mozes-Carmel studied at Oxford University, Private and Public International Law. was a Senior Research Fellow at the Center of Conflict Resolution at Salisbury University, formerly the Campus College Chair and Local Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for the South Florida Campus of the University of Phoenix. He is a Professor of Research Methods and Conflict Management. Dr. Mozes-Carmel earned his Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from the Department of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Nova Southeastern University. He earned his Doctor of Law from the University of Florida and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. Dr. Mozes-Carmel gained more than 30 years of practical experience as an attorney, mediator, and arbitrator.