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United States of America issues various types of visas to aliens under two major categories, Non-immigrant and immigrant visas. The American government also has visa wavier programs for certain countries including Canada. While Aliens from these countries meeting the required criteria can enter U.S.A. without a visa, others must posses a visa issued by the authorities to come to U.S.
Depending on the purpose of your travel your visa is determined by the authorities. The temporary visitors are issued nonimmigrant visas for various purposes. Some of the popular nonimmigrant visas include those listed in the table below.
|
Visa |
Purpose |
A |
Diplomats and foreign government officials |
B-1 |
Athletes, Business visitors, and Domestic employees |
J |
Exchange visitors |
O |
Foreigners with extraordinary ability in Sciences, Arts, Education, Business or Athletics |
R |
Religious workers |
B-2 |
Medical treatment, Tourism, vacation, pleasure visitors |
I |
Media, journalists |
H-1B |
Physician |
L |
Intra-company transferees |
F, M |
Students: academic, vocational |
To become an immigrant, an alien should go through a multi-step process. As a first step, your employer or you relative must file the immigrant petition for approval from USCIS. Once you have your immigrant visa number and if you are already in U.S. you can apply for the permanent resident status. Else you will be notified to visit US consulate to get your immigrant visa after completion of the process.
The green card lottery is one other way to get permanent resident status in USA. However, this program is available only to citizens of countries that have least immigration rate to the USA. You can find more information about obtaining a permanent resident status in official websites of US government.
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