# My Daughter wants to move to the U.S.



## UAENationals (Feb 26, 2016)

My 19 year old daughter wants to move to the USA permanently with the option to work there. Would her Aunt or cousin who are U.S. Citizens be able to get her a green card?


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

No.


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## accbgb (Sep 23, 2009)

This post http://www.expatforum.com/expats/am...2706-moving-south-africa-usa.html#post9653754 might offer a bit more in the way of explanation.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

Pick a visa 


There are basically NINE ways that you can get a visa to live and work in the US: 

(1) Marriage (or engagement in anticipation of marriage) to a US citizen. 

(2) You have skills that are in short supply in the US e.g. scientific or medical training. A degree is normally a must. Or you have superior specialist skills with at least 12 years experience. (H visas)applications next received on 1st April 2014

(3) You have an Employer who is willing to transfer you - but even the employer has to make a good case for you - so you have to be a manager unless you fall under category (2) above.(L visas)

(4) You may get a Green card in the diversity lottery (UK citizens, except N.Ireland, are not generally eligible unless you, your spouse or parents were born abroad or held a different citizenship.

(5)You own or buy business (does not get you permanent resident status i.e. no green card)You must be a national of a qualifying Treaty countries. The business must have a minimum value of around $150k (more the better) bearing in mind you will need somewhere to live and with any startup business you will need at least 2 years living money as back up. So a figure of $350k would be a nearer minimum (E-2 visas)

(6)You are an "investor" i.e. you have at least US $1m in assets to bring with you. half of that in a few areas. And your background will be investigated to the hilt. (EB-5 visas)

(7)You have a close relative (mother, father, brother, sister and no further) who is an US citizen who would sponsor you, approx time this take 2-12 years?

(8.The R1 visa is available to foreign members of religious denominations, having bona fide non-profit religious organizations in the U.S., for entering the U.S. to carry on the activities of a minister or religious worker as a profession, occupation or vocation

(9)THE UNUSUAL You are in a position to claim refugee status/political asylum. or You get a member of Congress to sponsor a private bill with legislation that applies just to you. 
The S visa issued to persons who assist US law enforcement to investigate and prosecute crimes and terrorist activities such as money laundering and organized crime


Recruitment agent will not take you seriously if you are not already in the US. Writing for jobs is really a waste of time; likewise US employers have no idea what foreign qualification are or mean (except Degrees) it may pay you to get your qualification translated into a US equivalent, there are Companies that do this (World Education Services - International Credential Evaluation Expertise) .. 
But if you are getting a visa under (2) above then you need a job offer before you can get the visa. Your Employer will be your sponsor this will cost them upward of $5k. So you can see you have to be offering something really special to get considered They may also have to prove to the Dept of labor that there is no American who can do the job if the position is to be permanent ©
DO NOT USE VISA CONSULTANTS


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Davis1 said:


> Pick a visa
> 
> 
> There are basically NINE ways that you can get a visa to live and work in the US:
> ...


Out of interest - why does option 2 above mention 1st April 2014?


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

not yet updated to 2016 ... pretty obvious ..there is a job for you


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## Bellthorpe (Jun 23, 2013)

Because Davis1 has been using the same template for many years ...


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Bellthorpe said:


> Because Davis1 has been using the same template for many years ...


That's what I suspected


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## UAENationals (Feb 26, 2016)

Thanks everyone, that's a great response. Ok so we know what we need to do now!


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## Bellthorpe (Jun 23, 2013)

In Davis1's defence - although I'm not a fan of the condescending way many answers are delivered in this sub-forum, such as 'go and search' or 'go see uscis.gov', the content of Davis1's stock post is quite valuable. People have all sorts of ideas about how to migrate to or work in the US, and the summary of the ways by which it might be done is succinct and useful.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

Thanks Bellthorpe ...feel free to use it in the future .. I'm finished here ....


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Stevesolar said:


> Out of interest - why does option 2 above mention 1st April 2014?


It does not really matter. A) April 1 is the cut off date no matter which year. B) The likelihood that OP's child qualified and finds a US employer to sponsor her is not likely.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

twostep said:


> B) The likelihood that OP's child qualified and finds a US employer to sponsor her is not likely.


I'm not sure why you'd assume that. We don't know this child.

The EB-5 visa is fairly popular among immigrants from Middle Eastern petroeconomies, by the way.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

BBCWatcher said:


> I'm not sure why you'd assume that. We don't know this child.


Exactly .... the poster provided no information regarding his daughter; just a question asking whether a distant relative could help to obtain a Green card.

Hence, while some of our answers may be regarded as "condescending", with the little information we have to go on, they are concise.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Crawford said:


> Hence, while some of our answers may be regarded as "condescending", with the little information we have to go on, they are concise.


And misleading in this case. We simply have no basis to offer any forecast for this individual. Being concise doesn't require being misleading. Here's one example of a concise statement that isn't misleading:

"Overall, U.S. employers sponsor only a small fraction of intending immigrants for visas."

That's four fewer words.

Relatedly, it's not hard to be concise in characterizing U.S. financial sponsorship requirements for immigration: sufficient income or wealth. Failure to include the second word is also misleading.

I really don't think it's necessary to be condescending or misleading. I agree that the tone and quality of answers in this forum could be improved substantially, and I'll continue trying to do that.


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