Process for Visitor / Immigrant Visa for non relative

[adamster]

Hello,

I am a U.S citizen who would like to invite my friend to U.S for visit and eventually would like to see him live there permanently. I am very unfamiliar with the visa process and would like some guidance.

1. What is the process for visitors visa if I would like to sponsor my friend for a visit to U.S?
2. What is the process for my friend to apply for immigration visa? He is well versed in I.T field and is open for H1 or any work related Visas?
3. Where would he search for such jobs?
4. Some agents in India are asking my friend to get my social security number, is this necessary?
5. If my friend does get a visitors visa, and he visits U.S.A, will it be better for him to search from jobs from over there, or from over here, comparatively?
6. If I know a small business owner in U.S.A, will they be able to provide him an H1 visa ? What is the process in this case?
7. In case of sponsoring a visit visa, what documents are necessary for me to send to my friend?

Thank you,
Adam.

[peace999]

FIrst of all, a visitor visa will not be granted to any one with an immigrant intent.
Even if he does not tell them his real intent, they will decide looking at his life situation. If he is young and single, with a mediocre job
in India, and sponsored by a US citizen friend, that will be all the indicators that he will not return. So no visitor visa.


Secondly, about immigration there are mainly two ways to immigrate FAMILY and EMPLOYER.
If he does not have any blood relations in US , the employer based option usually has years of backlog.
The few categories that are current are Exceptional ability ( eg major award winners ) and business owners
running branches in USA. ALso religious workers ( priests etc) and investors ( half a million USD) are current.


OPTIONS;

* Find an H-1 employer sitting in INdia( yahoojobs, monsterjobs.com) the employer files a petition for him in US and he gets the visa in INdia.
He can stay 6 years on H-1 in US provided he keeps getting renewed every year .
*He can use those 6 years to find a suitable US citizen life partner in US if he is single. That is the best way to get a green card.
*He can use those 6 years to find an employer who will file for his green card. the wait time will run concurrently with his H-1 work time.
This option is not so great as the wait time runs into several years.
*If he cannot find an H-1 job, if he is rich, he can come as a student to do further studies in US. That will give him a foothold.
*If he cannot come as a student,H-1 or visitor, he can find a US citizen match sitting in India, come to US through marriage. that is the easiest.

Your other questions;
Sociail secuirty no. is granted inside US and only when one is authorized to work in US.
No need for him yet.
To file an H-1 for a foreign worker, an employer needs to meet some criteria. USCIS.gov is the website that explains everything. You will have to navigate
a bit. Or google " H-1 employer requirements."