Authorities responsible for the visa process

There are some important differences in the processing steps of a visa process, the different types of visas are divided into several processing steps. The work-related visas cannot be applied for directly in Germany, the process has to be initiated in the US, provided the legal requirements can all be met. So you have to be especially careful if US lawyers tell you they can apply for visas at the responsible authorities for a fixed sum. This is the main difference between the US system and, for example, the Australian one, where you have to apply for the visas directly at the foreign embassies.

Some handbooks tell you that it is enough to show up at the US consulate with a work contract, a police clearance certificate and other identification documents and apply for an immigration visa or some other (work) visa. This is impossible because the regulations clearly state that the consulates have no authority for this without INS approval. The applicant will, first of all, need a so-called sponsor, usually an employer in the US, who initiates the process at the US authorities to obtain a work visa for the beneficiary (the applicant). This is the legal basis on which an employer may obtain a work visa for a foreign worker. Without this, a visa process isn't possible at all.

Provided the Department of Labor, represented by its ETA office in the respective state, approves the hiring of the foreign employee, a petition for the actual work visa can be filed with the INS. The INS is generally not bound by the recommendation of the Department of Labor. It has its own, often contradictory regulations. After the INS process is finished, the US consulate abroad is told to initiate the visa issuing process.

This makes it clear that the US consulate is more or less only an ‘appendix' to the entire process, even though it, too, may deny the visa. This shouldn't be the case for immigration visas, but it happened quite frequently over the past years in the case of work-related visas (such as the H-1B or the H2).

And the other way around, the INS may revoke non-immigration visas issued by the consulates at the ports of entry of the US, especially the different kinds of long-term visas. So even if you have a visa, you won't know whether you will actually be admitted into the US after you have passed the port of entry. The INS can revoke visas at the border without having to state any reasons, especially if the traveler has entered the US frequently for longer periods of time in the past, which may lead to the assumption that he or she is planning to stay in the US permanently (!)

This also applies to those who come to the US on the Visa Waiver Program (stays of up to 3 months). So the often recommended practice of just going to Canada or Mexico for a short time and then return to the US for another 3 months is really not all that recommendable.