Hi. This is Michael Niren, immigration lawyer and founder of visaplace.com. Over the
years, we have processed thousands of visas for Canada and U.S. We have helped a lot of
people cross borders. And, we have found that there are common questions that people ask
about getting visas, qualifying for visas. Now, there is no substitute for meeting with
an immigration professional one-on-one to discuss your personal circumstances. Everyone's
circumstance is different. But there are some commonalities which are applicable to most
situations. And, I'm going to list them today, and hopefully, this will give you some framework.
So when you do wish to speak to an immigration professional, you have at least a starting
point, because it's all about framing your situation properly so you can get the best
advice.
Generally speaking, you should know, obviously, your background situation and most people
do. But what are the specifics? You should know, obviously, why do you want to cross
borders? Why do you want to get a visa? What is the purpose? Do you want to work? Do you
want to study? Do you want to just visit? Do you want to ultimately move? How long do
you want to stay? It could be you're going to work in a temporary job for maybe a year
or two years. What is your tax situation? You have to remember that. It's not just about
immigration it's about tax situations. So you have to actually find out, and you may
have to talk to a tax professional about this when you cross the border, what are the tax
implications?
Do you have family? Will you be bringing your spouse? Do you have kids? Will you be bringing
them? Will they be going to school? Do you intend that your spouse will be working or
just being with you? There's a lot of different issues surrounding that.
Another issue is, do you have a criminal record, even a minor one? That could cause some challenges
for you to obtain a visa. You may need a waiver or some special permit that will allow you
to cross the border to overcome your inadmissibility or potential inadmissibility if you have a
criminal record.
Also, what country are you from? People from different countries are, unfortunately, treated
differently. It's not all equal. So if you're from, for example, Canada, and you wanted
to go to the United States or vice versa, you do have the benefit of the NAFTA agreement,
which could make things a little bit easier depending upon your circumstances. If you're
from a non-NAFTA country, say, like India, there could be some additional challenges
for you to obtain a visa.
So there are a lot of different things that you have to know before you even come to the
table to discuss your case. So it's a good idea to write it all down, just to list out
your questions, outline your circumstances. And then when you speak to an immigration
professional, you have to know, "Well, what are my chances?" After learning all about
your case, the immigration professional should be able to tell you, "Well, these are your
chances." Of course, there are no guarantees, and there's no crystal ball. No one can tell
you for sure, but they should give you an idea what are your chances. Also, how long
is it going to take? How much is it going to cost?
And once you get there, once you get your visa, what's the next step? Sometimes if you
get a work permit, you're going to want to get social security or social insurance, depending
upon which country. And that's not a visa that's actually a special permit that will
allow you to get on a payroll in a country and also, ultimately, get a driver's license.
And there's a lot of administrative things you have to do once you get to your destination.
So there's a lot of fact-gathering and a lot of work to do well in advance before you even
consult with someone, and of course, it's not easy. But that's going to help you and
go a long way towards obtaining your goal and getting the visa. Hopefully, this will
give you some guidelines and some framework for at least the first step. If you like the
video, please click like and always join us at www.visaplace.com.