US immigration laws, though known for being a little complicated, actually offer several opportunities for USA immigration, because there are many types of non-Immigrant US visas or temporary US options available.

In terms of securing a short-term American visa, if your country is not a member of the US visa waiver scheme you must either apply for a B1 Business Visa or submit a B2 Travel Visa application. A longer period of stay, to live or work in the country, requires applying for an L1Visa, H1-B Visa or another type of non-Immigrant visa.

For anyone involved in business or investment, an E1 or E2 Visa should be applied for. These are valid for up to five years and offer the holder the opportunity to apply for a US Green Card.

If you are considering a more permanent stay, USA immigration also allows for family members to sponsor each other. If you are looking for employment opportunities, anyone with certain “extraordinary” abilities in their field, who can show an ability to contribute to American society, may apply for EB-1 and EB-2 visas.

Finally, permanent immigration to the US, via the Green Card, takes several years to fully comply with and usually begins with temporary applications.

For non-US firms and potential investors in the USA, B1 and B2 visas and E1, E2 and E3 visas are the ones to apply for. B1 and B2 visas or visitor visas, are only valid for a planned business trip, but not for gainful employment or running a business. Foreign nationals of treaty countries, who carry on a substantial volume of international trade with the USA, may be granted an E1 visa. Foreign nationals of qualifying treaty countries who have made a substantial investment in the USA may also qualify for an E2 visa. The E-3 visa, however, is specifically designed for Australian nationals who wish to enter the USA to perform services in a “specialty occupation.”

For a foreign individual who wishes to gain residency and work authorisation in the USA, sponsorship by an employer, investment, sponsorship by a close relative already residing in the country, the annual Diversity Visa Lottery Programme and asylum and refugee status, are the five main possibilities.

For exchange visitors, a visa gained under the J-1 Exchange Visitor Programme permits a foreign individual to train, work and travel within the USA.

Work Permits
Currently there are over 60 different types of US work permits available to both skilled and non-skilled workers immigrating to the country. Among the most common work permit categories are US Business Visitors (B1), which allows a foreign national to temporarily enter the USA in order to conduct a variety of business-based activities, but not to engage in actual gainful employment. US H1-B Visas allow an employer in the United States to recruit foreign workers in specialty occupations for a period of up to six years. The US L1 Visa functions similarly to a UK work permit application, which allows a UK based company to transfer a specific worker to a branch office in the US.

US E1 Treaty Trader Visas are designed to make trade easy between America and certain countries and allow candidates to immigrate to the country, based on trade carried on with the USA. US E2 Treaty Investor Visas are similar to the E1 and allow qualifying candidates to migrate to the USA, based on investments made in US based businesses. US EB3 Visas are designed for applicants who can be categorised as professionals, “skilled workers” or “other workers”.

There are two types of Indian business visa; the single type and the multiple entry type and both require a letter from the sponsoring India-based company and an introductory letter from the employer of the applicant in his country of residence.

Indian work permits are required by employers if they are to recruit skilled workers from abroad. They are also usually granted for applicants who are required to work in a specialty occupation.

Indian tourist visas are valid for six months and do not allow their holders to work in the country during their stay.

Indian student visas are given to students who wish to study in the country and their validity depends either on the applicant’s course or for a maximum of five years.

Indian Medical visas, or M visas, are given to foreign nationals who wish to visit the country for medical treatment. This visa is valid for one year, but can be extended as long as the applicant provides proof that continued treatment is necessary. As with normal tourist visas, medical visas are strictly a temporary route and do not offer a way of gaining permanent residency in the country.

For permanent residency in India, the country offers Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards. PIO cards, which are granted for 15 years, allow their holders to travel in and out of the country, while OCI cards are granted for life and also offer all the benefits of the PIO card.

If your country is not on the list of eligible recipients of the Green Card Lottery programme, you can still qualify if either one of your parents was born in any of the approved countries.

To date 80% of green card lottery visas have been issued to European and African nationals, but no single country can have more than 7% of the total issued.

To qualify for the US immigration programme, you must be a graduate of the foreign equivalent of the 12-year US primary and secondary education programmes. Completing the elementary and secondary education in one’s native land does not necessarily mean meeting the educational requirements of the immigration programme, since each country has different educational standards.

Among the citizens of countries eligible to obtain a lottery visa, educational attainment is not the only requirement. Work experience can override the educational requirements for anyone who has been employed in certain professions for two or more years. To date, workers covered by the immigration programme include accountants, computer scientists, medical personnel, physicians, teachers, engineers, cartoonists, multimedia specialists, machinists, chemists, microbiologists, biologists, musicians and veterinarians.

Australian immigration had seen a substantial growth in the past 15 years and among the millions of immigrants are families becoming reunited and skilled workers. The number of Immigrants rose from 30,000 in 1992-93 to 177,600 in 2006-07. In current 2008-09 year, Australian visa figures are still quite high, at 115,000, mainly because the nation has managed to avoid the worst effects of the recession, unlike many other parts of the world.

