Selection: 9 useful materials about "professional" emigration to the USA

According to a recent Gallup study, over the past 11 years, the number of Russians wishing to move to another country has tripled. Most of these people (44%) are in the age group under 29 years old. Also, according to statistics, among the most desirable countries for immigration among Russians, the United States is confidently holding.

I decided to collect useful links in one topic to materials about various types of visas and other issues important to potential immigrants.

Types of work visas

Three types of visas that give the right to work are best suited for IT professionals and entrepreneurs:

H1B is a standard work visa that is received by employees who receive an offer from an American company.
L1 - visa for internal corporate transfers of employees of international companies. So an employee from the offices of an American company in other countries moves to the United States.
O1 is a visa for outstanding professionals in their industry.

Each of these options has its pros and cons.

Work visa H1B

People who do not have citizenship or a residence permit in the United States must obtain a special visa - H1B to work in this country. Its receipt is sponsored by the employer - he needs to prepare a package of documents and pay various fees.

Everything is fine for the employee here - the company pays for everything, it is very convenient. There are even specialized sites, such as the MyVisaJobs resource, with which you can find companies that most actively invite H1B visa workers.

Top 20 visa sponsors for 2019

But there is one drawback - not everyone who received an offer from an American company will be able to immediately come to work.

H1B visas are subject to quotas that change annually. For example, the quota for the current fiscal year 2019 is only 65 thousand visas. At the same time, last year 199 thousand applications for its receipt were submitted. There are much more applicants than issued visas, so a lottery is being held among applicants. It turns out that in recent years the chance to win in it is 1 out of three.

In addition, applying for a visa and paying all duties costs the employer at least $ 10,000, this is in addition to paying salaries. So you have to be a very valuable shot so that the company is so tense and at the same time risking not seeing an employee in the country anyway due to a loss to the H1B lottery.

Useful articles for H1B visa applicants:

Visa L1

Some large American companies with offices in other countries bypass the restrictions of type H1B visas with type L visas. There are different subtypes of such visas - one of them is designed for transfers by top managers, and the other for transporting talented employees to the USA (special knowledge worker)

Usually, in order to be able to move to the United States without any quotas or lotteries, an employee must work at least one year in a foreign office.

According to this scheme, talented specialists are transported by companies such as Google, Facebook and Dropbox. For example, there is a common pattern in which an employee for some time works in an office in Dublin, Ireland, and only then moves to San Francisco.

Useful links for those who are going to move to the USA in transit through the foreign office of a large company:

5 mistakes in preparing for professional immigration to the USA

Work at Google: Fly in the ointment

4 useful services for potential immigrants to the USA, Europe and other countries

Visa O1

By definition, the US Immigration Service, in order to qualify for an O1 visa, the applicant must demonstrate their professional recognition at the national or international level. You also need to have a clear purpose for coming to the United States to work in your field. An O1 visa application must be submitted on behalf of a company or organization registered in the United States.

The main advantage of this type of visa is that it is granted for 3 years, no quotas or other restrictions are provided for its holders.