What do you need to know to immigrate to America?

The reform of American immigration policy has attracted worldwide attention, and many immigrants in the United States have expressed their protests, which has caused Trump, who has just taken office, to be bombarded by all walks of life. So are you interested in American immigrants? What basic immigration knowledge do people who are going to immigrate to the United States need to know? Let's take a look at it with the overseas immigration network! Welcome to reading.

Basic knowledge of American immigrants

1. What's the difference between the children of close relatives of American citizens and the unmarried children of American citizens whose relatives are the first priority? What's the difference between the application procedures?

According to the concept of immigration law, close relatives of American citizens refer to their spouses, children and parents.

Children who are close relatives of American citizens must be unmarried under the age of 20.

At present, close relatives of American citizens have quotas when applying for immigration.

But there are many places, so you don't have to wait for a visa.

Unmarried children of American citizens as first-class students refer to unmarried children of American citizens over the age of 20.

Once married or over 2 1 year old, you are not allowed to be a close relative of an American citizen.

When applying for immigration, you should queue up to apply according to the priority category of immigrants.

2. What's the difference between children born in legal marriage and those born in immigration law?

Children born to unmarried people who have reached 2 1 year-old after their parents are legally married, as long as the children are born to legal marriage, the children are under 2 1 year-old and unmarried when their parents apply for immigration to the United States and their visas are approved for the first time.

You can move to the United States at the same time as your parents. A legitimate child refers to a person who has a legitimate child but has reached the age of 20 or is married.

If such people want to apply for immigration to the United States, they should queue up to apply according to the priority immigration category.

Therefore, if you want to move to the United States with your parents since childhood, you must have two prerequisites, one is that you are under 2 1 year old, and the other is that you are married in wood, which is indispensable.

3. What kind of children born of de facto marriage belong to in immigration law?

Whether de facto marriage is recognized by American immigration law depends on whether de facto marriage is recognized in one's own country.

If domestic law recognizes de facto marriage, from the perspective of American immigration law, children born of de facto marriage are as legal as children born of legal marriage.

In the case that de facto marriage is not recognized in domestic law, if a child born of de facto marriage wants to apply for immigration according to the father-son relationship, he must claim the child as a legal child according to the claim procedure of his own country (or the country where his father lives) before applying for immigration.

4. What is a stepson?

A stepchild refers to a person who remarries with his biological parents and establishes a stepchild relationship through the relationship between one parent and the newlywed spouse. If there is no marriage contract between the father or mother and the new spouse, and the stepchild relationship is not established through marriage, there is no legal stepchild relationship.

If the newlywed spouse of the father or mother is an American citizen or a permanent resident of the United States, as long as the child is unmarried under 2 1 year old, he can immigrate with the remarried father or mother.

5. What is the difference between an illegitimate child who legally claims to be a legitimate child and an adopted child?

Children born out of wedlock who legally claim to be legitimate children are related to the visa applicant. The difference is that there is no legal marriage relationship between parents when the child is born, but after birth, parents claim that the child is a legitimate child through marriage or other legal procedures.

After completing the legal claim procedure, the child can apply for immigration according to the legal relationship between parents and children.

Adoption refers to the adoption of children born to others as their own children through legal procedures.

Generally speaking, there is no blood relationship between adopted sons and adoptive parents, unless adopted sons are brothers and sisters in the family. Once the adoption system is established, American law regards the adopted child as the child of the adoptive parents, and the biological parents of the adopted child will terminate all legal relations with the child.

Adopted children enjoy equal legal rights with their own children.

Therefore, the American immigration law stipulates that the biological parents of the adopted child may not apply for immigration with this dissolved parent-child relationship.

6. When applying for a non-immigrant visa, how can I prove that I have no intention to immigrate?

All kinds of non-immigrant visas not only involve the question of whether there is immigration intention, but also need to clearly prove that there is no immigration intention to get a visa.

Generally speaking, whether spouses and children still stay in China; Whether there is a stable job after returning to China; Whether there is a fairly stable economic base in China and whether there are deposits; Whether there is housing in China; Whether the arrangement of activities in the United States includes relevant information such as the time of returning home can be used to prove whether there is an intention to immigrate.

7. Can the short-term non-immigrant visa be extended?

In addition to individual visas, non-immigrant visas can generally be extended, but there is a longest validity period.

The longest validity period of different visas is different. For example, when entering the country, the B visa is generally only given for six months, and then it can be extended to one year. F- 1 The student visa can only be extended to eight years at most according to the law before 1990.

However, the new immigration law of 1990 cancels the time limit of F- 1 student visa. J- 1 The maximum extension period of a visa depends on different exchange programs. See the relevant section of non-immigrant visa for details.

