Visa & More: Frequently Asked Questions

Below, you will find a selection of visa questions we have been asked by our customers over the last few days. Please note that none of the answers below is an actual substitute for individual consulting and can only touch on the real issues. We would like to point out that we do not take responsibility for the correctness of this information.

If you need fats and individual information, our service team is there for you on the phones from Tuesday to Friday between 10am and 5pm. Find the phone number on our homepage and get our experts' advice on everything visa as quickly and as conveniently as possible. Please note that our phone number has changed due to legal requirements!

Any questions can also be submitted via our homepage at any time.

And as usual, for all questions concerning the green card lottery just call our service team.

YOUR QUESTION: I would like to write my diploma thesis at a company in the US and also work at the company during that time, or do an internship. Do I need the F-1 or the J-1 visa for that? I hope to receive a reply soon!

OUR ANSWER: An internship requires the so-called J-1 visa. You may also do an internship as F-1 visa holder, but you would also have to enroll at university. The newest J-1 regulations and whether or not you fall into that category can be found in our newsletter of July in the newsletter archive on our homepage. We would advise you to focus on the internship in your application, writing your thesis while you're there shouldn't be a problem in our opinion.

YOUR QUESTION: My father is a US citizen and lives in the US. Unfortunately, I haven't yet met him. I would like to know, however, whether I could obtain a green card. I am 22 and studying Business Administration.

OUR ANSWER: First off, you would have to find out whether your father is willing to apply for family based immigration for you, since this would also have financial consequences for him. You should be able to provide evidence for some kind of a relationship between the two of you, so it doesn't look as if you're just using this as an excuse to get into the US and stay there. Waiting times for the F-1 category, i.e. US father to unmarried daughter over 21, are approximately 6 years at present. To that you would have to add the immigration process itself that can take several months.

YOUR QUESTION: I would like to visit a family I am friends with in San Diego, California for three months and help out in their household. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find the appropriate visa so far. I hope you can help me.

OUR ANSWER: That would be the H-2B visa. The family would first have to advertise the position and then accurately prove that no US citizen or immigrant who applied was suitable for the job. According to experience, this isn't easy in the case of household helpers. The administrative effort for the family, by the way, is quite a lot for a period of only three months and the fees fro US Citizenship and Immigration Services alone are roughly $1,800. The question is, whether this really makes sense. Unfortunately, we don't see an alternative to that visa for you.

YOUR QUESTION: I have been a self-employed business coach and trainer for 3 years, and in February 2008 at the latest, I will also be a certified psychologist. I received my training as a coach from a US organization. Since my husband is going to the Caribbean for one year in September next year as a doctor, I would like to fly to the US from there to offer coaching and training for companies and individuals. I wouldn't be employed anywhere, however, and not live there continuously for one year. I would travel regularly, according to demand. Is there a visa for that, or other processes/regulations/registrations that would allow me to charge my clients?

OUR ANSWER: You could set up an enterprise in the US, provided you already have one back home in Germany that you don't want to give up and that would continue to employ your staff. The L-1A visa could possibly apply to your situation. A B-1 visa would not be suitable as an alternative, since, on the condition of accounting via Germany, it would only cover a total of 180 days. Otherwise you couldn't, unfortunately, offer your services on a freelance basis to US companies, since this is only possible for permanent residents.

YOUR QUESTION: I have a criminal record, but it is 10 years old and it was only a small misdemeanor. Do I need a visa? I am flying September 8, and I won't get my passport before August 24. What do I have to do?

OUR ANSWER: You will officially always need a visa in such a case. If it later discovered that you would have needed one but have consciously chosen not to apply, you could be banned from the US for the rest of your life. However, you have to prepared for the possibility that the visa will be rejected, even if your criminal record is ten years old. Whether the US judges it to be a small misdemeanor (German law doesn't count here), can only be determined on the basis of the exact circumstances and the decision of the court. Legal sentences, however, often lead to visa denials even after a long time. Most consulates don't have open interview spots until September, which means you probably wouldn't get your passport back in time should your visa be granted.