US immigration official clears the air on visa norms

Going to the United States on a H-1B visa may be difficult but it is much easier to make it through the H-2B visa. Another category, J-1 provides for an easy route to the land of opportunities.

These were some of the interesting details given by a US based Immigration Attorney, Douglas Osterloh, to a gathering of students and parents to a US immigration seminar, organized by VisaPro, a US-based organization specializing in immigration at the Visvesvarayya Bhavan here on Tuesday.

In the non-immigrant section, visas can be obtained in 14 categories like B-2 (tourists, visiting relatives and friends, medical treatment and attending meetings) and F-1 (students). He explained how spouses or children under the age of 21 could get into the US with an F-1 visa holder. The H-1B visa, given to professional, is the most sought after one allows dependents to stay with them as long as the status is maintained. It also allows dependents to attend school. Another category, H-1C is gaining popularity in India because it is given to nurses to work in US hospitals. Doctors, who do not easily get a visa, can try under J-1 category.

Mr. Douglas explained that getting a visa to the US had become quite difficult after the September 11 attack. However, if the papers were proper and the visa counselor was convinced about the authenticity of certificates and credentials of the candidates, the task became much easier. "Never lie to a counselor. One has to be confident, honest and sincere during the visa interview. Even a small lie can change things because visa counselors are trained to be suspicious," he cautioned the aspirants.

He said visas were mostly denied under section 214 (b), where the counselor feels the candidate may not come back from the US and under section 222(g) if document deficiencies were found. Many people chose the spouse options if they did not a H-1B but even that could be denied on any ground. One cannot be sure of entering the US even after a visa is granted.

The INS inspectors at the US airports can also send back the candidates if they find anything fishy. However, he said, justice could be sought by applying to the officers and that is here the immigration lawyers came into the picture. Venkat Ramineni, founder, VisaPro Immigration Services explained about the various categories of visas available.

He said VisaPro would provide help to candidates regarding immigration and guide them with regard to visa applications, procedures involved and options available. More than 125 immigration services are provided. He said VisaPro specializes in online processing of visas, and inexpensive online and telephone consultation with immigration attorneys. The details can be had on www.visapro.com