I am a United States citizen with a Colombian girlfriend who I hope to
bring to the States to visit. I understand that getting her a visa is
difficult, and we are trying to explore the best option. My own
research thus far shows that a number of options are available,
including the F1 student visa, the H1-B specialty workers visa, and
the K1 fiancée visa (there are also regular tourist and business
visas, but by all accounts they appear unlikely to be approved.)
It appears that the K1 visa has the best chance of approval, however
it comes with a 90 day time limit within which we must be married
(something we are not yet ready for.) We are therefore between the F1
student visa and H1-B specialty workers visa.
My question is: Should we go for the F1 student visa or H1-B
specialty workers visa?
I would like for the following related questions to be answered as well:
1) If we go for the F1 student visa, what the chances the request will
be approved by both the BCIS and the embassy in Bogotá?
2) If we go for the H1-B specialty workers visa, what are the chances
of finding a corporate sponsor?
3) For both visas, what are the common causes for denial?
4) For both visas, what can be done to maximize chances for approval?
I am glad to answer any background questions you may have. |
Request for Question Clarification by
aceresearcher-ga
on
13 Nov 2003 02:04 PST
Greetings, lost_n_confused!
What is your fiancée's educational and professional background?
Typically, to qualify for an H1-B visa, a candidate must have the
equivalent of a 4-year Bachelor's Degree or higher, or have a great
deal of experience at a profession requiring a high level of skill.
Regards,
aceresearcher
|
Clarification of Question by
lost_n_confused-ga
on
13 Nov 2003 07:21 PST
My GIRLFRIEND'S educational and professional background is that she
has a Masters degree in Economics and Finance and numerous years of
work experience in risk management, valuation or risk, and public debt
management. I am sure she meets the technical qualifications of the
H1-B as an economic and financial specialist.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
aceresearcher-ga
on
14 Nov 2003 18:38 PST
Hello again.
I did want to tell you that I spent a bit of time looking into this,
and I believe that much of your Question is unanswerable, at least in
this venue.
Your girlfriend's qualifications might very well be sufficient to
warrant an H1-B visa. However, as you have probably already realized,
for her to even have a chance at approval of an H1-B or an F-1, she
will have to have been either already offered a position with a
company/university who will sponsor her, or be able to provide proof
that she has already been accepted for a course of study at an
eligible college or university (and she will need to be able to prove
that she currently has a *serious* amount of money to fully cover her
tuition, room, board, and other expenses for the duration of that
course of study).
It is impossible to calculate her chances of finding a sponsor
company. Those chances will be greatly affected by the depth of her
research into finding potential sponsor companies, and by the quality
of her communications with those sponsors. In addition, no statistics
are kept on how many people try, and fail, to find H1-B sponsor
companies, so it's not even possible to provide a ballpark estimate.
It is also impossible to determine the chances that her visa request
will be approved without performing a close examination of a large
number of factors which are all unique to her as an individual -- many
of which are extremely confidential and should not be posted publicly
here on Google Answers.
I'd love to be able to help you, but honestly, what you need is a good
immigration lawyer. They can help you and your girlfriend determine
which visa is the best choice, and they can help you determine what
you can do to avoid common reasons for denial and to maximize her
chances of approval. She may only get one chance, and you wouldn't
want to risk botching the attempt due to lack of good, solid counsel.
My best wishes to you both,
aceresearcher
|
Clarification of Question by
lost_n_confused-ga
on
15 Nov 2003 09:22 PST
aceresearcher,
First of all, I very much appreciate the time you obviously put into
researching this issue. I have read your comments and agree that due
to the complexities, sensitivities, and "one shot" nature of this
situation, perhaps it calls for a good immigration lawyer rather than
the Google Adwords venue.
You have given me some good preliminary information and helped steer
me in the right direction. I very much appreciate your assistance and
wish you the best!
|
Request for Question Clarification by
aceresearcher-ga
on
15 Nov 2003 16:49 PST
I thought that you might find this information helpful:
The H-1B Visa - Visas for Professional Workers
http://www.expertlaw.com/library/pubarticles/Immigration/H-1B.html
F-1 Student Visas
http://www.expertlaw.com/library/pubarticles/Immigration/student_visas.html
What Consuls Look For
http://travel.state.gov/what_consuls_look_for.html
Fiscal Year 2002 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics
http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/statistics/IMM02yrbk/IMM2002list.htm
H-1B: Specialty Occupation Workers Statistical Reports
http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/services/employerinfo/h1b.htm
Good Luck!
ace
|
Clarification of Question by
lost_n_confused-ga
on
16 Nov 2003 13:27 PST
Those links are awesome. Thanks!!!
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