Visit, Work and Student Visas Explained for those Seeking to Move to the US

A US-based Kenyan consultant has explained the three main visas one can use to move to the United States.

Bob Mwiti, the programs director at Appstec America, a consulting company based in Tampa, Florida, took to Facebook to explain the difference between work, visit and student visa.

Mwiti went ahead to advise which between the three visas is the best for those seeking to settle in the US and ultimately get citizenship.

Here is Mwiti’s detailed explanation;

Well, I get asked so many questions on a daily basis about living and working in USA and I try to answer them on my inbox as much as possible.

If you inbox me and I don’t respond immediately, please just give me time and I will.

So I will explain a bit about the above 3 visas, in the best way possible. I don’t sugar-coat things and this may not be for you if all you want to hear is the sweet stuff!!

Also, please understand that in this post, I am only addressing those with at least a Bachelor’s degree.

Now, let me start with the visit visa.

If you are a young university graduate and your intention is to get a visit visa so that you can come and work here, please stop that madness! That is a wrong approach and chances are you will not set foot in America.

It is extremely hard to get visit visa approval, if you DO NOT have strong ties to your home country, which most young people don’t have and therefore are considered a high risk for visa overstay!

Honestly speaking, a visit visa is the worst visa that you can use to come to America if your intention is to remain here and work. Are we together??…This is the bitter truth that no one will tell you out there!….Don’t be ignorant!..Be wise!

Well, if you are lucky to get a visit visa, once you are here you will just be working under the table because you won’t have the right working immigration documents.

However, this type of visa may be a “good” one for you if you are;

1. Extremely desperate and you have no Job back home.

2. You really don’t care being in America without the correct working documents and risking deportation.

3. You don’t mind not seeing your family back home for a long period of time.

If you tick all those 3 boxes, then yes, a visit visa may be a “good” one for you.

Again,I repeat, this is the worst visa to come with if your sole intention is to live and work in America long term. I hope I am clear.

How about work visa?

Work visas are extremely hard to get because you must actually get a highly skilled Job offer here first, then your to-be employer will have to file for your work papers from these sides for you.

Once that is approved, then you can seek the visa at the Embassy in your country of domicile.

The problem is, although work visas exist, it is very hard to find companies who are willing to sponsor you especially if you are in Africa.

Yes, a lot of Indians do come here on work visas such as L1, and H1Bs but the reason is that most big tech companies in USA are actually Indian-owned companies. For example Infosys, Accenture, Wipro, Tata consulting to name but a few…..

These companies provide resources to work in IT projects across North America..and there is a ready market of skilled IT professionals in India.

As an African, if you are a nurse and you want to work here, you have a very high chance of coming as a skilled worker.

I know of nurses who have come to work here in America from Africa and there are African companies that facilitate that. BUT for the rest of the folks,…. well, you have to find other means!

And the other means is a student visa,

A student visa, is the best non-immigrant visa to actually use to come to USA. Why? Because a student visa has a clear path to citizenship.

Meaning, with a student visa, once you graduate, you have a chance of getting a post-graduation work permit called OPT of 1-3 years depending on what you studied.

During that post graduation OPT time, you can find an employer willing to sponsor your long term work authorization and subsequently a green card and later on you can become a citizen if you wish.

This is actually the route that I used…..and it is extremely effective although a lot of our African brothers & sisters who come to USA as students do not use it for lack of proper guidance and Information.

Now you may ask, which is the best career out there in America that you might have a chance of getting a Job in.

IT is huge here..There is a very high demand of IT professionals and it is easy to get work authorization once you graduate.

Same with nursing. There is a huge demand of nurses. Most other professions, unfortunately not so!

So generally speaking, STEM professions…i.e Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics are your best bet for good Jobs here in America that come with working papers.

So now you may ask ….how do you come to USA as a student?

Unfortunately, you must have enough finances to cover for your studies. If you DON’T, you will NOT get a student visa..Again, that is the bitter truth!

So, are there any ways of getting funding? Yes, you can actually find millions worth of scholarships for FREE at www.successwithbobmwiti.com or you can also find secured and unsecured international student loans to finance your education here in America.