The United States is a desirable destination to visit, study or work. The US offers a magnitude of opportunities for high, semi and low-skilled workers in Canada who want to move south.
To work in the US, you must have a valid US visa and obtain proper authorization based on the program requirements from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The US offers a variety of temporary and permanent work visas that you can choose from. The terminology is slightly different from the Canadian equivalent:
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The following US visa programs authorize you to work temporarily in the US:
TN Visa: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) created special economic and trade relationships for the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The TN Visa permits qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to seek temporary entry into the United States to engage in business activities at a professional level.
You can apply if you have an offer for employment for temporary work in the US.
L-1 Work Visa: The L-1 Intracompany Transferee Work Visa is for Canadian companies who have locations in the US or would like to establish their business in the US.
If you are in an executive-level or management role in the company, you can be transferred to the US location.
H-1B Work Visa for Specialty Occupations: If you are a prominent fashion model, is employed in the US Department of Defense (DOD) or have a complex specialty occupation- usually a person with a degree, you can apply for the H-1B Visa for temporary work in the US.
H-2B - Temporary Non-Agricultural Worker Visa: The H-2B Visa is for foreign workers, family members, business owners and businesses who wish to work temporarily in a non-agriculture related occupation.
R-1 Religious Worker Visa: If you want to pursue religious work in the US, then you can qualify for the R-1 Visa that allows temporary work for foreign nationals who want to spread religious knowledge or preach in the US.
The O Visa Category is a classification of nonimmigrant temporary worker visas for individuals who possess an extraordinary ability and here are the different types:
O-1 Extraordinary Ability Worker Visa: If you are particularly talented in the field of arts, sport, business, education, or the sciences, you can qualify for this visa program.
O-1B Extraordinary Ability Worker Visa for Science, Education, Business, Athletics: This visa is for foreign nationals talented in the mentioned fields. This visa is also for family members and business owners.
O-2 - Personnel Accompanying O-1B Worker Visa Holders: This visa is for foreign nationals accompanying the O1-B visa holders as part of a sports team or staff in an entertainment group.
The P Visa Category is a classification of nonimmigrant temporary worker visas for athletes, entertainment groups and artists- here are the different types:
P-1 Worker Visa Category: This visa is for athletes who are part of a sports team or members of a group in an entertainment company who wish to come to the US for temporary employment.
P-1A - Work Visa for Globally Recognized Athlete or Sports Teams: As an internationally recognized athlete or member of a sports team coming to the US to participate in a competition or an event, this visa authorizes you for a temporary stay in the country.
P-2 - Work Visa for Performers or Groups Performing Under Reciprocal Exchange: The US has several reciprocal exchange programs. If you are a performer visiting the US as a part of this program, then you qualify for this visa.
The following visa programs authorize you for permanent work in the US:
Employment-Based:
EB-1 - Work Visa for Immigrants with Extraordinary Ability: The EB-1 Visa is for foreign nationals who are working as a professor or researcher with specialized expertise in their field or foreign nationals working in an executive or managerial position.
This visa program does not require you to have an offer of employment, however, you must have the relevant work experience.
EB-2 - Work Visa for Individuals with an Advanced Degree or Exceptional Ability: The EB-2 Visa is for skilled foreign workers, business owners with a valid job offer from an American employer.
EB-3 - Skilled, Professional, and Unskilled Worker Green Card: The EB-3 Visa is valid for foreign skilled workers, professionals, and unskilled workers who wish to immigrate to the US.
EB-4 - Green Card for Special Immigrants: If the USCIS determines that you are a ‘Special Immigrant’, then you can apply for the EB-4 Visa that allows you to live and work permanently in the US.
Family-Based Immigration or Sponsorship: there are 5 visa programs under the Immediate Relative (IR) category that allow US citizens to sponsor their immediate family members for permanent residence in the US:
IR-1 Family Visa - Spousal Visa: As a foreign national legally married to a US citizen, you can qualify for this spousal visa program.
IR-2 - Family Visa for Unmarried Child Under 21 Years of Age of a US Citizen: US citizens can sponsor their dependent children for residency in the US. The children must be under the age of 21 and unmarried.
IR-3 - Family Visa for Orphans Adopted Abroad by a US Citizen: As a US citizen, if you are adopting a child from a foreign country, then you can apply for this visa to bring your adopted child to the US.
IR-4 - Family Visa for Orphans to be adopted in the US by a US citizen: This visa allows US citizens to bring an orphaned child from a foreign country to the US provided they begin the adoption process in the child’s country of residence.
