Routes to legal status in the USA

Gaining the right to live and work legally in the USA can be hard. Understanding the current laws and programmes makes it easier: it speeds up getting a status and helps you avoid a range of mistakes and refusals. There is more good news too — there are several routes. Each has its catches, but having a choice gives you more room to act. In this article we concentrate on the ways of obtaining the status you want and on the particulars worth knowing.

The routes available

Everything depends on the applicant's circumstances, their means, their status and even their motivation. The most common routes are:

• A work visa, if you already work for an American company or receive an offer from one.
• Marriage to a US citizen, which is a comparatively quick way to permanent resident status.
• Family reunification, often used by people with close relatives who are residents or citizens.
• A student visa — legal status often comes in stages, and the first can be study.
• An investment visa, which suits anyone able to invest a substantial sum and contribute to the country's economy.
• The Green Card lottery — some people win the right to permanent residence through the Diversity Visa Program.

Each route has its own requirements, timescales and particulars. Let's look at each in turn.

Legal status through a visa

A visa gives a temporary or permanent right to live or work in the country. Each category of applicant has its own visa types with their own requirements:

• Work visas. A highly qualified specialist in tech, engineering or medicine can apply for an H-1B. The O-1 work visa is issued to people with outstanding achievements and unusual talents.
• Student visas. There are two kinds: the F-1 for people studying at universities and colleges, and the M-1 for students at vocational and technical institutions. After graduating you can take part in the OPT programme, which lets you move to another form of status, a work visa for instance.
• Investment visas. Available to people who invest between $800,000 and $1,000,000 in the country's economy and create at least 10 jobs.

Legal status on a tourist visa

A B1/B2 visa does not let you stay in the country long, study or work. Legal status on a tourist visa as such is therefore not possible, since the document gives no right to remain in America lawfully. But tourist status can be exchanged for another:

• With a job offer, a tourist visa can be changed to a work visa.
• On being admitted to an American university, you can obtain a student visa.
• Legal status is possible if you marry an American citizen, after which you receive a Green Card.

What matters is understanding that if you are in the country as a tourist and want the right to stay for longer, you have to change your status by whichever route suits you best — and lawfully, in line with immigration requirements.

You can also consult an immigration lawyer. A knowledgeable specialist will help you understand the legal procedures, keep your paperwork in order and show you how to avoid mistakes.

Legal status through political or temporary asylum

If you are in danger in your home country, you can seek asylum in America. But you have to demonstrate that you were, or could be, persecuted on grounds of religion, race, political belief and so on. Political asylum has its particulars:

• The application (Form I-589) must be filed within a year of entering the USA.
• You need evidence — testimony about attacks, say, or facts confirming discrimination at home.
• After filing you must attend an interview with US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

There are also temporary routes for people who do not plan to seek permanent residence or citizenship. TPS is a temporary protection programme aimed at people whose home country has faced armed conflict, natural disaster or other emergencies.

Legal status through family

We touched on this in the section on visas, but a few important aspects deserve saying. Family-based routes cover:

• Marriage to a US citizen, after which the foreign spouse can obtain permanent resident status. Three years after receiving a Green Card you can apply for citizenship. But the legal procedures must be followed, and accusations of a sham marriage can lead to deportation.
• US citizens can petition for immediate relatives — children, parents, brothers and sisters. This is a fairly quick process with minimal risk.
• Permanent residents can also file for reunification with a spouse or children. This route is popular but takes longer than it does for citizens.
• Citizens and permanent residents can also secure status for an adopted child. Here it matters that the request complies with both American and international law.

Family-based routes let spouses, parents and children obtain a Green Card quickly. For more distant relatives, the process can drag on.

Obtaining legal status in America is not a simple process, but it opens a great deal. Knowing the particulars, the difficulties and the details, you can travel the road faster and with rather less strain on the nerves.