F-1 Student Visa leading on to Employment Visa

[danb1978 15]

Hi,

I'm looking at as many options as I can to gain permanent residency in the USA, leading on to citizenship. My father is a US citizen and we have applied for the Family Sponsored Visa which has a current Priority Date of 2007 :-( and seems to be slowing down month by month. He also wants me to work for his business when i get there so we also looked at an Employment Visa instead as the PD is much more recent. Now my problem is that I have got no Bachelors Degree. I have 16 years experience in Sales and Management and we went to an immigration lawyer to see what the chances were of getting in via the employment visa route. They were concerned about the level of skills I have got that relates directly to my fathers business. He owns an online business selling kitchenware etc on amazon and ebay and also through his own website. My background is on mobile phones, plenty of sales and management experience but not in the correct area. The lawyer was willing to take on the case but the fees were going to be around $10,000. They wanted $5,000 up front for the labor certificate and that wouldn't guarantee that it would be successful as with i'm sure you know you need to advertise a job that can't be filled by an American. So my new thought was to come to the USA to study, gain a bachelors degree in something related to my fathers business, and then try for the employment visa.

My main question is, that it seems that some info online suggests that you shouldn't apply for the student visa if you have intentions of coming to The USA for good as it is a non immigrant visa. Would I be able to transfer to the employment visa once I complete my course? Also would it affect my place in line for the Family based visa? I'm eager to get over to the USA as soon as possible but i don't want to do anything that would jeopardise my long term goals of becoming a citizen. Or would I pretty much get turned down for the F-1 Student Visa due to my Family Based Visa application.

Thanks in advance.

Dan

[Boiler 45,902]

If I remember your Fathers Business is just him, no employees.

My guess is that your F1 would be looked at somewhat sceptically. Also it is going to cost a lot for a 4 year couse, expensive in the US for International Students.

Might impact VWP visits for a while if you are refused.

[danb1978 15]

If I remember your Fathers Business is just him, no employees.

My guess is that your F1 would be looked at somewhat sceptically. Also it is going to cost a lot for a 4 year couse, expensive in the US for International Students.

Might impact VWP visits for a while if you are refused.

Yes, thats right. His business is just him at the moment however he wants to expand it through his website which requires a lot more expertise than he has got at the moment, but it is something that i can definitely help with. Most of his business is through Amazon/Ebay at the moment.

So was I correct with my thoughts that the F1 visa isn't usually a route to a sponsored job in the USA? Whether with my father or elsewhere. The tuition fees aren't so much a problem, i have looked at the costs etc and that is workable. I'd be tempted to keep on with the employment visa if I knew that my $10,000 was going to result in a visa. Alarm bells rang when the lawyer suggested that she would take on the case but the $5,000 needed to be paid up front for the Labor Certificate but she couldn't guarantee that it would be successful. It kind of came across that she was just interested in the $5,000. Maybe a 2nd opinion from another lawyer wouldn't go amiss?

[Boiler 45,902]

Certainly speak to other Lawyers.

I am sure they will file if you pay, but expecting any sort of guarantee seems asking a lot.

I am not saying it is impossible for a one man company to sponsor a work visa. If he is looing at expanding doing that first might help.

Student visas well sounds like you are a mature student and I am not sure it is that common for people to start their education especially if the course you are looking at is coincidentally close to your fathers address.

Going through the educational process and seeking a sponsor for a work visa is certainly common, but this overall situation is unusual.

[danb1978 15]

Certainly speak to other Lawyers.

I am sure they will file if you pay, but expecting any sort of guarantee seems asking a lot.

I am not saying it is impossible for a one man company to sponsor a work visa. If he is looing at expanding doing that first might help.

Student visas well sounds like you are a mature student and I am not sure it is that common for people to start their education especially if the course you are looking at is coincidentally close to your fathers address.

Going through the educational process and seeking a sponsor for a work visa is certainly common, but this overall situation is unusual.

Yeah, i agree. I was hoping to find a lawyer that had experienced this same scenario before and the first one we have chatted with hasn't. She said that the Labor Cert would likely be audited due to the relationship, which is fair but that wouldn't mean that she couldn't successfully negotiate it. I think i will consult another lawyer and get their opinion on the whole thing and also ask them about the student side of things at the same time as when we asked the first one we didn't ask about that as an option. I definitely dont want to jeopardise my ability to even visit my father. I would hope that they would see my intentions would be honest, i've only ever been over for a maximum of 3 weeks per visit every couple of years since 1999 but you never know. If it is all a no go then I will have to put it it on ice for the next 7 years and hope for some sort of immigration reform that looks after people like myself! i wish i had put my name down for this years ago with the intent to do it. I never imagined that the wait would be so long. Plenty more people in the same boat as me though I suppose.

[Boiler 45,902]

http://www.jfonglaw.com/lawyer-attorney-1416114.htmlHe comes highly recommended.

Just looked at EB3 and it is only a year out, so I see your interest.

[danb1978 15]

http://www.jfonglaw.com/lawyer-attorney-1416114.htmlHe comes highly recommended.

Just looked at EB3 and it is only a year out, so I see your interest.

Awesome, thanks for that. Yeah it has been moving rapidly over the last few months. It has moved over a year in the last 2 months I think. And from the bulletins they predict that it will move forward rapidly for a few months yet.

The lawyer you recommended is in California. Would it make much difference that I am planning to move to DFW TX, do you think?

[Boiler 45,902]

Immigration Law is Federal, so would be no difference.

[danb1978 15]

Immigration Law is Federal, so would be no difference.

Awesome, thanks for all your help so far :-)