IR-5 - Family Visa for Parents of a US Citizen Who is at Least 21 Years Old: As a US citizen of 21 years of age, if you want to bring your parents to the US, then you can apply for this visa program. The parent will be authorized to live and work permanently in the US.
As a US citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), you can also apply for visa programs under the Family Preference Sponsor Visa. There are 4 visas under this category:
F-1 - Family First Preference: If you want to bring your child who is under the age of 21 and unmarried to the US, then this visa program works for you.
F-2 - Family Second Preference: This visa program is for the spouse, minor children and unmarried children under the age of 21 of US citizens who wish to immigrate to the US.
F-3 - Family Third Preference: As a married child of a US citizen, your parents will be able to sponsor your spouse and minor children through this visa program.
F-4 - Family Fourth Preference: This visa program allows the immigration of the siblings of US citizens, their spouse and minor children. The US citizen must be at least 21 years old to qualify.
My Visa Source made the process of my partner’s PR a breeze. We did run into an issue in the beginning as my partner initially started his PR progress with the intent of going through his work to get his PR. There were some difficulties that ended up leading us into doing his PR through common-law sponsorship, which ended up being a blessing in disguise as we were appointed a new Lawyer & team.
Harley Jensen was very much on top of everything from quick replies to our emails and if we ran into any difficulties she would always set up a phone call to ease us through the process. There was another lovely lawyer by the name Natasha who was also helping us through some difficulties.
Overall My Visa Source made us feel confident and at ease during this very stressful process. We would like to thank the team for all their hard work. I would definitely recommend them.
Sharing my experience with MVS. This firm has truly reliable and dependable professionals, no wonder it has won so many awards and accolades. After my initial spouse work permit rejection, I approached MVS and I was assured they’d handle my case sensitively. Bara was very calm and informative, he initiated my process. My wife’s permit case was assigned to Sharon and Marc. ‘Sharon’ is very knowledgeable and precise, she was always reachable and was prompt on her responses during the process. Her follow ups on every step was phenomenal. Such a gem! I blindly recommend her.
Marc on the other hand was the heart of the process, shout out to him as well..
All my stress was washed out as every actions performed by them was promising. I was optimistic and finally received the permits, now I can reunite with my family in coming days.
Couldn’t praise enough. Wish you best to unite and bring happiness to more families like ours.
I wish to personally meet you all one day to thank for what you’ve done. You’ve changed my life.
I've had a very bad experience with an immigration lawyer at another firm in the past, and I was very scare to experience that again. I found My Visa Source online and decided to give them a try because of their great reviews, and I don't regret it for a second!. Amazing experience, they really treated me like a human being and were very upfront and organized with all information.
Angel Pavlou is really an angel, very sweet and helpful, she help us a lot on our first stage of the process with the firm. She is an amazing human being!
Because we were applying through common-in-law sponsorship, my team was Harley and Natasha, an amazing team! We worked for about 4-5 month on the file to make sure everything needed was there. And even though they usually respond within 2-3 business days, by the last portion before submission, our emails were responded by the minute, which we really appreciate as it helped to speed up the process significantly.
Even though our contract with the firm ended with the submission of our application, they left the door open for further questions we may have about what's coming next with our application, which is a big support for us, and we really appreciate (as now we have a long road ahead before a final answer from IRCC comes).
Thanks Team! :)
At first I was a bit wary because we had some challenges with our spousal sponsorship case and all correspondence was done over the phone or email, but now that my husband has been approved, I can say with confidence I would hire My Visa Source again for any immigration needs. My husband was not even asked for an interview in the end. This firm works many different nationalities and passport holders and there experience is vast.
After previously going to another immigration service it became glaringly obvious how great this service was. Angel was able to answer all my questions and share with me some options that I had not been told of by the other lawyer. I highly recommend this service.
I absolutely love this firm. Very detailed and best help you can get. They do free consultation too which is great. Angel is amazing. Trevor is great.
Best team at My Visa Source. I was happy with how my application was handled.
This was a free consult call. I received the call exactly at the time arranged. Irfhan was very helpful, honest and informative. Unfortunately there weren’t many options for my case and he made no false promises. His integrity was impeccable and even though there wasn’t much that could be done he did offer some great suggestions and advice.
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I am pleased with the service provided by My Visa Source, and recommend My Visa Source for people who are confused about their immigration process and are looking for a helping hand.
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