Help needed on work visas

[Emmah1979 3]

Hi everyone hope you are all doing well during this awful time 

 

I have a question that has been eating at me and I’m not sure which route to go.  
 

I want to move to the usa and work in my profession but 8 also have a boyfriend who is American, anyway I am a little hesitant to speak with him about the fiancé or spousal visa as I would like to get myself to the usa on my own for work if that makes sense. 
 

anyway I was speaking with immigration lawyers and they said I could go for a EB1 or O visa which I think 8s basically the same! What I’m worried about is If I apply and file for the EB1 myself and say for instance I get refused. And then say I get engaged to my boyfriend and we go down the K1 route. Would this affect that K1 process if I got refused for the EB1? 

 

im trying to research and cover all scenarios if that makes sense! And here’s hoping I have approval if I go through the EB1.

 

i am worried about a site called USAFIS I applied ages ago online for like $5 registration and then I get a call for $2000 to proceed with my application. Has anyone heard of this? 
 

i really appreciate everyone’s response and thank you and stay safe

 

Emma 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Was it a proper immigration lawyer you spoke to? If so they can help prepare an application for you. But it won’t be cheap. Probably more than USAFIS but a real lawyer will do it properly for you.  EB1 leads to a green card, O visa is a non immigrant visa, so they are quite different- lawyer should have made this distinction clear. 

a refusal on either of these will not affect a future fiancé or spouse visa. 
 

I only know of USAFIS as a site that charges people for entering the DV lottery when it’s free to do on your own, so always  heard of it as a dodgy site in that context. Don’t know about their other services. 

Edited July 7, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

Hi- first I am going to assume you have an extraordinary ability as that is what an EB1 and O visa is for and assume you think you will find a job at this time. Second; these visas are currently suspended at this time.

 

However, I=if you get refused for the EB1 it does not affect you down the line if you go the K1 route; you always have to admit that you were denied a visa and may be questioned on it but it would not have a bearing on ability to obtain a k1. Don't let thinking of a denial deter you from applying for a EB1. 

 

If you do obtain an EB1/O visa and your boyfriend proposes to you while you are in the states it is stupid to then proceed with a k1 visa since you are already in the US, FYI. 

 

I never heard of USAFIS and I do not know the complexity of applying for a EB1/O visa but if you feel you can't do it alone I would recommend an experienced immigration attorney (that I can see in person) that specializes in EB1/O rather than an internet based organization.

[fs2439 46]

You should also look into an EB2 National Interest Waiver (if you're not from India or China) as the criteria are much less stringent than EB1A.

Edited July 7, 2020 by fs2439

[Emmah1979 3]

Perfect thank you for your help and easing my mind for future visas. 
 

I did look into the restrictions and the current visas are the H, J, L so at the moment the E and O visas seem to still be ok.  All these bans and restrictions gives me headaches,  it is so tough to not see your loved one while being banned to travel. I do hope it is lifted soon so we can all reunite with our loved ones. 
 

I am thinking of filing myself to save the money, but before I do I will have a few more consultations first. 
 

if anyone has any recommendations I would appreciate it, and thank you for your thoughts on the Usafis site. I am a little sceptical. I literally applied for fun to see if I would qualify and then forgot about it until i received a call!  
 

thanks 

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

30 minutes ago, Emmah1979 said:

Perfect thank you for your help and easing my mind for future visas. 
 

I did look into the restrictions and the current visas are the H, J, L so at the moment the E and O visas seem to still be ok.  All these bans and restrictions gives me headaches,  it is so tough to not see your loved one while being banned to travel. I do hope it is lifted soon so we can all reunite with our loved ones. 
 

I am thinking of filing myself to save the money, but before I do I will have a few more consultations first. 
 

if anyone has any recommendations I would appreciate it, and thank you for your thoughts on the Usafis site. I am a little sceptical. I literally applied for fun to see if I would qualify and then forgot about it until i received a call!  
 

thanks 

I think that those visa categories (E/O) may be suspended currently.  USCIS is currently not processing I129 petitions. https://www.uscis.gov/i-129 but I'm not completely sure as it's a bit confusing to me. 

 

Alert: On March 20, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the immediate and temporary suspension of premium processing service for all Form I-129 and I-140 petitions until further notice due to Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

45 minutes ago, Emmah1979 said:

Perfect thank you for your help and easing my mind for future visas. 
 

