Employment-based Visa

Can I Work in the United States?

Jose Enrique Perez

There are many ways to work legally in the United States even if you are not fully legal here yet.

Many immigrants want to come to the United States to work to fulfill their American dream. Many come through visas, others come through the desert, and yet others come swimming through the rivers. A common way to work temporarily in the United States as a nonimmigrant is for a prospective employer to file a petition with USCIS on your behalf.

There are many categories for temporary workers with non-immigrant status. These are some of the nonimmigrant temporary worker classifications:

CW, E, H, I, L, O, P, Q, R and TN.

However, if you have the right combination of skills, education, and/or work experience, you may be able to live and work permanently in the United States by seeking an employment-based immigrant visa. These are called “Permanent Workers” employment-based immigrant visa preferences or categories. There are five of these types:

EB-1, EB-2. EB-3, EB-4 and EB-5. You have to keep in mind that you will have to file also Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record in addition to the other forms.

If you live outside the United States and want to work here, you generally must apply for a visa from the U.S. Department of State either at your local Embassy or Consulate, unless a visa is not required for people from your country of nationality. We will have another article addressing when can you come to the United States and Travel Without a Visa.

In many cases, USCIS must approve your petition before you are eligible to apply for a visa abroad or seek admission at a port of entry. Before entering the United States, you must present yourself to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer and receive permission to enter the United States and engage in your proposed activity.

However, if you are in the United States in a lawful nonimmigrant status that does not provide employment authorization, you generally may apply to change the status to a nonimmigrant classification that provides employment authorization or an adjustment of status to become a lawful permanent resident.

Remember if you are in the United States, including if you are an applicant for permanent residence or a certain family member of an alien who has lawful nonimmigrant status, you may file for a work permit with Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

If you have entered illegally into the United States, or you overstayed your visa, or even presented yourself to point of entry and immigration processed you, there are certain employment categories you may apply for: For instance, when you are seeking asylum, when you entered with CBP-One or when you entered with Parole, you do qualify to file for Employment Authorization.

You should remember that this article is not intended to provide you with legal advice; it is intended only to provide guidance about immigration policies. Furthermore, the article is not intended to explain or identify all potential issues that may arise in connection with this program or any new immigration policies. Each case is fact-specific and therefore similar cases may have different outcomes.

About the images: Photo of women appliying for work by Liza Summer and photo of colleagues working together by Tim Douglas by pexels.com

CONGRATULATIONS TO CNY LATINO FOR ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY AND MAY THE SUCCESS CONTINUE!

Jose Enrique Perez represents individuals in immigration. If you have any questions or concerns about an immigration case or potential case, you can call him at (315) 422-5673, send him a fax at (315) 466-5673, or e-mail him at joseperez@joseperezyourlawyer.com. The Law Office of Jose Perez is located at 659 West Onondaga Street, Upper Level, Syracuse, New York 13204. Now with offices in Buffalo and Rochester as well!!! Please look for his next article in the March edition and stay safe. In addition to our current practice of Personal Injuries, Work Accidents, Social Security and Immigration, we now also practice Criminal, Traffic, Family, DWI and Divorce.