Immigration: Religious (R-1) Visa
The R-1 is a temporary non-immigrant visa reserved for individuals who wish to enter the United States to temporarily work in a religious occupation or vocation such as a minister. The R-1 recipient’s employer must be a non-profit religious organization located in the United States or a religious organization that is covered by tax exemption requirements or a non-profit religious organization which is affiliated with a religious denomination in the United States. The R-1 visa is available for religious occupations that are defined as those whose duties must:
- be related to a traditional religious function
- be recognized by the denomination
- clearly show and involve carrying out the religious creed and beliefs of the denomination.
The term “Religious occupations” does not include primarily administrative or support positions such as janitors, maintenance workers, clerical employees, fund-raisers or similar positions solely involved in raising funds. Examples of the qualifying occupations include ministers, clergy, nuns, monks, and religious brothers and sisters, liturgical workers, religious instructors or counselors, cantors (choir leaders), catechists, workers in religious hospitals or religious health care facilities whose job duties involve furthering the religion’s creed and beliefs, missionaries, religious translators, and religious broadcasters. The occupation must require at least 20 hours of work per week.
Eligibility
To qualify for the R-1 visa, the foreign national must demonstrate that they have been a member of a religious denomination for at least two years immediately prior to applying for an R-1 visa. The religious denomination abroad must have bona fide non-profit religious organization in the United States or a non-profit religious organization which is affiliated with a religious denomination in the United States.
Period of Stay
An initial stay of 30 months may be granted to an R-1 recipient by the USCIS. The beneficiary may apply for an extension of another 30 months. However, the maximum stay on an R-1 visa cannot exceed 5 years. An R-1 recipient is eligible for a new five year period of stay after having resided outside the United States for at least one year.
Family of R-1 Visa Holders
The spouse or unmarried children under the age of 21 of an R-2 visa recipient may qualify for a R-2 visa. An R-2 visa holder is not authorized to work in the United States.
How can we help….
The Law Offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates have been successful in helping individuals as well as religious organizations apply for R-1/R-2 visas. Please call our offices at (617) 367-6750 to see how we can help you apply for the R-1/R-2 visa.
Law Offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates
1 Boston Place #2600
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 367-6750
If you are planning on attending a consultation at our law offices in person you might like to see the Directions to our Office.
Immigration: Q Visa
The non-immigrant Q visa is allocated for those foreign national who want to travel to the United States on a cultural exchange program as designated by USCIS. To qualify for the non-immigrant Q visa, the beneficiary must show that they are planning on attending an international cultural exchange program in the United States. The purpose of the cultural exchange program is for the foreign national to share the history, culture, and traditions of their home country with the people in the United States. Only the employers who organize and manage the approved cultural programs can petition for Q-1 visa on behalf of the beneficiary.
Period of Stay
USCIS will determine the initial time the artist/performer/group can remain in the United States based on their evaluation of the time that will be needed for completion of the event. This initial period of stay could be up to a maximum of one year. This may be extended in increments of one year.
Family Members
The Q-1 visa does not have any provision for the spouse and/or the children accompany them under the same visa classification. However, they may qualify for another visa classification such as B2 visitor visa. Once the cultural program is complete, the Q-1 visa holder must leave the United States and can only apply for Q-1 visa for another cultural program in the United States after they have been outside the United States for one year.
How we can help…..
If you are planning on participating in a cultural event that will be hosted in the United States, please contact the Law offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates, Boston Immigration Attorney to see how we can help you with questions on the immigration process of attaining the Q-1 visa.
Immigration: P-3 Visa
The P-3 visa is available for an artist or entertainer coming to the United States to coach, teach or perform as an individual or as a part of a group. In order to qualify for the P-3 visa, the entertainer or artist whether they are an individual or part of a group must show that they are coming to the United States temporarily for the purposes of developing or educating the students in the United States of their ethnic culture may that in form of music, theatre or other artistic performance. Additionally, they must show that they are coming to the United States temporarily to participate in a cultural event(s) that will further their understanding of the art form.
Support Staff
The accompanying staff who provide essential support for an individual artist/performer or a group can also qualify for the P-3 visa. To qualify, the support staff must show that they have a history of working with the artist/performer as well as a written contract of their role as it pertains to the individual or the group.
Period of Stay
USCIS will determine the initial time the artist/performer/group may remain in the United States based on their evaluation of the time that will be needed for completion of the event. This initial period of stay could be up to a maximum of one year. This may be extended in increments of one year.
Family Members
The spouse and unmarried children (under the age of twenty-one) of the participating artist/performer/group members can apply for a P-4 visa. The family members cannot work while in the United States but may full or part-time courses of study.
How we can help…..
If you are an artist or a performer looking to participate in an event that will be hosted in the United States, please contact the Law Offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates, Boston Immigration Attorney to see how we can help you with questions on the immigration process of attaining the P-3 and P-4 visas.
