U.S. Legal Credentials Part II

Visas

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  • Temporary Worker Visa:
    Temporary worker visas are issued for people willing to enter the United States for an employment lasting a fixed-term period, and do not considers to be permanent or indefinite. Each of these require the possible employer to first present a petition before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A signed petition is required in order to claim a work permit visa.

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  • Certain Specialty Occupation Professionals from Australia (E-3): 
    The E-3 visa classification applies only to Australian citizens and their spouses, and children as well. E-3 principal applicants must come to the U.S. only to work in a specialized occupation. The spouse and children do not need to be Australian citizens. However, the U.S. does not recognize De Facto relationships for immigration purposes, and to qualify as a spouse you will need a marriage certificate.
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  • Crewmember Visa (D):
    Crewmember visas (D) are non-immigrant visas for persons who travel aboard international commercial vessels or airlines in the United States, provide services necessary for normal operation, and intend to depart the United States on the same or any other vessel within 29 days. If you are traveling to the U.S. to join the ship on which you will be working, in addition to a crew member visa (D), you also need a transit visa (C-1) or a C-1/D combination visa.

    The crew members who apply for these visas are:
    ○  Pilot or flight attendant on a commercial aircraft
    ○  Captain, engineer or seaman on a seagoing vessel
    ○  Lifeguard, cook, waiter, beautician or other service personnel on a cruise ship
    ○  Apprentice on board a training ship.

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  • Visas for Diplomats and Foreign Government Officials:
    Diplomats and other foreign government officials traveling to the United States to perform only official duties or tasks on behalf of their national government must obtain an A-1 or A-2 visa before entering the United States. They cannot travel on visitor’s visas or under the Visa Waiver Program. With the exception of a Head of State or Government, who qualifies for an A visa regardless of the purpose of the trip, his or her position within the government of his or her country and the purpose of the trip determine whether he or she needs an A-1 or A-2 visa. Immediate family members of diplomats and government officials are granted A-1 or A-2 visas, with few exceptions. Personal employees, assistants or domestic workers of diplomats and government officials (who have a valid A-1 or A-2 visa) may receive A-3 visas.

    To qualify for an A-1 or A-2 visa, you must travel to the United States on behalf of your national government to participate only in the official activities of that government. The specific duties or services to be performed must be of a governmental nature or character, as determined by the U.S. Department of State, in accordance with U.S. immigration law. Government officials traveling to the United States to perform non-governmental functions of a commercial nature, or traveling as tourists, require appropriate visas and do not qualify for A visas. The fact that there may be a government interest or control in a particular organization is not in itself the defining factor in determining whether it qualifies for an A visa.

  • Visas for Employees of International Organizations and OTAN:
    Diplomats, government officials and employees who will be working for international organizations in the United States need G visas. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (OTAN) officials and employees who will be working for OTAN in the United States require OTAN visas. With the exception of a Head of State or Government who qualifies for an A visa regardless of the purpose of his or her visit to the United States, the type of visa required by a diplomat or other government official depends on his or her purpose for traveling to the United States.

  • Cultural Exchange (J):
    Cultural Exchange visa (J) are non-immigrant visas for individuals approved to participate in exchange visitor programs in the United States.

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  • Visas for Members of Foreign Media, Press and Radio (I): 
    Media visas (I) are for representatives of foreign media, including members of press, radio, film and print media, who are traveling temporarily to the United States to work in their profession engaged in informational or educational activities essential to the function of the foreign media.  Activities in the United States on a media visa (I) must be for a media organization that has its headquarters in a foreign country. Activities in the U.S. must be informational in nature and generally associated with the process of news gathering and reporting on current events.
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  • Visas for Canadian and Mexican professional NAFTA workers:
    The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) created special economic and trade relations for the United States, Canada and Mexico. The NAFTA Professional (TN) visa for non-immigrants allows citizens of Canada and Mexico, as NAFTA professionals, to work in the United States in pre-arranged business activities for U.S. or foreign employers. Permanent residents of Canada and Mexico cannot apply for TN visas to work as NAFTA professionals. The professional must have a university degree and already have a job offer letter from the employer. Children under the age of 21 and the spouse of a TN visa holder are considered eligible for a TD visa as dependents.
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  • Treaty Traders and Investment Visas: 
    Treaty Trader (E-1) and Treaty Investor (E-2) visas are for citizens of countries with which the United States maintains treaties of commerce and navigation. You must come to the United States to:
    o  Engage in substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, in qualifying activities, primarily between the U.S. and the treaty country
    o  Develop and direct the operations of a business in which you have invested a large amount of capital.

