Attorney In Immigration
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Dependents Wanting to Work in America on an L2 Visa
By Dave T Corby
Aug 21st
As a Director in an international company wanting to work in America, the L1 Blanket, or L1 Visa, was probably the simplest visa to obtain. This is available to anyone in senior management who want to transfer from a UK company to an American branch of the same company. One benefit of this type of visa is that the dependents automatically receive an L2 visa.
With the L2 visas comes the automatic permission to go to school and college (the equivalent of an F1 visa) and particularly include the ability to claim residency in an area. School is always free, but declaring residency is of great financial benefit for the college student who is able to claim a substantial discount of many thousands of dollars.
It is useful to note that only the main applicant can obtain a Social Security Number on entry to America. This number is extremely important as proof of permission to work as well as a generally requested unique identification number. Not having one is very restrictive especially for adults.
When we applied for the L1 Blanket Visa we were pleased to hear that it included permission for the spouse to work. However, either through naivety or not reading the small print, we missed the fact that the work permit still needed to be applied for.
After some misguided discussions with the immigration service we discovered that the spouse has to fill out a form I-765: Application for Employment Authorization. A fee of $340 was also required. We did then receive the work permit but many months of income and work satisfaction were lost.
With the work permit comes the ability to obtain a Social Security Number. You cannot get paid without an SSN.
When thinking of relocating to America it is very important to seriously consider the objectives for your dependents who are, or will become, over eighteen. While they can enjoy the adventure of an American college they will undoubtedly want to earn money in one or more part-time jobs. This would certainly be in the plans of the majority of teenagers in England.
The problem is that as a dependent child on an L2 visa they are treated the same as any other foreign national (alien) wanting to work in America. Although you would not normally expect special treatment for your children, you may think that as they were brought along with you, and still a dependent, then there might have been a fast track way to obtain a work permit – even if it was only temporary until the age of twenty-one, or until the family went home.
However the truth is that the only way one of your dependents can work, other than your spouse, is to be sponsored into temporary ‘seasonal’ work or go through the full process of applying for a Greencard. This process can literally take years.
Having the opportunity to relocate to work in America is a wonderful chance to see how another culture lives and to open up the world to your children. Consider the plans for each individual in your family carefully and you will all be able to make the most of the adventure.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Dependents-Wanting-to-Work-in-America-on-an-L2-Visa&id=4546422
What is Really at the Heart of Immigration? – The American Dream
By Herb Leibacher
Aug 20th
We all have heard the words engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty which stands in New York harbor – stating that the United States welcomes the poor who are looking for freedom. These words welcome those who desire to come to our country to live a life of freedom. These words have meant a great deal to those seeking safety and happiness.
It is a fact that no one who lives here now, except the descendants of the American Indians, are truly native to this soil. Although many of us claim a long line of American citizenship in our family tree we also must acknowledge that our ancestors too came to America from elsewhere to start a new life; seek our fortune and worship as we chose. The records of ships arrivals and of immigration processing through that very harbor in New York City are stored in the files on Ellis Island where they first set foot on our land.
Anyone who wants to find his ancestors can go online with services like Ancestry.com and look at the immigration records of the ships that docked at Ellis Island and discover the name of the ship his ancestor arrived on. Tracing a person’s family back to its arrival on American shores can make it all seem more real.
A lot of people immigrate every year. They come from countries that are oppressive or poor to the United States where they believe that they have a better chance at a good life. The U.S. takes second place in the world in immigration. In countries that permit immigration, there is selectivity in the process. For instance, many countries have regulations that say a person cannot immigrate to that unless he or she can be a productive member of said country. Sometimes people immigrate in order to be with family members who live in another country. Sometimes people immigrate to get away from religious persecution or because of unequal treatment between sexes or among colors. Sometimes people immigrate to another country because of political beliefs.
There are people who have come to the United States to live from another country that have done so because they still believe the stories about the American Dream. People who live in shanties in their own country, without running water or electricity, dream about coming to America and having their own house with both. People who have never had dreams because they knew attaining them was impossible come to America to dream.
This is one of the reasons we have so many illegal immigrants. Their own country has less than nothing to offer them so they are more than willing to take the risk that is necessary to get to America. These people are willing to give all of their money to someone get them into the United States even if it is illegally.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Really-at-the-Heart-of-Immigration?—The-American-Dream&id=4554278
