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 fast 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!

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

YOUR QUESTION: I, 47, male, have won the green card lottery and will probably move to Florida with my wife in the fall of 2006. Our son is 22 and unmarried. He is currently working as a trainee in a bank (Commerzbank) until 2/2007. He has the German Abitur (university entrance qualification) and a graduation diploma (he was an exchange student in Australia for one year). He would like to go the US as well with his own green card. He won last year via American Dream but his case number was too high and he didn't make it.

OUR ANSWER: You can apply in the US, but waiting times are, unfortunately, up to ten years for this category due to strict limitations. The requirement for the application is that you are living in the US permanently and still have your status at the time of application. An appropriate long-term work visa might be difficult to obtain due to your son's lack of qualification and/or work experience in order to bridge the waiting times until your son receives a permanent visa. He might want to consider going to college in the US, then he could stay for four years and maybe receive a long-term work visa after that (up to six years).

YOUR QUESTION: I am from Switzerland and working for a renowned Swiss bank. My employer offered me a position in the US, in New York. The entry and work permit won't be a problem for me, because my employer is mostly handling that. My wife of one and a half years, who is from Thailand, would like to work or go for a master's degree in accounting in the US. She received the bachelor's degree in Thailand in 1997. What visa would she have to apply for? What kind of difficulties will there be?

OUR ANSWER: Depending on what kind of visa your employer will get for you, your wife will probably receive a related E-2 visa (from your E-2 status) or the L-2 (derived from your L-1). In that case, she would be allowed to study and would not need a separate F-1 Study Visa. She may also apply for a work permit (EAD) at USCIS after entering the country. Thai citizens' visa applications are often denied, however, even E or L-visas, especially if they have relatives in the US. We just recently had such a case with one of our E-2 customers and his Thai wife here in Germany.

YOUR QUESTION: Is it possible to transfer an E-2 visa to another company. I am employed at a company that has secured me the E-2 visa. Unfortunately, it looks like the business is going to be closed. Now I have found a company that would like to take over my E-2 visa. Now my question: what documents do we need for the transfer or is there another way of receiving a work visa?

OUR ANSWER: A transfer is not possible, since each E-2 visa is issued specifically for one company. So the new company would already have to have E-2 registration for itself and its employees. In that case you could, just as you did with your old employer, apply for that status. Otherwise the company would first of all have to qualify for E-2 registration via an (extensive) application.

YOUR QUESTION: We have won the green card for my wife and myself with your help in 2003 and already made use of it to work in the US. Now, because of the birth of our son in April this year we will probably not be able to return to the US on time (last entry was in January of 2006). What can we do to extent the "deadline" of our stay in Germany?

OUR ANSWER: You should already have applied in the US in January 2006 (Travel document I-131) that would have given you permission to stay in Germany for up to two years. Unfortunately, you can only apply for the Travel document in the US, if your application is to be valid. Please not, however, that there no regulations for deadlines in American immigration law, which means you cannot permanently hold your status even if you enter the US once a year (no general status guarantee). In the long run, we recommend to have a so-called Boarding Letter issued for your child, so it may accompany you to the US. You can only apply for that at the US Citizenship and Immigration Center in Frankfurt, in person, with your green card.

YOUR QUESTION: My mother (72) has been married to an American citizen for 20 years. Since my stepfather (84) had a stroke and needs to be looked after 24 hours a day at home, my mother asked me to take care of him. We will pay for everything ourselves. My personal situation: 42, unmarried, no children, independent, not indigent. I am asking you for advice about all the formalities and applications we have to take care of.

OUR ANSWER: You could try applying for the so-called B-2 visa. For that you would need a written confirmation by your stepfather's doctor about his need of care, and your mother's wish that you take care of him because she, due to her age, feels unable to do so. You can submit the application to the US consulate general here in Germany. The maximum validity of the B-2 is 180 days. It can be extended in the US, but you should apply for that at USCIS at least 45 days before your status expires.

YOUR QUESTION: We would like to go on a two-week trip through the US in September 2006, but my friend has a criminal record and is still on probation (until March 2008). Might there be some kind of difficulty with obtaining a visa or will that not be a problem? My friend is already working again as a company employee and has a permanent residence, so her living conditions are "normal" apart from the criminal record.

OUR ANSWER: Unfortunately, your friend will not be able to get a visa at present. She won't be able to get one at least until her probation time is over, possibly not even for some time after that. A criminal record is one of the so-called non-admissibility grounds. According to our experience, it is not very likely that this can be changed by applying for a so-called Waiver, because usually US consuls are not willing to issue a recommendation for a Waiver, and even if he was, USCIS would probably not approve.