  • Transit Visas: 
    Transit visas (C) are aimed for persons traveling in immediate and continuous transit through the United States while traveling to another country, with few exceptions. Immediate and continuous transit is defined as a reasonably rapid departure of the traveler in the normal course of travel, as the elements permit and assume a prearranged itinerary without unreasonable stopping privileges. If the traveler seeks stopover privileges for purposes other than transit through the United States, such as visiting friends or sightseeing, the traveler will have to qualify for the type of visa required for that purpose. If you already have a valid visitor visa (B), you may use it to transit through the United States. If you are a citizen of a participating country, you may be able to transit the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program. 

  • Temporary Religious Worker Visas:
    Temporary Religious Worker visas (R-1) are for individuals who wish to enter the U.S. to work temporarily at religious functions.

  • Student Visas:
    Each person must have a student visa to study in the U.S. Your course of study and the type of school you plan to attend determine whether you need an F visa or an M visa.

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  • CW-1 Visa: CNMI-Only Transitional Worker: 
    The CNMI-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) visa classification allows employers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to apply for permission to employ foreign (non-immigrant) workers who are otherwise not eligible to work in other non-immigrant worker categories.

    The CW classification provides a method for transitioning from the former CNMI foreign worker permit system to the U.S. immigration system.

    The CW non-immigrant classification is commonly referred as:
    o  CW-1: A CNMI-only transition worker.
    o  CW-2: Dependent of a CNMI-only transition worker.

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  • Non-immigrant (V) visa for spouse and children of a lawful permanent resident (LPR):
    The Legal Immigration Family Equity Act (LIFE Act), enacted on December 21, 2000, created a non-immigrant visa category, the V visa, with specific provisions for certain spouses and children of legal permanent residents in the United States (LPR).

    The purpose of the LIFE Act was to reunite families who had been or might be separated for long periods of time during the U.S. immigration process. V visas, therefore, allowed these family members to be in the United States with their LPR spouses and parents while they waited to complete the immigration process.

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  • K-3 Visa: 
    The K-3 non-immigrant visa is for the foreign citizen spouse of a United States (US) citizen. This visa category is intended to shorten the physical separation between foreign citizen and U.S. citizen spouses by having the option of obtaining a K-3 non-immigrant visa abroad and entering the United States to await approval of the immigrant visa application. K-3 visa beneficiaries subsequently apply to adjust status to a permanent resident (LPR) with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) upon approval of the petition.

    Because the spouse of a U.S. citizen applying for a K-3 non-immigrant visa must have an immigrant visa application filed on his/her behalf by his/her U.S. citizen spouse AND an approval pending, a K-3 applicant must meet some of the requirements of an immigrant visa. It should be noted that under U.S. immigration law, a foreign national who marries a U.S. citizen outside the U.S. must apply for a K-3 visa in the country where the marriage took place.

    Eligible children of K-3 visa applicants receive K-4 visas. K-3 and K-4 visas allow their beneficiaries to remain in the United States, while immigrant visa petitions are pending approval by USCIS.

  • K-1 Visa:
    The K-1 non-immigrant fiancé (e) visa is for the foreign national fiancé of a United States citizen. The K-1 visa allows the foreign citizen fiancé(e) to travel to the United States and marry their U.S. citizen fiancé(e) within 90 days of arrival. The foreign citizen will apply for adjustment of status to a permanent resident (LPR) with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Because a fiancé visa allows the holder to immigrate to the U.S. AND marry a U.S. citizen shortly after arriving in the U.S., the fiancé must meet some of the requirements of an immigrant visa. Eligible children of K-1 visa applicants receive K-2 visas.

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  Immigrants

  • EB-1, First Preference (Employment-based Immigration): 
    To be considered for an immigrant visa under some of the employment categories below, the prospective employer or agent of the applicant must first obtain a labor certification approval from the Department of Labor. Once received (if necessary), the employer files an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, with the USCIS for the appropriate employment-based preference category.

    NOTE: Persons of extraordinary ability in the Employment First preference category may file their own petitions.

    There are three subgroups within this category:
    ○ EB-1—A Persons of extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics: Applicants in this category must have extensive documentation demonstrating sustained national or international recognition and appreciation in their fields of expertise. Such applicants do not have to have specific job offers, as long as they enter the United States to continue working in the fields in which they have extraordinary ability. Such applicants may file their own Immigrant Petitions for Alien Workers, Form I-140, with the USCIS.
    ○EB-1-B Outstanding professors and researchers with at least three years of teaching or research experience, who are internationally recognized: Applicants in this category must come to the U.S. to practice their profession, teaching tenure track or a comparable research position at a university or other institution of higher education. The prospective employer must provide a job offer and file an Immigrant Alien Worker Application, Form I-140, with the USCIS.
    ○EB-1-C Professionals with Extraordinary Ability: Professionals with extraordinary ability are people who have extraordinary ability in a technical or scientific field, and who have been successful in their field for at least three years.

