Non-Immigrant Visas In General

Non-immigrant visas, generally, are temporary visas in which applicants apply to come to the U.S. for a particular purpose and for a specified amount of time. With the exceptions of a few categories, such as H-1B and L-1A and L-1B visas, most non-immigrant visa applicants must demonstrate that he or she does not have the intent to permanently reside in the U.S. All non-immigrant visa applicants are presumed to have immigrant intent. Therefore, it is up to the applicant to overcome the immigrant-intent presumption. Our Houston immigration attorneys and our U.S. immigration lawyers are experienced in consular processing procedures and assist clients in overcoming objections and immigrant intent presumptions. Be sure to contact our Houston immigration lawyers for additional information. 

Other than the non-immigrant visas in which we presented on this site, we also regularly assist clients in the following categories. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding your immigration matter, or if you are interested in learning more about any of these categories, please contact our Houston immigration lawyers and our west Houston immigration attorneys at 713-492-0337.

E-3 Australian Specialty Worker Visas 

Because the number of temporary professional worker visas under H-1B is limited, 65,000 per year and an addition 20,000 for foreign nationals who graduated from U.S. graduate schools, Congress recently created a new visa category for temporary professional workers from Australia. Like H-1B applicants, Australian professionals who are qualified under “specialty occupations” can come to the U.S. on E-3 Visas. “Specialty Occupation,” as defined under INA Section 214(i)(1), requires that the job embody a specialized area of knowledge and a bachelors degree or equivalent. Also, similar to H-1B the employer must file a Labor Condition Application with the U.S. Department of labor prior to filing for the E-3 abroad. Further, experience may be substituted for educational degrees. Unlike H-1B, however, spouses of E-3 visa holders may work. In addition, the E-3 application may be filed directly abroad at the U.S. Consular Office abroad and does not have to go through USCIS here in the U.S. E-3 Visas are issued on a 2-year basis and can be renewed indefinitely, so long as the foreign national can demonstrate that he or she does not have the intent to permanently reside and work in the U.S.

F-1 & M-1 Student Visas 

There are two types of student visas available for foreign nationals who wish to come to the U.S. to attend schools. F-1 Student Visas are for those who wish to attend academic courses and M-1 Student Visas are for vocational courses. The Houston immigration attorneys and the west Houston immigration lawyers at Pham & Cloves, PLLC will assist and guide you through the process of filing for an F-1 Visa or an M-1 Visa. Specifically, depending on your needs, our U.S. immigration lawyers regularly assist our clients in identifying a possible school that is approved by USCIS, contact the International Student Office, apply for enrollment and obtain an I-20 through the SEVIS system, and prepare and file the F-1 and M-1 Student Visas in U.S. Consulate abroad. If you are currently here in the U.S. under a different non-immigrant category, such as a B-2 visitor visa, our Houston immigration attorneys will assist you to apply for change of status to obtain an F-1 or M-1 visa status. Most importantly, our immigration attorneys will assist you in overcoming the presumption of immigrant intent and show that you do not have the intent to reside in the U.S. upon completion of your study, which is one of the majority reason why USCIS and the U.S. Consular Offices abroad regularly deny student visa applications. 

Blanket L Visas

Employers who have subsidiaries or affiliated companies abroad that regularly transfer executives and skilled workers into the U.S. should take advantage of Blanket L visas instead of filing individual L-1 Intra-company Transferee visa applications. Blanket L visas are reserved for U.S. companies who (1) have annual income exceeding $25,000,000 per year in gross sales, (2) employ 1,000 employees or more, OR (3) who received at least 10 L-1 Intra-company Transferee within the past year. In addition, the employer must have been an existing U.S. company for at least 1 year. The company must engage in commercial trading, sales, or services. Finally, the employer must have at least 3 combined affiliates or subsidiaries, either in the U.S. or abroad. All other requirements for L-1 remain the same, such as the employee’s qualifications and must have worked for the employer at least 1 year for the past 3 years. 
The Blanket L application only has to be filed once with the USCIS. Once approved, the employer may file individual L-1 Visa applications with the U.S. Consular abroad for processing. Thus, Blanket L visas take away the requirement to individually file with the USCIS in the U.S. then have the application transferred to the U.S. Consular Office abroad, which is time consuming and expensive. Our experienced Houston immigration lawyers will assist you step-by-step in the application process saving the employer time and additional costs in filing individual L-1 applications. Please contact our Houston Blanket L Attorneys and our West Houston Blanket L lawyers for further assistance.

O-1 Extraordinary Entertainer, Athlete, & Researcher Visas 

O-1 Visas apply to applicants who have extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or those that have achieved extraordinary awards and recognition in the motion picture and television industry. O-1 Visas are approved for an initial 3-year period and can be renewed once a year for a 1-year period. To qualify, the person must demonstrate that he or she has risen to the level of national or international recognition by providing evidence of some national or international award. In lieu of such award, the applicant must have at least 3 of the following:

• Evidence of the applicant’s receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prize or award for excellence in his field;
• Evidence of the applicant’s original scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions of major significance;
• Evidence of the applicant’s membership in one or more associations in the field of classification, which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized national or international experts in their disciplines or fields; 
• Evidence of the applicant’s participation on a panel, or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or in similar field of specialization of the classification;
• Evidence that the applicant has been employed in a critical or essential capacity for organizations or entities that have distinguished reputation;
• Evidence of published material in professional or major publication or major media about the individual, relating to the individual's work in the field for which classification is sought. Such evidence must include the title, date, and author of the published material, and translation if necessary;
• Evidence of the applicant's authorship of scholarly articles, books, publications in the field of expertise, in professional journals, or other major media.

