Which Visa to get

I presently work for Bell Canada as a installer/repair technician. I have meet someone in Georgia and we will be looking to marry in 2011. I am applying to telecommunications companies like AT&T for a full time job until we marry. I am not sure which visa I will need a tn visa or h1. They are not an affiliate so I can't get a L1. So I am confused to which one I will need. Any thoughts

For what your profession an H1b would probably fit but I would save myself the trouble and get legally married first and worry about the big hoopla lateron if my main concern was just to be with the person to be close to them. If you don't want to do that then you'll have to find a company that is willing to sponsor you for an H1 visa which will probably take a bit of time.

We are in the mindset to wait to marry. I will be going down to do a test for AT&T in Nov. It is something I will have to ask if they will sponsor me for the H-1B. I guess it could take a couple months to get one.

Dremani wrote:
For what your profession an H1b would probably fit

I need to retract my previous post. Repair technician/Installer is not a specialty occupation when I looked it up on another forum. I'm not able to locate it in the list of specialty occupations.

I don't think your profession would fit under another category other than straight to greencard which will take years upon years. Your best bet would be marriage at this point but I know you mentioned you had your plans set in stone so...

not sure your occupation would fit in to the qualifications for an H1B really. Plus, I think with the H1B any employer is required to send application to the USCIS, and show that they cannot find a similarly qualified US citizen or legal permanent resident to do the job.

I have been doing this job for 10 years now and have skills in different areas of the business. I saw a EB-3 visa also I wonder if it would be good to try for that one also.

-- Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:24 pm --

I see technician is under the scrutinized list

EB-3 takes years to get even as a skilled worker. The priority date for this visa is currently at "June 01, 2002" meaning those whose petitions went in prior to that date have been given a visa number.

If your company applies under that category for you on your behalf, that means they love the work you do so much they are willing to wait years until your visa becomes current, thus waiting for your petition to become approved.

Again, the marriage right now would be the best thing if your priority is to move to the U.S soon.

for information on marriage based immigration, go to www.visajourney.com ALL the information you need to know is there already

Yep, like reba stated for relationship visas, Visajourney (VJ)rocks! Your options are the k1 which is the fiance visa (not married yet) k3 your married and the cr-1 married already. k1 is "usualy" the fastest, anywhere from 6 to 8 months and the k3 and cr-1 anywhere from 8 months to a year +. at VJ there is a Canadian forum and they keep a timeline of peoples visas, thus one can get a decent idea on the length it is taking

Comparing the visas: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index ... ge=compare

k3 is pretty much going the way of the dodo as it takes around the same time as the Cr-1. Cr-1 is the leasst expensive of the 3 and has work authorization from the get go (k1 and k3 do not)but that all explained in the link above.

Just beware that immigration paperwork is fairly straight forward, but tis the waiting that sucks. One can visit while the process is ongoing, ensure one has ties to canada. And yes some do get denied entry as the POE officer may deem that you have intent to stay, but many do visit (like myself) with no problems at all.

On the other hand, my father worked for Sask tel International (installed cellular networks in the USA and South America) and he doesnt have any college/university. No clue on what type of visa he came down to work on. This was back in the late 80's, early 90's and I think his visa was only good for like 6 months at a time, I could be wrong. Best of luck

Forget any form of employment-based sponsorship, your skill is not specialized, and certainly is not in demand -- so you quite simply are not eligible for any non-immigrant or immigrant work visa.

marriage to a USC will be your only recourse.

-- Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:49 am --

not sure your occupation would fit in to the qualifications for an H1B really. Plus, I think with the H1B any employer is required to send application to the USCIS, and show that they cannot find a similarly qualified US citizen or legal permanent resident to do the job.

H1-b petitioners are NOT required to show unavailability of US workers. That requirement is for green card process. The apparent confusion comes from the acronym for each process

LC = Labour Certification for green card process (now called PERM) which includes evidence of US recruitment effort.
LCA = Labour Conditions Application, filed for H1-B applicants, outlining work conditions for the foreign worker. No evidence of recruitment efforts is submitted for LCA.