While there are about 185 different types of visas, there are two main categories of U.S. visas:

Nonimmigrant visa - for temporary visits such as for tourism, business, work, visiting family, or studying.

Immigrant visa - for people to immigrate to the United States.

Depending on your current immigration status or situation, there are a number of visas available to foreign nationals wishing to permanently immigrate to the United States. There is a fiancée visa (if you are a foreign national engaged to a U.S. citizen), family visas (if you have or are the relative of a U.S. citizen and wish to immigrate to the U.S.), a work visa (if you have unique skills or requirements which make you a hot commodity in a particular field or industry), and more.

Permanent residency, obtained through a green card, allows a foreign national to live in work in the United States on a potentially indefinite basis. When a green card is first issued it is often a temporary green card and is valid for two years. After the first two years, providing you have not been convicted of any criminal activity and have maintained your eligibility status, you can apply for a permanent residence visa which is valid for ten years.

If your visa has expired, the first thing you need to do is contact an immigration attorney from our firm. We will sit down with you, review your current status and situation, and then help you determine the best course of action to pursue. Time is of the essence when it comes to expired visas, so we advise you do no delay.

Factors considered by the USCIS include:

Whether the applicant has an immediate relative who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident;

Whether the applicant has a permanent employment opportunity in the U.S., and whether that employment fits under one of the five eligible employment categories;

Whether the applicant is making a capital investment in the U.S. that meets certain dollar thresholds, and that either creates or saves a specified number of jobs; and

Whether the applicant qualifies for refugee status as an individual who suffers or fears persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political view, or membership in a certain group in his or her country of origin.

A spouse's permanent resident status will be conditional if it is based on a marriage that was less than two years old from the day the permanent resident status was granted. To remove the conditions, the spouse must establish that the purpose of the marriage was not to evade the U.S. immigration laws.

If the marriage to the U.S. citizen who filed the petition to permit the fiance(e) into the U.S. does not take place within 90 days of entering the U.S., the fiance(e) will be required to leave the country.

Yes. A married U.S. citizen, or an unmarried citizen who is at least 24 years of age and will be at least 25 when the petition is actually filed, may file a Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, to speed up the adoption process.

The federal Immigration and Nationality Act provides the basis for U.S. immigration law.