Most skilled workers are from the UK, at an estimated 1.1 million, while Irish immigrants total only 57,338. One of the reasons why the employment level in Australia has grown is the huge number of skilled immigrants who have moved into the country.

Australia has an extensive list of temporary and permanent visas for skilled, unskilled and family immigrants, Australia Spouse Visa, Australia Child Visa, Australia Parent Visa, Australia Remaining Relative Visa, Australia Business Owner (Provisional) Visa, Australia Senior Executive (Provisional) Visa, Australia Investor (Provisional) Visa, Australia State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Provisional) Visa, Australia State/ Territory Sponsored Senior Executive (Provisional) Visa, Australia State/Territory Sponsored Investor (Provisional) Visa, Australia State/ Contributory Parent (Temporary) Visa, Australia Skilled (Independent) Visa, Australia Skilled (Sponsored) Visa, Prospective Marriage Visa Australia, Spouse (Provisional) Visa Australia, Investor Retirement Visa Australia, Working Holiday Visa Australia, Educational Visa Australia, Entertainment Visa Australia, Sport Visa Australia, Dependent Child Visa Australia, Australia Business (Short Stay) Visa, Australia Business (Long stay) Work Visa, Australia Sponsored Business Visitor (Short Stay) Visa, Australia Skilled – Recognised Graduate Visa, Australia Skilled – Graduate Visa, Skilled-Regional Sponsored Visa Australia and Australia Skilled-Independent Regional (Provisional) Visa.

In order to obtain an India visa, you first need to decide on the length of your stay. There are four types of Indian visa available, business, tourist, student and conference.

If you are planning to work in India, you will need a business India visa, which requires you to bring a letter from the organisation or institution you will be working for while in the country. You are permitted to stay for a year or more, depending on the endorsement of the Indian employer.

If you wish to obtain a tourist India visa, you only need to bring documents that can prove your financial status. If you have a tourist visa, you can stay in the country for up to six months.

In order to take up studies in India, you will need a student India visa. To obtain this type of visa, you should have proof that you are admitted to a recognised school, institution or university in the country.

For anyone invited to attend a seminar or a social function in India, you will need a conference India visa, which will allow you stay in the country only for the duration of the event. In order to obtain this type of visa, you will need to provide a letter of invitation from the institution organising the seminar or conference.

The Canadian family visa allows an existing permanent Canadian resident or citizen to sponsor their foreign national relatives for an agreed time, which is between three and 10 years in the country until they can establish themselves. Immigration is also allowed for the spouse, conjugal partner of a permanent Canadian resident through a sponsorship system.

For short-term relocation in Canada, Canada temporary visas include work permits, business visas, and study permits. If an international student wants to study in the country for more than six months, a study permit must be secured. For a work permit, the employer must first receive a positive Labour Market Opinion before it is granted.

For the release of business visas, there are three categories in which an applicant must score a minimum of 35 in a points test. In addition, a business visa applicant must meet certain criteria, like at least two years in the management of a qualifying business in the investor category; the ability to prove that his business will be able to contribute to the country’s economy in the entrepreneur programme; and the need to have been self-employed in cultural activities or athletics or have farm management experience for self-employed people.

Work permit applications are handled by the Department of Home Affairs and once approved you also receive a temporary residence permit. This process may take time, since it involves documents coming from both South Africa and the individual’s source country.

The High Commissions and Embassies take care of intra company transfer applications and secondment. For the first category, the individual company has to have an established presence in both the source country and South Africa, under the same international group. The employee moving from the source country to South Africa should be clearly identified. Secondments, on the other hand, relate to a company in the source country sending an employee to South Africa to provide a specific service and the employee should be part of a wider service agreement. There is no specific criterion, but the selected employee must be able to do the task at hand and should have been employed by the company for not less than six months.

If a particular candidate is successful in his/her South African immigration application, a family member or members can accompany them, as long as the necessary documents are presented. An individual, however, cannot apply for a work permit directly. The employer should handle this, since the requirements have to be employer-specific. Visas are already included in the work permit application.

The skilled migration visa is one of the best ways to enter Australia. This is because skilled workers can easily fulfil and complete the requirements for a permanent Australia visa. Applicants can use their skills, work experience and language proficiency.

The Australian General Skilled Migration programme is intended for people who don’t have firm employment contracts, but have the expertise required in the Australian labour force. There are certain requirements, one of which is that the work experience and skills must qualify for Australia’s Skilled Occupation List.

Recently, the programme has highlighted the importance of effective English skills, so more points are awarded to proficient English speakers. There are two different categories of visa, sponsored and independent.

Sponsored visas have more requirements than independent visas. People who apply for this particular version must be sponsored by an Australian relative or by the Australian government. In addition a bond has to be paid.

Independent visas are issued to applicants who have the necessary skills and qualifications, but do not have employment contracts. Since they are more likely to meet the requirements, they have fewer restrictions and are considered to be the preferred category of skilled workers.

Australia visa have subclasses that are assessed on the basis of a points system. Applicants who fail to reach the number of points required are listed on the reserve pool in case the system is amended at some point.