I want to come to the United States; where should I start?
Sep 28, 2022
See my top 5 suggestions on where to start.
One of the most popular questions I get often when I travel. In the YouTube era we live in, there is a lot of information that are not applicable to all or that is incomplete. Every situation is different so let’s focus on some common situations.
Most Europeans and Canadians can come into the USA with a 90 day visitor pass so to speak. As long as the person is free of any criminal charge they will be allowed in.
Not the case with everyone else.
Everyone else must apply for a temporary Non-Immigrant Visa such as a B1 tourism visa, an F1 student visa, or J1 cultural exchange visa. These visas have a few things in common:
- You must show you have a place in the USA you plan to stay in and money to pay for that place. Or a believable relationship with a friend in the USA who will pay for it. (sorry your online friend you never met does not hold weight).
- You must have evidence to convince the USA officer that your trip is only temporary. This means a few things.
- Who and what are you leaving back in your home country? A spouse? Small children? Your parents?
- Did your job give you permission to leave?
- Did you leave money in your bank accounts you need to come back for?
- Do you have a car or home you own and are leaving in your home country?
- Did you buy your roundtrip plane tickets yet?
- Why are you going to the USA? What program did you get accepted to? What are the details for the visit? This means you must have a plan.
- Never can you have employment with these visas. Any word you use that may make the officer think you will be working can deny your application.
So here are my top 5 suggestions on where to start:
- Organize yourself at home: Set up bank accounts, make deposits, find a job on the books that give you paychecks, get an apartment or room to lease or rent and get a written lease, enroll in school. The more you can show that you have a busy life at home to come back to the better evidence you have.
- Save money: proof you have funds to support yourself is a must even if you have a sponsor to pay for your trip. Here the idea is you need to have funds to at minimum eat for your self and get a taxi. A good number will be $500 for every week you plan to travel. **student visas need thousands since their program is at least 12 months long**
- Learn English: even if your visa is approved, when you arrive to the airport in the USA immigration will ask you all the same questions and many do not know your language. Be ready.
- Get a lawyer: preparing your documents and application correctly is the first thing an officer reviews before meeting you. It is your first impression. Give a good one.
- Be patient: the immigration system is very behind and each country has different processing times for these temporary visas. Anyone who wants to try this must know it will not happen so soon as they would like.
If you are anything like me, then we both want the same thing, results and now! It has been a horrible 2023 with wait times with USCIS, and little hope for change in 2024. As an example, I sent a I-130 in January 2023, and wait times posted were expected 6-9 months wait for processing and decision. Now the USCIS system says 18-24 months! It is a frustrating feeling for my clients and making the text to them that they will not get a decision as soon as we thought is not an easy thing to do. My clients always ask me well just call them right? Or let’s request them to expedite. No, it is not like that. USCIS has no operators to speak to. In fact an automated computer speaks to you and gives you the same information you will get online using the case status online system on www.uscis.gov . You are also not allowed to submit an inquiry on your case if it is not outside the expected window time. So when they say 18 months you are stuck waiting 18 months before you can even send a request for more information. What else can I do? Well you can always contact your congressman office. Congressman have direct communication with USCIS officials and can possibly get more answers. Unfortunatly they too will get the answer that says, “wait 18 months then call back”. So what do we do? Use the case status online, and when the time frame is completed submit an inquiry. Use congressman when your case is outside the window time frame expected. Pay attention to mail and email. If you move you will lose important contact from USCIS and that can delay processing Be patient. It is a broken system your attorney or you have no control over. Wishing you all a happy new year of health, prosperity and PATIENCE.
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