Immigration to the United States became so massive that over time, the government of this state had to introduce its own restrictions and create special permits. Every year, more than 500 thousand residents of different countries leave for permanent residence in the United States.
There are several legal ways to immigrate to the United States perfectly legal. Everyone can choose for himself the one that can suit him.
Win a green card
A green card is a certificate that gives you the right to live and work in the United States. Every year, the United States holds a lottery in which 55 thousand green cards are drawn. All educated or working residents of countries with low US immigration are eligible to participate. To do this, you need to fill out a questionnaire on the website of the American government and wait for the computer to select the winners.
If suddenly you are lucky (the chance to win a green card is about 1 in 200), then you will need to fill out a questionnaire, go through a medical examination, collect a huge package of documents and then come for an interview at the US Embassy. If all goes well, then it will be possible to sell the property and immigrate to America.
Get a job offer
If you convince any American company that it needs an employee like you, then with its help you can get yourself a work visa. There are two types of work visas – H1B and L1. The H1B visa is issued to qualified workers for a period of 3 years. But they have a limit – only 65 thousand people can get them a year. The employer will submit the visa documents for you, while he must prove that he could not find a suitable American for the promised position.
The L1 visa is issued to senior managers who wish to open a representative office of their company in the United States. If you have your own company with a good annual turnover and at least three employees, then you have every chance of getting one. To do this, you will need to collect a huge package of documents, immigrate to the USA, make the branch profitable, and then you can apply for an extension of a work visa or a green card.
Be talented
If you are an outstanding athlete, musician, scientist, writer, dancer or businessman, then you can apply for an O1 visa to immirate to the USA. This is another type of work visa, so an American who wants to hire you or promote your talent must apply for it. You will need to provide all evidence of your talent – certificates, diplomas, recorded albums, paintings, recordings from concerts and everything else that can confirm your talent. Consideration of the application takes several months.
Get political asylum
To obtain asylum, you will need to prove that something is threatening your well-being in your home country. You will need to indicate who exactly is oppressing you – the state itself or simply evil people from whom the police refuse to protect you. Cases of persecution due to political views, religious beliefs, ethnicity, or membership of a social group are eligible for filing. After submitting the application, the Citizenship and Immigration Service will carefully check everything and then inform you of its decision if you can immirtate to the USA or not.
Get married
You can enter into a sham marriage with an American citizen and apply for a green card to move to the USA. There are even special intermediaries who can easily find you a pair for a certain amount. But in an interview before applying for a green card, you will need to prove that your marriage is real. You have to live together, tell the same stories about a joint vacation, visit each other’s parents, have common accounts, mutual friends and a bunch of joint photos.
If the fictitious marriage is revealed, then you will face five years in prison or a huge fine. Also, when looking for a fictitious lover, there is a great chance to run into scammers who will leave you for money or start blackmailing you. Therefore, the best option is to marry an American or marry an American for love.
Survive “physical and psychological shocks”
To settle in America, you can try to apply for a U visa – it is also called the “victim visa”. You will be given it if you are a victim or witness of a serious crime committed in the United States. It can be violence, slave trade, kidnapping and murder. The essence of the “victim visa” is that America grants you a residence permit in exchange for help in solving the committed crime.
The visa is valid for 4 years, and by the end of its validity, you can apply for a green card. It often happens that illegal immigrants pay someone to deliberately stab them with a knife at the camera. If you decide to follow the same path, then you will have to get a good lawyer who can prove in court that you are not a fraud.
Family ties
If you have permanent relatives in America, according to the existing laws there, you can legally emigrate and, upon arrival, begin to apply for permanent residence in the United States, but there are always restrictions. Firstly, family ties must be very close, and secondly, it is necessary to get on the list of immigration visas, since there is a certain number of such documents that are allowed to be issued per year.