Visa Information

Visitors to Florida from Britain, Holland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland traveling on valid national or EC passports do not need a visa for holiday or business travel of 90 days or less. However, all visitors must hold round-trip or return tickets especially if they enter the US on an airline or cruise line that participates in the no-visa travel program. For longer stays, all international visitors should obtain a B-2 (non-immigrant, pleasure tourist) visa, which is valid for six months.

Citizens of visa exempt countries may visit Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, as well as the Caribbean islands and then re-enter the US by any mode of transportation without needing a visa.

Citizens of countries other than those listed above will require a US visa, which can be applied for through the nearest US embassy or consulate.

In the case of loss of documents, report the loss promptly to your national embassy or consulate in the US, and local police. It is advisable to make photocopies of your passport and other documents, leaving one copy with someone at home, and carrying the other. Replacement of original documents is generally quicker if you can supply photocopy data of the originals.

Types of Visa

We have specialised in four categories of immigrant and non-immigrant visas, these are:

1. L-1A & L-1B Non - Immigrant - intra-company transferees
2. E-2 Treaty Investment Visa
3. Green Card Alien Registration Card - permanent residency
4. H-1 & H-2 Non - Immigrant - Specialised and seasonal visas

Each category listed above is explained in more detail below:

Definitions

The beneficiary of a visa is defined as the individual person who will receive the visa.
The petitioner for a visa is defined as the company in the United States for whom the beneficiary will work.

L-1A and L-1B Non-immigrant visa - Intra company transferee

The L-1A visa is intended to accomodate the intra company transfer of a managerial/executive employee from an overseas company to a United States affiliated company.
The L1-B visa is intended to accomodate the intra company transfer of an employee possessing specialised knowledge from an overseas company to a United States affiliated company.

E-2 Treaty investor non-immigrant visa

The E-2 treaty investor visa is made available for persons wishing to invest in business in the United States and thus live and work in the United States in order to develop and direct the business operation established by their investments. Minimum investment $100,000. The investment must not be marginal, i.e. the petition must show that the company will support the applicant, number of employees stated, and be an asset to the US economy and work force.

Green Card Permanent residency

The Alien registration card also known as "The Green Card" is the symbol of permanent resident status. Permanent resident status is available to beneficiaries who have demonstrated significant contributions to the economy of the United States.

H-1 & H-2 Non-immigrant specialized / seasonal visa.

The H-1B non-immigrant visa is available to professionals in specialty occupations who are coming to the United States to work in their fields of expertise. Eligibility requires at least a bachelor's degree or its equivalent in the specific field in which the beneficiary will operate.
The H-2B visa is avalible to foreign, seasonal or temporary workers needed to fill positions for which there are insufficient numbers of available, qualified American workers.

Do you qualify for a visa?

If you can answer 'Yes' to any of the following questions you may qualify for a Visa:

• Do you own a business or have a share in a business?
• Has that business been in existence for more than a year?
• Are you working in a managerial / executive position for a company, and have been continuously employed for 12 months in the last three years?
• Do you have in excess of $100,000 to invest in an existing business or a start up business?
• Do you have any secondary income e.g. pension / rental property etc.?

We have described the different types of non-immigrant and immigrant visas above, the next chapter explains the steps that you have to take and the procedure to a successful application.

What is the cost of a visa application?

The cost of a typical visa application is between $4,000 and $5,000 (£2,667 and £3,334) for a L, E and H application. The reason for the band is that the basic fee of $4,000 does not include incorporation of a US company which is usually an extra $400 (£267). INS (Immigration & Naturalization Service) fees are also not included as they are not refundable under our money back guarantee, these fees are subject to change but as of October 1999 are $110 (£74)

The cost of a Permanent Residency (Green Card) is $5,000 (£3,334) and also does not include INS (Immigration & Naturalization Service) fees which are subject to change but as of October 1999 are $225 (£150)

Our Immigration Department specialize in Business Visas and work exclusively with Entrepreneurs, Business Owners, Investors, Senior Executives and Managers. They pride themselves that with the help of one of their Attorneys, Certified Public Accountants and other professionals that they can offer a complete service for the same price that others charge for a lesser service.

They have spent considerable time in developing relationships with people they can trust and you can trust. They remain the contact point and will be happy to assist with advice during the development of your stay in the USA and beyond.

Each Visa application is unique. We are obviously in the hands of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, however approvals normally take between six and twelve weeks. With Permanent Residency, due to the complexity and number of different categories, this type of application take between 3 months and 15 months.