Types of Visas Offered by the US

Types of Non-Immigrant Visa Categories

The given below are categories of non-immigrant visa of US: 

Types of Immigrant Visa 

Given below are the types of Immigrant Visa: 

• Family-Based Immigration: It allows people of another country to live permanently in the U.S. if sponsored by a close relative who is a U.S. citizen or green card holder. There are two types: Immediate Relative visas for close family with no yearly limit, and the other one is Family Preference visas for more distant relatives with a limit each year. 
• Fiancé Visa: The K-1 fiancé visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows a foreign fiancé of a U.S. citizen to enter the U.S. for marriage. The couple must marry within 90 days of arrival. After marriage, the foreign spouse can apply for a green card (permanent residency).
•   Employment-Based Immigration: These visas allow foreign workers to live and work permanently in the U.S. These visas are specially given to the people with special skills, education, or investment ability. There are five main categories of this visa (E1–E5) that are based on job type, ability, or role.
• Returning Resident Visa: This visa is for U.S. green card holders who stayed outside the U.S. for more than one year without a re-entry permit. To keep permanent resident status, they must prove the long stay was beyond their control. Normally, green card holders must return within one year. Extensions cannot be granted from outside the U.S. without this visa. 
• Adoption: An Adoption Visa is used in intercountry adoptions, where a U.S. citizen adopts a child from another country. It allows the child to enter the U.S. and live permanently with their adoptive family. This process is done legally and aims to provide stable, loving homes for children in need. The U.S. considers it only when domestic options in the child’s country are not suitable. 

U.S. Immigrant Visas Application Process

The immigrant visa application process includes the applicant and the petitioner. For instance, if you want to apply to shift to the US through employment-based immigration, then you and your employer have to be involved in the entire application process. Employment-based immigration is different than a temporary work visa.

Step 1: In the first step, the petitioner is involved that the US citizen or a permanent resident in US who will sponsoring your immigration to the US. They should file Form I-30 that the petition for Alien Relative.

Step 2: You and the petitioner will both be participating in the second phase. Your case will be forwarded to the National Visa Centre and recorded in the event that the petition is improved. You will receive a welcome letter once the procedure has been successfully finished. You will find the login information you need to access your case in the Consular Electronic Application Centre in the welcome letter. Additionally, this platform allows you to edit your account. You must next pay the fees and provide the necessary documentation.

Step 3: There are two types of processing fees which you need to pay:

1.  Affidavit of Support Fee
2. Immigrant Visa Application Processing Fee

You need the petitioner at this point of time because the payment needs to be made from a US savings account.

Step 4: In this step, only the petitioner will be involved. The petitioner will sign an Affidavit of Support and accept financial responsibility for the applicant. In such case, the petitioner will be the sponsorer. In case, the sponsor has insufficient income, a joint sponsor will be involved.

Step 5: The petitioner needs to gather proof of their finance and other important documents.

Step 6: Here, the applicant will be involved. The person needs to fill in the online application form and make the fee payment. Once the payment is done, you need to take the printout of the receipt to appear for visa interview.

Step 7: You have to gather all the required civil documents which support your application stage.

Step 8: Both the parties should be present at this point of time. The documents should be saves for later. The file types should be in .jpg, .pdf, and .jpeg formats.

Step 9: Next, you have to upload the scanned copies of documents.

Step 10: You will receive a notification in your registered email address about the date and venues of your visa interview.

Step 11: Appear for your interview.

US Visa Processing Time

The processing time for a US immigrant visa is three to five weeks. On the other hand, in case of US non-immigrant visa, the processing time is seven to ten days. So, the applicants should apply for the visa three months in advance.