Austin daca lawyer
U.S. Work Visas
& Green cards
Would you like to live and work in the U.S.? With any number of work-based visa and green card options, you can pursue your career, seize the business opportunities available in one of the world’s largest economies, and ensure a safe and productive home life for your family in the United States.
Call us now to schedule your intro call with the attorney to discuss your work-based visa and green card options.
BUsiness Immigration
frequently asked quesTIons
austin daca lawyer
HOW CAN I LIVE AND WORK LAWFULLY IN THE U.S.?
There are many ways to live and work lawfully in the United States while you continue to pursue your career. You can apply for a nonimmigrant visa, which gives you temporary work status but will not lead to a green card or citizenship. Or you can apply for an immigrant visa, which gives you U.S. residency and the option to apply for U.S. citizenship after several years.
DO I NEED AN EMPLOYER SPONSOR TO GET A WORK VISA OR GREEN CARD?
Not necessarily. There are many different types of work visas and employment-based green cards. Some of them require that your employer sponsors you for the visa or green card. In that case, your employer is the client of our law firm. For other visas, you may be able to be your own sponsor and create your own path for your U.S. immigration future. In that case, you would be the client of our law firm.
HOW CAN I BE MY OWN SPONSOR FOR A WORK VISA OR GREEN CARD?
Several U.S. work visas and green card options allow you to be your own sponsor and apply for your visa or green card without the help of an employer sponsor. These include the E-1 treaty trader visa for professionals engaging in trade with the U.S., the E-2 treaty investor visa for business owners, and the TN visa for Canadian and Mexican professionals. There are also several self-sponsored employment green card options, including the EB-1 green card for individuals of extraordinary ability and achievement and EB-2 green card for professionals who do work of national importance to the United States.
CAN I QUALIFY FOR AN INVESTOR VISA WITHOUT SPENDING A MILLION DOLLARS?
Absolutely! With the E-2 treaty investor visa, you can be your own sponsor and get a work visa without investing a million dollars. The investment amount needed for an E-2 is much smaller than you might imagine, which makes the E-2 Investor Visa a great opportunity for individuals and families who want to live and work in the U.S., but who don’t have a family member or business to sponsor their application.
There is NO minimum investment amount required to get an E-2 investor visa. Instead, to get an E-2 visa you have to invest as much money as is needed to properly run your business. The minimum investment amount depends on the type of business you own and run. If you’re opening a flower shop, $50,000 may be more than sufficient to properly open and operate your new business. If you’re opening a car manufacturing plant, you’ll likely need quite a bit more to properly get the business going.
DO I HAVE TO LEAVE THE U.S. TO APPLY FOR A NEW VISA OR GREEN CARD?
Maybe. Some work-based visas and green cards can be applied for through a process called “change of status.” That means that if you are already in the U.S. with a valid immigration status, you can switch to another status without leaving the country. Other visa and green card options require that you may have to leave the U.S. and process your case in your home country.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET MY WORK VISA OR GREEN CARD?
It depends on what you are applying for, how complex or risky your case is, and the current processing times in your home country – if you’ll be applying from outside the United States. The attorney can help you understand the options for your case and the various timelines for each option that may be available to you.
CAN MY SPOUSE GET A WORK PERMIT IF MY VISA IS APPROVED?
Maybe. This depends on the kind of visa you have. For example, the spouse of an E-2 investor visa holder receives an unrestricted work permit and can work anywhere in the U.S. But the spouse of a TN visa holder is not allowed to work while in the U.S. unless he or she has another immigration status not related to the spouses’ TN visa.
CAN MY KIDS GO TO SCHOOL IN THE U.S. BASED ON MY WORK VISA?
Yes. You can apply for visas for your children under 21 based on your approved work visa. With these visas, which will remain valid as long as your visa is valid, your kids can live in the U.S. and attend U.S. public schools, which is prohibited for kids in the U.S. on B-2 visitor visas.
WHAT IS THE BEST WORK VISA OPTION FOR ME AND MY FAMILY?
There are numerous different green card and visa options and a qualified, experienced immigration attorney can help you evaluate your options. Give us a call at +1 (512) 675-2945 to schedule your 20-minute intro call with the attorney. During this call, you will meet our managing attorney, Kalani Hawks Villafranca, get a better feel for our office, understand more about our client service model, and get a brief overview of the options that may be available for your case.