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For travel that lasts less than three months, no more than a passport is required (Visa Waiver Pilot Program) for citizens of the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. Visitors entering on the Visa Waiver Pilot Program cannot work or study while in the U.S. and cannot stay longer than 90 days or change their status to another category.

For a longer stay, a visa is required: F, J or M visa for students and internship, H for workers. Only a certain number of visas are granted each year and depend on the original country (For ex. Only 195,000 H1-B visas were available for 2001).

Visit http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html or http://www.usvisa.com to learn more about the different types of visas.

The non immigrant visas

Non immigrant visas can be delivered very quickly, sometimes within a day, but can sometimes take up to several months.

There are more than 50 temporary visas. The visa is granted in relation to the purpose of your visit to the US. Entitlement and length of stay may vary depending on the visa applied for.

Most common type of visas:

• B1: Business visit
• B2: Tourism visit

• E1: Business visas for international business from the US
• E2: Investor Visas, for managers or investment related employment

• F1: Students
• F2: Family member of a F1 visa holder

• H1B: Employee of a US company, required specific skills and a bachelor education
• H3: Temporary internship
• H4: Family member of a H1, H2, H3 visa holder

• J1: Related to an exchange within the American Information Agency exchange program
• J2: Family member a of a J2 visa holder

• L1: Inter company exchange within a group of companies, for managers, or highly skilled employee
• L2: Family member for L1 Holder

• M1: Vocational and professional training
• M2: Family member of a M1 visa holder

• V: Spouse or dependant child of a permanent resident waiting for a green card.

More details available on: http://faq.visapro.com/Default.asp or http://www.UsVisa.com

You can contact :

• go to the web site http://www.travel.state.gov
• call specialised lawyers, for instance Siskind and Al at http://www.visalaw.com
• or look at the site http://www.us-immigration.com, created by immigrants.

Green Card

To stay permanently in the US, you must apply for a green card which gives you all the rights of a citizen (except to vote).

It can be obtained by way of family ( as husband/wife, parent, child, brother/sister of American citizens ) with a minimum age of 21, or by way of a company if you are the manager of a company settled in theUSA, an artist, a professor, a well-known sportsman or scientist … or by way of the Lottery which delivers 55 000 green cards in irregular intervals and by drawing of lots with a 100$ contribution (please note there are conditions that apply).