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| Leading Illinois Immigration Law Attorneys |
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A person can become a United States citizen either through birth or through a process known as naturalization. A person can be a United States citizen from birth either by being born here, or by being born in a foreign country but having a parent who is a citizen of the United States. Anyone born in the United States has automatic citizenship, regardless of the parents' citizenship, and even if both parents are living in this country illegally at the time of the child's birth. The only exception is that children born to foreign diplomats in the United States do not get automatic citizenship. Anyone not born a citizen must be naturalized to become a citizen. Occasionally, a group of people is naturalized by treaty or by act of Congress. Usually, a person goes through the process individually.
In a dispute with the INS over an applicant's true intent, the applicant always bears the burden of proving intent to remain here temporarily. For some people, this burden is nearly impossible to overcome. For example, the spouse of a permanent resident normally must wait over two years for available immigrant visas. If he or she claims to want to visit only temporarily, he or she must overcome the presumption that a married person would want to remain permanently with his or her spouse.
Citizens of some countries, primarily European countries and Japan, may enter the United States for up to 90 days without a visa. To be eligible, citizens of these countries must show the INS that they have a return ticket home and that they intend to engage in a type of business or tourist activity that would be allowed under a "B Visa," described below. Canadian citizens generally do not need visas to enter temporarily. In some instances, they must obtain INS approval in advance if they are coming here to work.
Congress establishes a complex set of quotas that limits the number of visas that can be granted for most types of visas. Whether an applicant receives a visa depends on the type of visa requested, the applicant's reason for traveling to the United States, and the applicant's country of origin. Probably the most important element to obtaining a visa successfully is knowing for which visa category to apply. For certain categories of visas and certain countries of origin, an applicant can wait many years before he or she even will be considered for a visa. Sometimes the wait would be much shorter if the applicant applied for a different type of visa. Unfortunately, once an applicant applies for one type of visa, it can be difficult to change the application to another class of visa. For this reason, it is wise to consult an immigration attorney before applying for any kind of visa.
Nonimmigrant Visas
There are different kinds of nonimmigrant visas, identified by the letters A-R, available for persons who do not intend to remain in the United States permanently. All nonimmigrant visas are based on what the applicant intends to do in this country. Following is a list of the visa categories.
| A Visas: | A visas are for diplomats and their families |
| B Visas: | B visas are for alien vistors coming to this country either for business or pleasure. B-1 visas are for business, but not employment or labor for hire, and are commonly used by aliens coming to do business research, engage in litigation, or negotiate contracts. B-2 visas, the most common nonimmigrant visas, allow aliens to enter the country temporarily to engage in tourism, visit with friends or relatives, or to receive medical treatment. |
| C Visas: | C visas allow persons to enter the U.S. only for immediate and continuous transit through the country to a third country. |
| D Visas: | D visas are for crew members of foreign vessels. |
| E Visas: | E visas are for traders and investors covered by commercial treaties between the U.S. and foreign countries. Spouses and children of an E visa holder generally also receive E visas. |
| F Visas: | F visas are for students in full-time academic programs. These visas are for students from the elementary school level through the post-graduate level. Spouses and children of F visa holders are usually also given F visas. Unlike most nonimmigrant visa holders, students with F visas may be employed for fewer than twenty hours a week, mainly at certain on-campus jobs typically held by students |
| G Visas: | G visas are for representatives of foreign countries to international organizations |
| H Visas: | H visas are for workers needed by U.S. employers to fill immediate and temporary openings. An H-1A visa is for professional nurses, an H-1B visa is commonly held by aliens working in professional-level jobs, an H-2A visa is for temporary argriculture workers, and an H-2B visa is for all other temporary workers |
| I Visas: | I visas are for media representatives and their families. |
| J Visas: | J visas are designed to bring foreigners to the U.S. to receive training in exchange programs designated by the U.S. Information Agency |
| K Visas: | K visas allow an alien engaged to a U.S. citizen, as well as any minor children of the alien, to enter the U.S. to marry the citizen |
| L Visas: | L visas are for intracompany employee transfers (e.g., for employees of multinational corporations) |
| M Visas: | M visas are for students in vocational or nonacademic study programs |
| N Visas: | N visas are for relatives of certain international organization employees here on G visas |
| O Visas: | O visas are for outstanding artists, entertainers, athletes, scientists, and certain business professionals. O-1 visas are for aliens with extraordinary ability in their field. The standards for getting an O-1 visa are very high and must be shown through extensive documentation of international acclaim. O-2 visas are for persons who are needed to accompany and assist an O-1 alien |
| P Visas: | P visas are for performing artists, entertainers and athletes. P visas are somewhat similar to O visas, but are usually easier to get and intended more for group entertainers or athletes who come here for a specific performance or tour |
| Q Visas: | Q visas are for participants in international cultural exchanges |
| R Visas: | R visas are for religious workers and their families |
Immigrant Visas
An applicant who intends to stay in this country permanently generally is admitted either on the basis of employment or family connections. The main exception is for political asylum seekers.
