Immigration:
A: The first step is to get a visa to enter the United States--this is based on one's relationship to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. For people wishing to remain, the next step is to gain U.S. permanent residency status (a.k.a "Green Card"). Eventually, it is advisable to become a U.S. citizen. U.S. Citizens who are 21 years old may petition to sponsor a child, parent, brother, or sister to become a permanent resident. The ability to sponsor another person is based on household income and the number of people who will live in the household if the petition is granted. Permanent residents are not allowed to sponsor parents, brothers or sisters, but may petition to sponsor their own children. Documents such as divorce decrees, marriage certificates, birth certificates, and adoption documents are very important to this process.
A: There are many different types of temporary work visas. For example, a B-1 visa allows people to enter the United States to attend a business seminar or meeting. An E-1 "Treaty Trader" visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows business managers and business owners to live and work in the United States for two year terms if they are from countries that enjoy a bilateral treaty relationship with the United States and if their business has certain characteristics. Professors and researchers often use J-1, H1-B, O-1, or TN visas to enter the United States. Artists and entertainers may uitilize a P-1, P-2, or P-3 visas. Changing one's status is sometimes possible depending on the type of visa originally granted.
A: It is very important to speak with an immigration attorney with criminal defense experience prior to entering a plea to a crime when one is in the United States on any type of visa. The most important crimes to avoid are crimes of fraud--even using the wrong tag on one's car can badly undermine one's status in the United States. Agreeing to a pre-trial diversion program may lead to problems with one's immigration status. Consult an attorney to fully weigh your options.
A: A variety of people may be eligible for an employment authorization card: people who have applied for adjustment to permanent residence status, asylum seekers, refugees, people who have temporary protected status or people who are applying for temporary protected status, fiancees of U.S. citizens, and dependants of foreign government officials.
A: The H1-C visa allows foreign nurses meeting certain requirements to work in the United States. The requirements include: having a full, unrestricted license to practice nursing in one's country of origin, having a state license to practice nursing in the state where the foreign nurse intends to work upon arrival in the United States, and being elible and qualified for employment under the local laws of the place where the foreign nurse intends to work at the time of entry into the United States.
A: First an attestation must be made by the hospital/medical facility on Form ETA-9081. Only after the attestation is made, may a Form I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker be filed. Along with the peition a number of supporting documents would be filed: a copy of the Department of Labor's acceptance of the Form ETA-9081, a statement describing any limitations on the foreign nurse's services due to state or local laws, evidence that that the foreign nurse is authorized to practice nursing in the relevant state and that the sponsoring facility is a health care provider, evidence that the foreign nurse has the relevant state license to practice nursing, evidence that the foreign nurse will be fully elible to practice at the time of his or her admission to the United States.