Visa Alphabet Soup
The visa category designed for temporary business trips, attending conferences, and negotiating contracts.
What is a B-1 visa
A client wants to travel to the US for a 2-week vacation and a medical checkup. This is the correct visa recommendation.
What is a B-2 (or B-1/B-2) visa or ESTA?
The online application form required for all foreign nationals applying for a US nonimmigrant visa.
What is the form DS-260?
Under INA Section 214(b), consular officers must assume every visitor visa applicant has this intent until proven otherwise.
What is immigrant intent (intent to abandon foreign residence)?
The first step in a sales discovery call to determine whether a client qualifies for a specific US visa category pathway.
What is an eligibility assessment?
The nonimmigrant visa designed for intracompany transferees working in executive or managerial positions.
What is an L1A
A client with a French passport wants to start a business in the US with $100,000+ in active capital investment
What is an E-2 Treaty Investor visa?
The US government agency responsible for adjudicating employer petitions like I-129 and I-140 inside the United States.
What is USCIS? (US Citizenship and Immigration Services)
True or False: Holding a B-1/B-2 visitor visa allows an individual to receive a local salary from a US company while working remotely in the US.
What is False? (Productive employment for a US employer is strictly prohibited).
The main distinction between an "Immigrant Visa" and a "Nonimmigrant Visa" when setting client expectations.
What is a Green Card vs. a work visa
The non-immigrant visa category reserved for foreign investors making a substantial capital investment in a US commercial enterprise
E-2
A corporate tech client wants to sponsor a foreign engineer with a bachelor's degree, but needs to enter a selection lottery each spring.
What is an H-1B visa?
The fee-based USCIS service that expedites petition processing down to 15 business days for eligible visa classes.
What is Premium Processing or Form I-907?
This is the primary reason why a client holding a passport from a Visa Waiver Program (VWP)/ESTA country might still need a regular B1/B2 visa.
What is staying longer than 90 days (or travel history to restricted/sanctioned countries)?
A key value point to explain to a corporate client considering an L-1 visa over an H-1B visa.
What is "No annual lottery /cap system" or spousal work authorization?
The nonimmigrant status reserved for individuals with extraordinary ability in science, arts, education, business, or athletics.
What is the O-1 visa
A student client majoring in Biology wants to extend their stay in the US to work in a science field for up to 3 years post-graduation.
What is a STEM OPT extension (F-1 visa)?
The form issued by an accredited US university that enables an international student to schedule their visa interview and to evidence the university's endorsement for work authorization?
What is Form I-20?
When pitching an E-2 investor visa, passive investments in this sector generally fail the qualifying criteria.
What is real estate / land purchasing?
The term for foreign dependents (spouses and unmarried children under 21) joining a primary visa applicant.
What are Derivative Applicants (or Derivative Status)?
will accept "Dependents" instead of "Derivatives"
The work visa specific to citizens of Canada and Mexico under the USMCA trade agreement
What is the TN visa
An overseas business owner wants an L-1A visa and tells you their foreign company has only been active for 4 months. Why do they fail qualification?
What is the requirement to be employed continuously abroad for at least 1 out of the past 3 years?
The labor certification document filed with the Department of Labor before an H-1B petition can be submitted to USCIS specifying they are paying at least the prevailing wage for that position in a particular geographic area?
What is an LCA (Labor Condition Application)?
A client's visa application is delayed because USCIS requested more evidence to prove eligibility. The official acronym for this notice is...
What is an RFE (Request for Evidence)?
A prospect says, "I'll just apply on my own online." The strongest sales response highlights this risk.
What is high denial rates due to incorrect documentation/filing mistakes (or loss of non-refundable government fees?