SERVICES

Overview

A nonimmigrant visa is a temporary  visa that allows an alien to stay in the United States for a specific period of time and for a specific purpose. It is  very important for an alien to maintain his or her temporary status in the  United States in order to preserve his or her eligibility for legal permanent residence. In most situations, an alien will be barred from obtaining legal permanent residency while remaining  in the United States if he or she has not maintained continuous lawful status. Also, once the alien departs the United States to obtain an immigrant visa abroad, the alien may be subject to the three or ten-year bar to reentry depending the length, nature and timing of the alien’s unlawful presence in the United States. An alien may be eligible for changing to another nonimmigrant status in order to maintain his or her authorized presence in the United States. The following is a description of some of the nonimmigrant visas.