Work Visas

The same as anywhere else in the U.S. If s/he has uncommon skills and experience that are in demand it is a bit easier.

Work Visas are delegated to those people who have special fields, or who have ben recruited by a US firm. If you come here to work, like Dntw8up said, you really should have a special skill that no one else here can perform. Well, that's the law, but that's nit the way it works. If you can get here and obtain a Visa, then you can probably work, as no one in Immigration really bothers to check, that's the way it's done here...yep, a repeat...that's the way it is. WHY can't we get more people already in the USVI working before we give the jobs to people from other countries? Don't get me wrong, I like people from other countries, but those other countries won't allow me to work there...I tried...oh well.

It also depends on the consular section of the US Embassy where your friend is a citizen. USVI is United States territory, so even if one has a job offer, consistent with all the criteria for needed skills, the consular officer can just deny the visa on a whim.

I never had a problem with the consular officers in East Africa. But in Georgia, forget it. The consular officers in Tbilisi are incompetent, negative, rude, and even hostile. They routinely deny visas and never give a reason. They don't even look at the documentation. How do they decide? One consul actually told me, with a straight face, "I look in their eyes" (much as Bush said he looked into Vladimir Putin's eyes and saw his soul)!

Your friend may have better luck. Best to check with others in that country who have applied. You can also get the statistics from the State Department. (The consul in Tbilisi said the statistics were confidential! I got them via a Freedom of Information Act request to Washington.)

Thanks for all of the info.

Edward - it sounds like you know what you are talking about. What do you know about the chances of someone from Guyana? Thanks!

US immigration law is unique in that it presumes guilt (or in this case that the intending visitor will not return to his/her own country). Visa officers don't have to have a good reason to deny visas; it is incumbent on the person requesting the visa to convince the visa officer that he/she will return home at the end of the permitted stay in the US. As for work permits: the person who has the job to offer has to petition the US Department of Labor, showing that he/she has tried to fill a specific job locally with no success and that the proposed visa candidate has the required skills to perform the job.

See: US Dept of Labor, Employment and Training Administration http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/

Kim,

I don't know about the specific situation in Guyana. Your friend might know someone who has applied for a visa to the US Embassy in Georgetown.

jefgar is exactly right. I have memorized the instructions to the consular officers: "Every application for a non-immigrant visa is to be considered an application for an immigrant visa and therefore denied." The consular officer has absolute discretion; even the US Ambassador will not overturn the consular officer's decision. It is the most arbitrary system I have ever seen in all my international travels over the past 50 years.

Good luck to your friend!