Free Trade Agreement Visa H-1B1
As with the Free Trade Agreement Visa H-1B1, you will need to show that a US-based employer has offered you a temporary position that fits the definition of a specialty occupation. This means that you will be performing a job that requires specialized knowledge that can generally be gained only through a bachelor’s degree or higher, or its equivalent.
José the Therapist goes to New York with a Free Trade Agreement Visa H-1B1
José Feliciano was his name, so it followed that most people in Santiago assumed he must sing very well. A few even assumed he might be a blind singer. But José was not really very good at music, either playing or singing. Being a bit retro in his musical tastes, he had heard of José Feliciano and could hum California Dreamin’ in the shower.
But what José really did very well indeed was healing people with massage therapy. Since childhood, he had been fascinated with physiotherapy and the role of a therapist’s fingers in bringing new life to broken limbs. His interests had been spurred by the plight of his smallest brother, crippled for life by childhood polio.
José studied physiotherapy after school, earning his Bachelor’s. He went to work straight away, resisting the temptation to start his own therapy shop. In five years, he was already Santiago’s most sought-after physiotherapist. No one was really surprised when an American institute of physiotherapy offered him a senior position in their clinic.
José had never traveled outside Chile. He had recently married and was looking forward to building his own family. It was his wife Eva who persuaded him that he should accept. She felt that the US could offer them more than Chile did. She had heard about a visa lottery through which lucky winners got H-1B visas and also Green Cards and permanent resident status upon entry into the US.
His employers suggested that applying for Free Trade Agreement Visa H-1B1 might be a surer bet. As a Chilean, he was uniquely qualified.
The Free Trade Agreement Visa H-1B1 is available only to citizens of Chile and Singapore and is one of the outcomes of free trade agreements that the US signed with both countries around 2003. The H-1B1 visa allows US employers to temporarily employ Chileans and Singaporeans in jobs that require specialized knowledge or experience — known as ‘specialty occupations. Specialty fields include biotechnology, chemistry, computing, architecture, engineering, statistics and the physical sciences, among others.
The Free Trade Agreement Visa H-1B1 is a variant of the legendary Green Card Lottery Visa but a key difference is that it is not subject to a lottery draw. As soon as his employers obtained clearance from the Department of Labour, he could apply for an H-1B1 visa at the local US Embassy, and get his visa within a week of the interview. A total of 6,800 H-1B1 visas are released every year, 1,400 to Chilean applicants and 5,400 to Singaporeans.
Although the Free Trade Agreement Visa H-1B1 did not give the Felicianos a pathway to permanent residency, José didn’t mind. He really felt that his country of Chile needed his special skills more than the US did.
He easily got his H-1B1 visa, and his wife an H4 visa to accompany him. By Christmas, they were in the United States.
You can get more information on the Free Trade Agreement Visa H-1B1 from the detailed, user-friendly visa guides you get when you buy one of our Visa Plans.
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