8. How to apply for visa extension? What supporting materials are needed?

Form I-539 (application for extension/change of non-immigrant status) should be filled in when applying for visa extension or visa change, and submitted to the Immigration Bureau within 15 to 60 days before the original visa expires.

At the same time, the reasons for applying for extension or change of visa should be explained. To apply for visa extension, you must explain the reasons for visa extension to the Immigration Bureau and provide relevant information.

For example, the letter issued by the school explaining the reasons for extending the visa, the letter from the project sponsor and other related materials.

9. Why are the validity periods of non-immigrant visas different? Why do visa holders stay in the United States for different periods?

The validity of the visa depends on the different purposes and activities of each person coming to the United States. Generally speaking, everything that needs to be done in the United States can be completed within the validity period of the visa.

For example, visa holders have six months to visit relatives and friends, which can be extended to 1 year at the longest; Business trips also have a year to do things; The length of student visa mainly depends on the time required for the subjects studied; Training time depends on the training plan, and so on.

10. Can I legally stay in the United States as long as I have a visa?

All kinds of visas have different purposes.

Visa holders abide by American laws after entering the country, and those who engage in activities according to the purpose and plan of the visa have the right to stay in the United States legally within the validity period of the visa.

However, if you engage in activities for non-visa purposes within the validity period of the visa, you may be arrested, fined or deported once you are found or seized by the immigration bureau.

1 1. What are the restrictions on changing the visa category?

Generally speaking, there are several kinds of visas that cannot be converted, and you will leave the country when the visa expires. For example: K visa. The visa is valid for four months. The holder is an unmarried spouse who came to the United States as an American citizen. The law stipulates that he should get married within three months after entering the country. Unmarried people must leave the country and cannot be converted into other non-immigrant visas.

There are also certain restrictions on changing B-2 visa to F- l student visa. If the Immigration Bureau finds that the applicant's entry motivation is to study rather than to visit relatives, it will generally not change.

However, if you tell the consul when you apply for a B-2 visa that you intend to learn about American schools, the consul will indicate on the visa that it will be smoother to change to a student visa after entering the country. Foreigners holding J visas are also restricted from returning to China within two years if they want to accept long-term employment and apply for permanent residency.

12. What are the dependents of non-immigrant visa holders who belong to the main visa holder?

Non-immigrant visas, such as B- 1, F- 1, H- 1, H-2, H-3, J- 1, are master visas, (master visas), and visas held by their accompanying families, such as B-2, F, etc.

For example, the stay time of accompanying family members eligible for derivative visas in the United States is subordinate to the stay time in the main visa, and generally does not exceed the stay time in the main visa. When the visa of the main visa holder expires, the accompanying family members should also leave the country at the same time.

Different derivative visas have different regulations on the work of accompanying family members in the United States. See the introduction of non-immigrant visa for details.

However, if the accompanying family members apply to change to other non-subordinate status after entering the country, if the F-2 accompanying family member visa is changed to F- 1 student visa, the original accompanying family member visa will be invalid. In this case, the length of stay in the United States, work rights and interests, etc. , depending on the visa that has been converted.

13. What is the so-called visa conversion category? Where should I go through the formalities?

Generally speaking, changing visa category means that foreigners apply for changing to another visa after obtaining one visa and entering the United States. For example, families of foreign students who enter the United States with an F-2 visa hope to pass the exam, be admitted to the school as full-time students, and apply for a student visa.

This situation is called "adjusting status" in immigration law. Except for several non-immigrant visas that cannot be converted, if the original visa belongs to the convertible visa category and the validity period issued by the immigration bureau has not expired at the time of entry, you can generally apply for conversion to other visa categories. When applying for visa change, it must be proved that the applicant meets the requirements of the new visa.

If you apply to change to another non-immigrant visa, you must prove that you have no intention to immigrate. However, if the visa holder violates the provisions of the immigration law, such as staying in the United States without the permission of the immigration bureau. Take part in paid work without authorization, and the original visa expires or becomes invalid. And immigration-Dan found that his visa change application would not be approved.

The converted visa category can be changed from one non-immigrant visa to another. You can also change from a non-immigrant visa to an immigrant visa. Which visas can be applied for conversion and which visas cannot be converted? See the details of immigrant and non-immigrant visas.

When applying for visa change, if the visa has not expired, the applicant can apply to the immigration bureau that has jurisdiction over his residence in the United States. At the same time, the application form and other evidential materials should be attached and submitted to the regional office of the Immigration Bureau, or to the local office of the Immigration Bureau, and then forwarded to the regional office.