Visa advice

As always, here are a few of our customers’ questions, answered by our counselors. All of our counselors possess many years of experience with the American immigration law and have profound knowledge of visa regulations, kept up-to-date by constant further and advanced training.

Please note that the following answers, even if they seem apply to your individual situation, do not necessarily have to be the correct answer for you. Since each situation is different, no responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information. To get information and advice for your own individual situation, please only rely on personal counsel and assistance from our experts.

The American Dream GmbH is accredited as an emigration counseling center for the for travel to the US according to German “Auswandererschutzgesetz” (emigrant protection law) and is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce.

Please let us know how we can help you. If you need counseling or an appointment, please contact us and we will assist you flexibly and as soon as possible. Any questions concerning our services and prices can be asked online anytime.

YOUR QUESTION: My husband is retired and we would like to buy a house in the US. Is it possible to get some sort of permanent visa?

OUR ANSWER: Unfortunately, there is no special permanent visa for pensioners according to US immigration law. Like everyone else, you will have to qualify for one of the standard visas. Many of our customers also try the green card lottery to achieve this, even though that is purely dependent on luck. Other than that, most German pensioners use a so-called B-2 tourist visa, that is issued for a period of three years and allows you to stay in the US for 180 days during that time.

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YOUR QUESTION: I was talking to my friends in the US and I’m thinking about staying in the US for some time (e.g. three months) to look for a job. What do you think about that?

OUR ANSWER: Traveling to the US to find a job can be very risky and should be well prepared. Under no circumstances should you have your job application documents on you when entering the US. If you are planning to stay for more than three months, you need a special tourist visa that you have to apply for first. Of course we can help you with that, but please note that while visiting the US to look for a job is perfectly legal, the intent to immigrate that will be suspected is not. So if you apply for a tourist visa and the purpose of your stay is to find a job, it will be suspected that you don’t have sufficient ties to Germany. As a consequence, the visa may not be granted. The consequence of this may be that you can’t use visa-free travel anymore either.

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YOUR QUESTION: Our town’s Einwohnermeldeamt (residents’ registration office) told me that my son needs a passport to travel to the US and that the valid red children’s passport with photo he already has would not work. The children’s passport was issued August 8, 2006 and is valid until February 20, 1012. I would like a short opinion from you.

OUR ANSWER: This information is incorrect: German children’s passports issued before October 26, 2006 can still be used for visa-free travel. Children’s passports issued or extended on or after October 25, 2006 cannot be used for visa-free travel, since those have not been issued as electronic passports with integrated computer chip. In that case a visa is required. Children can, however, apply for a regular electronic passport.

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YOUR QUESTION: We are a young family with a 1.5 year-old daughter and we would like to emigrate to the US. We have already been there for three months, left when our visas expired and would now like to take the next steps. We would like to apply for a green card and would like to know whether it is possible to apply for another tourist visa in the meantime so we can get back into the country. We don’t have any family in the US, but we have a good friend who would be willing to help us. What about if we apply for a study visa? What is the usual way of finding an employer in the US to get a work visa?

OUR ANSWER: You should not apply for a tourist visa. Since you have just been in the US for three months, this could be misunderstood and the visa denied. As a result, you also couldn’t use the Visa Waiver Program anymore. For a so-called B-2 visa you can only apply in your home country.

This is different if you apply for a business visa, a so-called B-2 visa. This is possible if you have a company in your home country (that has to be in business). A green card application can only be started by an American employer, but only if you are already working for him in the US on an appropriate temporary visa (e.g. H-1B, E- or L-visa). Some German companies agree to support the process if you are employed there and have been working for them in the US for a longer period of time already.

Your friend in the US cannot do anything for you, unless he has a US company and your qualification and the fact that no US worker is available for the position would allow him to hire you. (Depending on the visa system, there might be some exceptions to this rule.) In any case, he can’t submit a visa petition for you, if he’s not a US employer, and even then the process can take three to four years. The sponsoring of a person in the US under a legal status, as it was possible in the seventies, is no longer legally possible.

Information on the job search in the US can be found in our book “The American Dream.”

If you wish to participate in the green card lottery, you can find further information here.

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