R-1 Religious Worker Visas 

A religious worker, whether a minister, priest, monk, rabbi, or imam, can be sponsored to come and work in the U.S. for a non-profit organization designated by the State and the Internal Revenue Service. The person must come to the U.S. and work under a Religious Vocation. A Religious Vocation denotes that the person is devoting his or her life to the services of that denomination. Although a lay person can be sponsored under R-1 Religious Worker Visas, the person will have to demonstrate that such work would relate to the spiritual aspect of the religion. In addition, the person must have been a member of the denomination for at least 2 years prior to filing applications. R-1 workers can come to the U.S. on a 3-year initial visa and can renew once for a 2 years extension, totaling 5 years. Within this 5 years period, the R-1 sponsoring organization may file an immigrant petition for the R-1 visa holder; otherwise, the person must leave the U.S. for at least 1 year prior to returning under another R-1 visa or through other nonimmigrant visas. The experienced Houston R-1 Religious Worker Visa Attorneys and the Sugar Land R-1 Immigration Lawyers at Pham & Cloves, PLLC have previously assisted a number of religious groups in sponsoring religious workers. Please contact our Houston R-1 Immigration Attorneys for more information.

T Visas Victims of Trafficking 

The purpose of the T-1 visa is to protect victims of human trafficking, the sex trade or forced labor, who are physically present in the U.S. due to such trafficking. Immediate family members of the principal applicants may be admitted to the U.S. by showing that they would suffer extreme hardship if they were not allowed to join the applicant. To qualify, the applicant must demonstrate that he/she is a victim of trafficking as stated above. A victim that is 18 years of age or older must comply with law enforcement officials in prosecuting the perpetrator. Children of trafficking victims qualify as “Age Out,” if the trafficking victim’s child turned 21 during the application process (i.e. the child still qualified as a dependent). The T-Visa application may not be denied on the basis that the applicant is likely to be a “public charge,” and depends on government assistance. If approved, the applicant will receive T Visa Status and remain in the U.S. for 4 years. 90 days prior to the expiration of the T-visa, trafficking victims may be able to file for adjustment of status to permanent residency and receive green cards. Please contact the Houston T-Visa Trafficking Victim Attorneys and the Houston Extreme Hardship Waiver Lawyers at Pham & Cloves, PLLC.

TN-1 – Canadian Temporary Professional Worker Visas 

TN-1 Visas are Treaty NAFTA visas created specifically for Canadian and Mexican Nationals who qualified as  “Specialty Occupation” professionals to work in the U.S. As in H-1B, "specialty occupation" refers to occupations that require theoretical and practical application of an area of specialized knowledge, such as accountants, teachers, software developers, information technology analysts, engineers, or a scientists. The advantage of TN-1 visas is that there is no annual limit in the number of TN-1 visa. In addition, the process is less burdensome and does not require months, or even years, such as H-1B and other categories. An employer who desires to hire a Canadian under TN-1 can realistically expect the potential employee to start within weeks, if not days. Recently, the USCIS has issued new regulations, which permit Canadians to obtain an initial 3-year TN-1 visa and a 3-year extension instead of 1 year (previously, TN-1 Visas are limited to only 1 year and a 1-year extension). This change will save employers and Canadians time and costs in filing applications. This change also positively affects employer’s ability to file for PERMs and I-140 immigrant petitions under employment-based for employees. Please contact our Houston Canadian Visa Attorneys and our Houston TN-1 NAFTA Lawyers for more information in filing for a new TN-1 Visa application or renewing your TN-1 Visa status without leaving the U.S.

U Visas Victims of Crime

The U visa was created by the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of October 2000. It is available to foreign nationals who (1) have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse resulting from a wide range of criminal activity, and (2) must have been helpful, are being helpful or are likely to be helpful with the investigation or prosecution of the crime. The U visa provides eligible immigrants with authorized stay in the United States and employment authorization. The criminal activity must be one that is similar to the following and can be prosecuted either at the federal, state, or local level, including: prostitution; sexual exploitation; rape; torture; trafficking; incest; domestic violence; sexual assault; abusive sexual contact; female genital mutilation; have been held hostage or been kidnapped; peonage; involuntary servitude; slave trade; abduction; unlawful criminal restraint; false imprisonment; blackmail; extortion; manslaughter; murder; felonious assault; witness tampering; obstruction of justice; perjury; or attempt, the conspiracy or the solicitation to commit any of the above mentioned crimes. If you feel that you or your relatives or friends have been a victim of a crime, irrespective of how the person entered the country (illegally, without inspection, or stowed-away), please do not hesitate to call the Houston U Visa Victims of Crime Attorneys or the Houston U-Visa Lawyers at713-492-0337 or contact us online. Alternatively, please contact our Houston immigration attorneys through our interactive online contact form.