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United States Visas from Hong Kong

There are many different options for individuals and families wishing to immigrate to the United States of America from the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, but the type of visa one ultimately decides to pursue is often related to the underlying facts of a given case.

Under certain circumstances, it may be possible to obtain American employment based immigration benefits. Commonly sought visas include the L-1 visa which has two sub-categories called the L-1a and the L-1b. Each of these categories were meant for  employees of multi-national companies or organizations with offices in both the United States and abroad.

The EB-5 Visa is an interesting visa category as it is relatively young compared to other visa categories as it was created in the 1990’s. That said, the EB5 visa confers significant benefits upon the visa holder since those admitted to the United States in EB-5 status are conferred Lawful Permanent Residence upon admission to the United States. Those interested in this visa category should know that the investment required in order to be eligible for such a travel document is a minimum of 500,000 USD.

Family based visas are also quite popular for those with a husband or wife who is a resident of Hong Kong. The K-1 visa was designed for the foreign fiance of an American Citizen. This travel document allows the foreign fiancee to enter the United States for a period of not more than 90 days for the sole purpose of legalizing a marriage and filing for adjustment of status. The K-3 visa was once a popular travel document for those with a foreign husband or wife. However, recent policies enacted by the National Visa Center has lead to the “administrative closing” of increasing numbers of K-3 visa applications. This has lead to a situation in which more and more bi-national couples are seeking Immigrant visa benefits in the form of either the CR-1 visa or the IR-1 visa as opposed to the K-3 visa since the result of administrative closure is a situation in which no K-3 visa can be obtained.

Those interested in retaining the services of an American attorney in matters pertaining to United States Immigration are well advised to ascertain the credentials of those claiming expertise in US Immigration law as only an attorney licensed to practice law before the highest Court in at least one United States jurisdiction is entitled to provide advice, counsel, and/or representation in matters pending before the United States Department of Homeland Security and/or the United States Department of State.     

For information related to Consular Processing please see: US Consulate Hong Kong