First Preference: Individuals of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors or researchers, and multinational executives.
Second Preference: Professionals with advanced degrees and aliens with exceptional abilities in science, art, or business. (Note: "Exceptional ability" is a different standard than "extraordinary ability" required for a first preference.)
Third Preference: Skilled workers, professionals, and other workers for which there is a shortage of workers in the United States.
Fourth Preference: Certain special workers, such as religious workers.
Fifth Preference: Investors creating employment for workers in the United States; the investment must be substantial (i.e., between $500,000 and $1,000,000).
First Preference: Unmarried children of United States citizens.
Second Preference: Spouses and unmarried children of lawful permanent residents.
Third Preference: Married children of United States citizens.
Fourth Preference: Siblings of adult United States citizens.
Each preference is allotted a total number of visas. Generally speaking, the higher the applicant's preference, the shorter the wait to get a visa.
Diversity immigrants are immigrants from countries deemed under-represented in the pool of applicants for visas throughout the years. Under a new program implemented by the INS in 1995, a certain number of visas will be granted to applicants from low-admission countries and who have a high school education or two years of training or experience in a particular occupation.
Refugees and asylees also receive special treatment. A person is a refugee if he or she is outside the United States, is fleeing or has fled his or her country, and has a well-founded fear that if returned to the home country, he or she will be persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. An asylee is an alien already in the United States who, like a refugee, has a well-founded fear of persecution if returned to his or her home country. The president and Congress decide each year the total number of refugees and asylees to accept into the country. Occasionally, Congress grants immigrant visas allotted for individuals from specific countries according to political factors. Recent programs have included China, Hong Kong, and Tibet.
The INS is diligent in investigating marriages between United States citizens and aliens to ensure that aliens do not become permanent residents through sham marriages. Immigration law specifies that an alien seeking permanent residence based on a marriage to a United States citizen of less than two years first is granted conditional permanent resident status. After two years, the husband and wife must apply to the INS to remove this conditional status.
There are a number of remedies to deportation, especially if the deportable person has lived in the United States for a long time, building a life that demonstrates good moral character. Even if the deportable individual has not been here long, there may be certain waivers or defenses to deportation. Among the most common is asking the court for "voluntary departure," which allows the individual to depart the United States on his or her own. In any case, anyone facing deportation should seek the advice of counsel well in advance of a deportation hearing.
Exodus World Service, P.O. Box 7000, West Chicago, IL 60185, phone: (312) 733-8433. For assistance and advocacy for refugees.
Immigration and Naturalization Service, Chicago District, 10 Jackson Boulevard West, Chicago, IL 60604. Call (312) 353-7334 for information in English or Spanish and call 1-800-870-FORM (3676) for forms.
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, 330 Seventh Avenue, Tenth Floor, New York, NY 10001, phone: (212) 629-6170. For information on refugee protection.
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