If you plan on attending a consultation with one of our immigration attorneys, in person, please see the Directions to our Office
Law Offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates
One Boston Place, 201 Washington St #2600, Boston, MA 02108
(617) 367-6750
Immigration: P-2 Visa
The P-2 visa is available for an individual performer or part of a group entering the United States to perform under a reciprocal exchange program. In order to qualify for the P-2 visa, the entertainer or artist whether they are an individual or part of a group must show that they are coming to the United States temporarily to attend a performance as a part of government recognized reciprocal program. They must also show that they have skills and abilities comparable to artists/performers in the United States.
Support Staff
The accompanying staff who provide essential support for an individual artist/performer or a group can also qualify for the P-2 visa. To qualify the support staff must show their past experience of working with the artist/performer well as a written contract of their role as it pertains to the individual or the group.
Period of Stay
USCIS will determine the initial time the artist/performer/group can remain in the United States based on their evaluation of the time that will be needed for the completion of the event. This initial period of stay could be up to a maximum of one year. This may be extended in increments of one year.
Family Members
The spouse and unmarried children (under the age of twenty-one) of the participating artist/performer/group members can apply for a P-4 visa. The family members cannot work while in the United States but may full or part-time courses of study.
How we can help…..
If you are an artist/performer/group member looking to participate in an event that will be hosted in the United States, please contact the Law Offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates – Business Immigration Lawyer Boston – to see how we can help you with questions on the immigration process of attaining the P-2 and P-4 visas.
If you plan on attending a consultation with one of our immigration attorneys, in person, please see the Directions to our Office
Law Offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates
One Boston Place, 201 Washington St #2600, Boston, MA 02108
(617) 367-6750
Immigration: P-1A Visa
The P-1A is a non-immigrant visa that is available to athletes who are planning on attending an internationally recognized sporting event hosted in the United States as either as an individual or part of a team. For those athletes participating in the competition as an individual, they must show that they are internationally renowned with skills and abilities that stand beyond the ordinary. For those athletes participating in a team sport, they must show that they have distinguished themselves in the sport and that the event they are attending is internationally recognized.
Support Staff
The accompanying staff (coach, trainers, other team officials) who provide essential support for an individual athlete or a team can also qualify for the P-1A visa. To qualify the support staff must show their past experience of working with the athlete or the team as well as a verbal or written contract of their role as it pertains to the individual or the team.
Period of Stay
USCIS will determine the initial time the Athlete can remain in the United States based on their evaluation of the time that will be needed for completion of the event. This initial period of stay could be up to a maximum of 5 years for Individual participants and up to one year for team participants. Individuals may apply for an extension of the P-1A visa in increments of five years and team members in increments of one year. The individual athlete’s total length of stay in the United States cannot exceed 10 years. The support staff can apply for an extension in increments of 5 years.
Family Members
The spouse and unmarried children (under the age of twenty-one) of the participating athlete can apply for a P-4 visa. The family members cannot work while in the United States but may full or part-time courses of study.
How we can help…..
If you are an athlete or a member of a team looking to participate in an event that will be hosted in the United States, please contact the Law Offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates – Boston Immigration Attorney – to see how we can help you or your team with questions on the immigration process of attaining the P-1A visa.
If you plan on attending a consultation with one of our immigration attorneys, in person, please see the Directions to our Office
Law Offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates
One Boston Place, 201 Washington St #2600, Boston, MA 02108
(617) 367-6750
Family Immigration: K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa
The non-immigration K-1 visa is reserved for United Citizens who wish to bring a citizen of a foreign country residing overseas to the United States with the intention of getting married.
In order to apply for a fiancé(e) visa, the petitioner must show that they are a United States Citizen and that they intend to get married within 90 days of your fiancé(e) entering the United States. They must also show that any previous marriages were legally terminated. Additionally, you must show that both of the partners in person met at least once in the past two years unless such a meeting would have violated the norms of their culture or such a meeting would have resulted in any hardship.
Once the K-1 visa is issued, the fiancé(e) can enter the United States for a period of 90 days so that the marriage can take place. Once married, the fiancé(e) can apply for permanent residency.
If the U.S. citizen plans to marry a foreign citizen overseas or if the fiancé(e) is already in the United States legally, then they do not need to apply for the K-1 visa, they can apply for permanent residency click here for more information.
If the partners do not get married within 90 days, the K-visa expires and cannot be extended. The fiancé(e) will need to leave the United States as not doing so will violate the US immigration laws resulting in deportation.
Work Authorization
The fiancé(e) can apply for work authorization once they have entered the United States. The work authorization will be valid for 90 days from the date of entry. The fiancé(e) can also apply for extended work authorization at the same as applying for permanent residency.
Children
There is a provision K classification for a non-immigrant K-2 visa for any children (unmarried and under the age of 21) of the fiancé(e).
How can we help…
The Law offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates, Immigration Attorney Boston has helped obtain the desired outcome for individuals seek the K-1 and K-2 visas. Please call our immigration offices at (617) 367-6750 to see how our experienced and knowledgeable immigration attorneys can help you.
If you plan on attending a consultation with one of our immigration attorneys, in person, please see the Directions to our Office
Law Offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates
One Boston Place, 201 Washington St #2600, Boston, MA 02108
(617) 367-6750
