In addition to applying for a green card on their own, foreign nationals can be sponsored by an employer. When an employer sponsors an employee for a green card, that...

Nonimmigrants working in the United States on temporary work visas are granted a number of employment rights regardless of their visa category. While workers in some...

Many visas available for international business owners are restricted by the owners’ nationality or the amount of money invested. However, the L-1A visa does not have these limitations, and is a good way to transfer multinational executives and managers into the U.S. The L-1A is also a helpful visa for international businesses hoping to expand into the US since it can be used to transfer manager and executive employees to either a new or existing business.

Each year, the date of April 1st is hotly anticipated by immigration attorneys and our clients due to the rush to submit applications for H-1B visas.

What is an H-1B visa?

An H-1B visa is a non-immigrant employment visa that is valid for a three-year period, beginning on October 1st, the start of the fiscal year for U.S Citizenship and Immigration Service (U.S.C.I.S.). April 1st is the first day that an employer may submit a petition on behalf of a worker for the following October 1st start date.

Beginning on May 26, 2015, new rule changes will allow many in H-4 visa status to file for a work permit. H-4 visa holders are the spouses and children of employees in the U.S. on an H-1B visa (a temporary visa for professional and high skilled workers).  H-4 status does not bestow work authorization, which has resulted in personal and economic hardship for many foreign nationals who are often as highly skilled and educated as their H-1B spouses.

Certain individuals who are in the United States temporarily can apply for work authorization. Many of our clients qualify for work authorization under the following applications, programs or policies:

Most work-based visas and green cards are tied to a particular job with a particular employer. Many times losing your job, or even being benched without pay for lack of a project, results in a lapse or violation of immigration status. Yet, there is often a solution if you wish to remain in the US, especially if you can find a new employer willing to assist with the immigration process. We have helped many clients in this situation file new visa petitions, transfer their pending green card cases, or otherwise change their status.

Is it possible to get a green card based on outstanding achievement in sports, the arts, business, or the sciences?

The short answer is yes. At Antonini and Cohen Immigration Law Group we have obtained green cards for many athletes, artists, scientists, professors and business executives who have major accomplishments in their field. This avenue is called an “extraordinary ability” visa. It is intended for “the small percentage of individuals who have risen to the very top of their field of endeavor.”