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Visa & More: Frequently Asked Questions

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 to 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: I am a metalworker and specialize in ship building, I also have master craftsman diplomas as a metalworker and have been working continuously over the past years. I have a specific job offer from Tampa and would like to move there with my family. First, I would like to see how we manage there, then apply for the H-1B visa and eventually for a green card. My question is: is it possible for me at all to take my family with me and what requirements do I have to meet?

Our Answer: H-1B visas are available again in October 2009, the earliest date for the company to file a petition would be April 1, 2009. First you should check whether you qualify for the H-1B visa, since you don’t have an academic degree. For this, a so-called Work Experience Evaluation by an accredited service in the US would be helpful. The H-1B visa can be issued for an initial period of three years, after that, an application for the EB-3 green card would be the best course of action. For this, the company would have to provide evidence that it advertised the position but couldn’t find qualified workers in the US (a so-called PERM). Your family can get a related status, the H-4 visa. Your wife, however, may not work on that visa (in case she wishes to).

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Your Question: I study languages and want to improve my language skills with a five-months stay in the US. If possible, I would like to combine this with a summer job or, even better, an internship.

Our Answer: We don’t recommend a combination of language course and internship, since there isn’t any kind of visa for it. You could try it the other way around and apply for a J-1 visa, and maybe then your exchange organization can find a language course for you to go along with your internship. You may also be paid as an intern. With the B-2 visa or the F-1 student visa, you are not allowed to work in the US.

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Your Question: I have been an employee in a German branch of a US software company for nine years and two to four times a year I’m in the US for events, seminars etc. (mostly organized by the company). Up to now, I always went without a visa (under the Visa Waiver Program).

Our Answer: You need a B-1 Business Visitor Visa. If you are frequently entering the US, even if you don’t stay for more than 90 days altogether, this is the best way of avoiding long and mostly unpleasant interrogations at border control. The visa departments need evidence that you frequently have to go to the US for professional purposes to issue the B-1 visa, and in addition documentation about your employment situation and evidence that you are not being paid by the US headquarters. Also, you should leave the impression of being linked to the US parent company.

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Your Question: I am currently on my sabbatical. My B-2 Visitor Visa has already been denied, since I have already been in the US twice for 90 days each. I went to the US for 90 days again, anyway. I was told, however, that it might be difficult for me to enter the country again.

Our Answer: It is very much possible, that your entry will be denied at the border next time. They probably already suspect that you have the intention to immigrate (immigration law section 214 b). If you are turned away at the border next time and this goes on file in the US consulates, you will have even greater difficulties getting back into the country. You will get a life-long ban for visa-free travel. Usually, entering the US that often for a period of time will lead to greater difficulties in the future, no matter what visa you apply for (with the exception of immigrant visas).

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Your Question: At the end of this month our daughter is supposed to start at a school in the US that is not accredited by SEVIS (F-1). That means, we don’t get the I-20. She will attend school in other countries for two months each semester and would never be at the private boarding school in the US for more than 63 days at a time. How can we solve this in such a short time? My daughter has a host family in Illinois and also a place at a high school (organized by a German teacher who works there). Is it possible for my daughter (15) to enter the US on a B-2 visa for 6 months?

Our Answer: In both cases, admission into the country isn’t possible. In the first scenario, your daughter would travel under the Visa Waiver Program, which wouldn’t allow her to attend school. Since border controls are very strict, the whole thing would probably be discovered and your daughter would be turned away at the border. As a consequence, she might get a life-long ban for visa-free travel. If she manages to enter the country and it is later discovered that she attended high school, she may still get a life-long ban.

For the second scenario, the school is probably a public school. She may only attend that school if it is a F-1 SEVIS approved school. Attending school on a B-2 visa (which probably couldn’t be issued in the first place) is not acceptable and would, same as the above scenario, lead to unpleasant consequences. You should avoid this at all costs.

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Your Question: Since August 2008 I am in the US on the H-4 visa, I am accompanying my husband. I have a job offer from a German company who would like to employ me here and set up a ship building company. We are looking into the E-2 visa. I have one question about that: where does the company need to employ me? My new employer has also established a company in Florida, he could hire me via that company as well. Does the E-2 visa go along with the H-4, and with my husband’s H-1B? How long does the application process take?  Is there anything important that I should know?

Our Answer: The company can employ you in the US or in Germany. In both cases you do not need to prove a minimum time of employment with the German parent company. There will be no problems with your H-4 or your husbands H-1B if you get the E-2. In case you get the E-2, the H-4 will simply be invalidated and replaced by the E-2. Currently, processing time for an initial company registration in Frankfurt takes between four and six weeks (this is not automatically also the time frame for your visa). And in case your husband loses his H-1B, he can profit from your E-2 and receive a related status that he can use to acquire a work permit.