I did look into the restrictions and the current visas are the H, J, L so at the moment the E and O visas seem to still be ok.  All these bans and restrictions gives me headaches,  it is so tough to not see your loved one while being banned to travel. I do hope it is lifted soon so we can all reunite with our loved ones. 
 

I am thinking of filing myself to save the money, but before I do I will have a few more consultations first. 
 

if anyone has any recommendations I would appreciate it, and thank you for your thoughts on the Usafis site. I am a little sceptical. I literally applied for fun to see if I would qualify and then forgot about it until i received a call!  
 

thanks 

EB other than EB5 (investment visas) are not being issued under the ban. (April 22 proclamation that was extended.) I think O is ok.

 

Filing yourself to save money for visas like these can be an own goal. It’s not straightforward like a spouse visa and it’s not a simple tick the box like the old UK HSMP or similar used to be. But you can try and always go to a lawyer later if it doesn’t work I guess.

Edited July 7, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[Arrowword 12]

13 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

I think that those visa categories (E/O) may be suspended currently.  USCIS is currently not processing I129 petitions. https://www.uscis.gov/i-129 but I'm not completely sure as it's a bit confusing to me. 

 

Alert: On March 20, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the immediate and temporary suspension of premium processing service for all Form I-129 and I-140 petitions until further notice due to Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

I had an I-129 submitted and then approved for a H1b (cap exempt) just as the EO was announced. My employer has now submitted a new I-129 for an O1 and this has been accepted for processing by USCIS, so they are still processing them. They did suspend premium processing for I-129’s but this has started up again. 

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

4 minutes ago, Arrowword said:

I had an I-129 submitted and then approved for a H1b (cap exempt) just as the EO was announced. My employer has now submitted a new I-129 for an O1 and this has been accepted for processing by USCIS, so they are still processing them. They did suspend premium processing for I-129’s but this has started up again. 

Were you already in the USA though? I wonder if that makes a difference.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

25 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

Were you already in the USA though? I wonder if that makes a difference.

I think poster is correct that it was only premium processing that was suspended, and I believe that has started up again or will soon. (Well, until all those USCIS workers get furloughed, anyway.)

[Arrowword 12]

46 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

Were you already in the USA though? I wonder if that makes a difference.

No, still in UK. 

[Emmah1979 3]

I’m in the UK. Yes your right it’s the premium service. So I have been reading the E visa I can petition myself. The O visa I need a recruiter to petition. 
 

so I found this site called https://usa-visas.com.  I wonder if they will help with the process. 
 

I also paid for answers on just ask which is linked in this page, has anyone used just ask?

 

wish there was a service like rapid visa, they are great for fiancé and spousals

 

thanks guys. 

[Bepster 0]

56 minutes ago, Emmah1979 said:

I’m in the UK. Yes your right it’s the premium service. So I have been reading the E visa I can petition myself. The O visa I need a recruiter to petition. 
 

 

Keep in mind that these are Australia only.

You would have to be an Australian citizen to apply.

 

O1 visas are currently not affected by any bans. 

 

In any case, you would need to find sponsorship, i.e. an employer in the US to extend a job offer first in your field of study or where you have substantial experience..

So that is where I would start. In this case, they will most likely also handle the lawyers and associated costs. 

 

In any case, I would caution against spending any money on lawyers or websites before you have a clear idea of what visa to pursue. 

Instead I would pour my energy into finding employment first as without a job offer, it will be very difficult to get any employment based non immigrant visa.

 

 

Edited July 7, 2020 by Bepster

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

49 minutes ago, Bepster said:

 

Keep in mind that these are Australia only.

You would have to be an Australian citizen to apply.

 

 

 

 

OP is actually talking about EB visas (at least that’s what was in her first post) - employment based immigrant visas. Not the same as the E visas for Aussies.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 hour ago, Emmah1979 said:

I’m in the UK. Yes your right it’s the premium service. So I have been reading the E visa I can petition myself. The O visa I need a recruiter to petition. 
 

so I found this site called https://usa-visas.com.  I wonder if they will help with the process. 
 

I also paid for answers on just ask which is linked in this page, has anyone used just ask?

 

wish there was a service like rapid visa, they are great for fiancé and spousals

 

thanks guys. 

These sites use a cookie cutter approach and you are looking at visas that are not identical cookie visas. In my opinion, you’re  either going to have to do an awful lot of work yourself, or pay up for a real lawyer.  You’re looking for a bargain priced full service deal but you know what they say about if you pay peanuts... 

 

PS plenty complaints about rapidvisa too, even though those are usually much more straightforward than the visas you’re looking at.