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 An
H1-B visa holder should enter the US within three to six months
of getting the entry permit, says immigration attorney Nandini P
Nair
I had
got my H1-B visa stamped in May 2001 and it is valid till June 2003.
Due to the slump in the software market, my employer wants to call
me sometime in January or February 2002. Some of my friends are
saying that after the visa has been stamped, one should leave for
USA within 6 months. Is this true?
—
Mihir Nagpal
There
is no regulation that states by what time you should enter the US.
However, it is recommended that the H1-B holder should enter within
three to six months of approval so that he/she does not have any
problem at the port of entry. You have to understand that when an
employer sponsors an H1-B, they are saying to the government that
they have immediate employment available. So when they do not bring
you on board within 2-4 months, the port of entry officer is going
to get suspicious and be concerned that there isn’t really
a job available at all and that the US employer just filed a speculative
petition. Thus, most practitioners in the immigration field recommend
that the company bring the H1-B holder in as soon as possible.
I want
to go to the US for higher studies, what should I do? How do I get
an F-1 student visa? Please tell me the procedure.
—
Roshini Raghunath
Your
query is not that simple to answer but here are the basics for an
F-1 student visa. A foreign student in F-1 status is under INS regulations
“an alien having a residence in a foreign country which he
has no intention of abandoning, who is a bona fide student at an
established college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic
high school, elementary school, or other academic institution.”
The general requirements are the following:
-
You have already completed a course of study normally required
for enrollment in the US school.
- You
are coming to the US either to participate exclusively in an English
language training program, are sufficiently proficient in English
to pursue the intended course of study, or the school must have
made special arrangements for English language courses or teach
the course in the student’s native language.
- You
have sufficient funds, or funds will be available from an identified
and reliable financial source to defray all living and school
expenses during the entire period of anticipated study in the
United States. Specifically, applicants must prove they have enough
readily available funds to meet all expenses for the first year
of study, and that adequate funds will be available for each subsequent
year of study.
- You
have been accepted for a full course of study by an educational
institution approved by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service
(INS).
How to file? The educational institution must send you a Form I-20A-B,
Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F-1) Student Status
for Academic and Language Students. Upon receipt of this documentation,
you can apply to a US consulate for an F-1 visa using Form OF-156.
However obtaining an F-1 visa from a US consulate does not guarantee
entry into the US. The INS still has the authority to deny admission.
Also, the INS determines the length of time a student may remain
in the country.
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