B visa is a category of visitor visa, a nonimmigrant visa for persons desiring to enter the United States temporarily for business (B-1) or for pleasure or medical treatment (B-2).

The legal foundation for the Diversity Visa Lottery Program comes from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

A: This is part of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (section 212e). The J Exchange Visitor program was created to increase the exchange of knowledge and to enhance mutual understanding between nations. In order to accomplish these goals, Congress created section 212(e) to ensure that significant numbers of exchange visitors return home at the end of their J programs. This two-year rule does not apply to everyone. It applies when an exchange visitor receives government funding from the U.S. or his/her home country. It also applies if the exchange visitor's country of nationality is included in the U.S. Department of State's "skills list" and the list contains the exchange visitor��s career specialty. Many countries have a skill list of essential specialty fields which are needed in the home country for its continued development.

If the two-year rule applies, it prevents the exchange visitor from obtaining U.S. permanent residency ("green card"), or a temporary work visa (H or L) in the U.S. until the visitor first is physically present in his/her home country for two years. It may be possible in some cases to receive a waiver of the two-year rule.

An order that tells one person to stop harassing or harming another, issued after the aggrieved party appears before a judge. Once the TRO is issued, the court holds a second hearing where the other side can tell his story and the court can decide whether to make the TRO permanent by issuing an injunction. Although a TRO will often not stop an enraged spouse from acting violently, the police are more willing to intervene if the abused spouse has a TRO.

Bona fide nonprofit religious organization in the United States means an organization exempt from taxation as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as it relates to religious organizations, or one that has never sought such exemption but establishes to the satisfaction of the Service that it would be eligible therefor if it had applied for tax exempt status.

Each year, 50,000 immigrant visas are made available through a lottery to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. None of these visas are available for people who come from countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the past five years. The State Department's National Visa Center holds the lottery every year, and chooses winners randomly from all qualified entries. Anyone who is selected under this lottery will be given the opportunity to apply for permanent residence. If permanent residence is granted, then the individual will be authorized to live and work permanently in the United States. You will also be allowed to bring your spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21 to the United States.

A trust that allows couples to reduce or avoid estate taxes. Each spouse puts his or her property in an AB trust. When the first spouse dies, his or her half of the property goes to the beneficiaries named in the trust -- commonly, the grown children of the couple -- with the crucial condition that the surviving spouse has the right to use the property for life and is entitled to any income it generates. The surviving spouse may even be allowed to spend principal in certain circumstances. When the surviving spouse dies, the property passes to the trust beneficiaries. It is not considered part of the second spouse's estate for estate tax purposes. Using this kind of trust keeps the second spouse's taxable estate half the size it would be if the property were left directly to the spouse. This type of trust is also known as a bypass or credit shelter trust.

A: F-1 students are normally admitted for Duration of status. Duration of status is defined as the time necessary to pursue a full course of study at any educational level in the same school, and any authorized practical training.

A: The H-2A temporary agricultural visa is a nonimmigrant visa which allows foreign nationals to enter into the U.S. to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature.

A: If you are married to a U.S. citizen, you must physically reside in the U.S. at least accumulative eighteen months prior to applying for naturalization. If you are not married to a U.S. citizen, then you must physically reside in the U.S. at least accumulative thirty months prior to applying for naturalization.

If the alien is a permanent resident or conditional resident, he or she must attach:
A copy of the alien registration receipt card; or
If he has not yet received his alien registration receipt card, a copy of the biographic page of his passport and the page of his passport indicating initial admission as a permanent resident, or other evidence that the alien is a permanent resident; or
A copy of the approval notice of a separate application for replacement of the alien registration receipt card or temporary evidence of permanent resident status.

Living Will is an important document to have at any stage in your life. It is a legal document that is drafted to express your wishes for end-of-life care when you are unable to make those decisions yourself. Without an Advance Directive in place, some of the hardest and most important decisions of your life can be left entirely in the hands of medical professionals and your family. Not only do you risk having a decision made that you might not support; family members may be forced to make up your mind for you, often leaving them feeling unsure that they��ve made the right choice.

A: A J-1 Visa is for an Exchange Visitor who plans to participate in designated Exchange-Visitor program pre-approved by the State Department (formerly pre-approved by USIA). Exchange Visitors under J-1 visas include secondary school and college students, business trainees, trainees in flight aviation programs, primary and secondary school teachers, college professors, research scholars, medical residents or interns receiving medical training in the U.S., certain specialists, international visitors, and Government visitors.

An individual transfers title of his assets from himself as grantor, to himself as trustee of the trust, to administer for the benefit of himself.

Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders) use re-entry permits to re-enter the U.S. after travel of one year or more. For LPR returning to the U.S., re-entry permits are generally valid for two years from the date of issuance of the re-entry permit. The LPR should apply for this benefit before leaving the U.S.
Conditional residents use re-entry permits to re-enter the U.S. after travel of one year or more. For conditional residents returning to the U.S., re-entry permits are generally valid for two years from the date of issuance of the re-entry permit or until the date the conditional resident must apply for the removal of conditions, whichever comes first. The conditional resident should apply for this benefit before leaving the U.S.