  • Second Preference (EB-2): Professionals with advanced degrees and people with exceptional skills:
    A second preference applicant must generally have a labor certification approved by the Department of Labor. A job offer is required and the U.S. employer must file an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, on behalf of the applicant. Applicants may apply for a waiver, known as a national interest waiver, from the job offer and labor certification if the waiver is in the national interest. In this case, the applicant may self-petition by filing the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, along with evidence of national interest. Professionals with advanced degrees and persons of exceptional ability receive 28.6% of the annual limit of employment-based immigrant visas, in addition to unused visas in the Employment First Preference category.

    There are two subgroups within this category:
    ○ EB-2-A: Professionals with an advanced degree (beyond a bachelor’s degree), or a bachelor’s degree and at least five years of progressive experience in the profession
    ○ EB-2-B: Persons with exceptional ability in sciences, arts or business. Exceptional ability means having a degree of experience significantly above that normally found in science, art or business fields.

  • Third Preference (EB-3): Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Unskilled Workers (other workers):
    A Third Preference applicant must have an approved Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, filed by the prospective employer. All of these workers generally require a labor certification approved by the Department of Labor. Skilled workers, professionals, and unskilled workers (other workers) receive 28.6% of the annual limit of employment-based immigrant visas, in addition to the unused visas in the Employment Preference and Second Preference categories.

    There are three subgroups within this category:
    ○Skilled workers are individuals whose jobs require a minimum of 2 years of training or work experience that is not temporary or seasonal.
    ○Professionals are members of the professions whose jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. university or college or its foreign equivalent.
    ○Unskilled workers (other workers) are persons capable of occupying positions requiring less than two years of training or experience that are not temporary or seasonal.

  • Immigrant visa for a spouse of a U.S. citizen (IR1 or CR1):
    A spouse is a legally married husband or wife.
    ○  Simply living together does not qualify a marriage for immigration.
    ○  Common law spouses may qualify as spouses for immigration purposes depending on the laws of the country where the common law marriage occurs.
    ○  In cases of polygamy, only the first spouse can qualify as a spouse for immigration.

  • International Adoption Visas: 
    An adopted child born outside the U.S. automatically becomes a U.S. citizen when all of the following conditions are met:
    ○  A final adoption.
    ○  At least one of the child’s parents is a U.S. citizen by birth or naturalization.
    ○  The child resides in the United States in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent pursuant to a legal admission for permanent residence.
    ○  The child is under 18 years of age.

    If a child is admitted on an IR-3 or IH-3 visa and becomes a U.S. citizen under INA 320, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will automatically send the Certificate of Citizenship if the child is under 14 years old, or the Schedule, Oath and Withdrawal of Certificate of Citizenship at a local office if the child is over 14 years old. 

    If a child is admitted on an IR-4 or IH-4 visa, USCIS does not automatically send a Certificate of Citizenship. Parents whose children were admitted with an IR-4 or IH-4 visa may have to take additional steps to have the child acquire citizenship according to INA 320.
     ○  IR-3: Orphan adopted abroad by a U.S. citizen
    ○  IR-4: Orphan to be adopted in the U.S. by a U.S. citizen.

  • Visas for Relatives of U.S. Citizens:
     ○ Immediate Relative Immigrant Visas (Unlimited): These types of visas are based on a close family relationship with a U.S. citizen described as a relative (IR). The number of immigrants in these categories is not limited each fiscal year. Immediate relative visa types include:
    §  IR-1: spouse of a U.S. citizen
    §  IR-2: unmarried child under the age of 21 of a U.S. citizen.
    §  IR-5: parent of a U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old.  
     
    ○Family Preference Immigrant Visas (Limited): These types of visas are for specific and more distant family relationships with a U.S. citizen. And some specific relationships with a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR). There are fiscal year numerical limitations for family preference immigrants, which are shown at the end of each category. The family preference categories are:
    § Family First Preference (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and their minor children, if any.
    § Family Second Preference (F2): Spouses, minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters (over age 21) of LPR. At least seventy-seven% of all visas available for this category will go to spouses and children; the remainder will go to unmarried sons and daughters.
    § Family Third Preference (F3): Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and minor children.
    § Family Fourth Preference (F4): Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and minor children, provided the U.S. citizens are at least 21 years old.

  • Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) for Iraqi and Afghan Translators/Interpreters:
    This is a Special Immigrant Visa program available to persons who worked with the U.S. Armed Forces or under the authority of the Chief of Mission as a translator or interpreter in Iraq or Afghanistan. This program, which offers visas for up to fifty people per year, remains active.

  • Special Immigration Visas for Iraqis: Who were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government: 
    The Department of State’s authority to issue Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) to Iraqi citizens was extended under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008. As of January 1, 2014, 2,500 visas may be issued to principal applicants under this program, and the program will end when all visas have been issued.

  • Diversity Visa Program:
    There is a limited period of time during which you may enroll in the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program during each fiscal year. Each year, the Department of State publishes detailed instructions for entering the DV Program, including the dates of the registration period during which you may enter.
     
    All entries must be submitted electronically on the Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) website at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the specified registration period. Late or paper tickets are not accepted. The law allows only one entry per or for each person during each registration period. The Department of State uses sophisticated technology to detect multiple entries. If you submit more than one entry, you will be disqualified.  

  • Returning Resident Visas:
    A permanent resident (called a legal permanent resident or LPR) or conditional resident (CR) who has been outside the U.S. for more than one year, or beyond the period of validity of a Re-entry Permit, will require a new immigrant visa to enter the U.S. and resume permanent residence. There is a provision under the U.S. visa law. 

    For the issuance of a special immigrant visa to a resident returning to an LPR who remained outside the United States due to circumstances beyond his or her control. This website deals with the return of resident visas. If you are an LPR who is unable to return to the U.S. within the travel period of the green card (1 year) or the validity of the Re-entry Permit (2 years), you may be eligible and may apply at the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for a returning resident immigrant visa (SB-1).

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I-94

Border Crossing Card

Certificates of Naturalization 

Military ID Cards

Types of Military Identification Cards

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  Form DD 2 (Reservation), U.S. Armed Forces Geneva Conventions Identification Card

  Recipients:

  • Individual Prepared Reserve members and Inactive National Guard members.

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  Form DD 2 (Withdrawn), U.S. Armed Forces Geneva Conventions Identification Card

  Recipients:

  • Retired members with the right to pay retirement benefits.
  • Members on the Temporary Disability Retirement List (TDRL).
  • Permanent Disability Retired List (PDRL) members.

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  Form DD 2 (Retired Reservation), U.S. Uniformed Services Identification Card

  Recipients:

  • Retired members of the Reserves and National Guard under 60 years of age.

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  Form DD1173, U.S. Uniformed Services Identification Card and Privileges

  Recipients:

  • Dependents of: active duty members of regular components; reserve component service members on active duty for more than 30 days; retirees Medal of Honor recipients; former members on receipt of paid retirement; transitional health care members (TAMP); 100% disabled American veterans (DAV); and NOAA officers and crew.
  • Surviving dependents of: active duty military and retirees; Medal of Honor recipients; 100% Disabled American Veterans (DAV).
  • Accompanying family members of authorized civilian personnel overseas.
  • Eligible dependents of foreign military personnel.
  • Other categories eligible for benefits as described in Department of Defense policy.

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  Form DD 1173-1, U.S. Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card (Guard and Reserve Family Member)

  Recipients:

  • Dependents of: Reserve members not on active duty or receiving a retirement payment; Reserve Service members who die after receiving Notice of Eligibility.
  • Other categories eligible for benefits as described in Department of Defense policy.

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  Form DD 2765, Department of Defense (Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card)

  Recipients:

  • Medal of Honor recipients.
  • 100% Disabled American Veterans (DAV).
  • Formal members in payment of retirement.
  • Transitional Medical Assistance Program (TAMP) member.
  • Full-time paid United Service Organizations (USO) staff when serving outside the United States.
  • United States Ship (USS) when serving outside the United States.
  • Amateurs and crews of MSC vessels deployed in foreign countries.
  • Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).
  • Other categories eligible for benefits as described in Department of Defense policy.

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  Department of Defense Civilian Retiree Card

  Recipients:

  • Earmarked and unearmarked civilian funds that have been withdrawn from any Department of Defense service, component, or agency.

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  Veterans Health Identification Card (VHIC)

  VHIC serves as an identification mechanism for veterans who are enrolled in the VA Health system and supports the efficiency of VA medical facilities across the United States. Although it is not required by Veterans to receive medical care at a VA facility, it does allow Veterans to register for VA appointments more quickly. The VHIC system is a web-based application that VHIC associates use to issue VHIC to enrolled veterans.

Next Generation Uniformed Services ID Card

Trusted Traveler Programs

Free and Secure Trade for Commercial Vehicles

Global Entry

NEXUS

Secure Electronic Network for Quick Inspection of Travelers (SENTRI)