S2NRI

A visa application is a three-step process in India. You just apply online, filling the Indian visa application form securely; submit documents and collect visa from the visa application center.

But before that, you should know about the type of visa that you want to seek for. These are the types of visas that you can select from:

• Indian Business Visa
• Indian Business Visa Transfer
• Indian Conference Visa
• Indian Diplomatic Visa
• Indian Employment Visa
• Indian Entry Visa
• Indian Entry Transfer Visa
• Indian Journalist Visa
• Indian Medical Attendant Visa
• Indian Transit Visa

The criticality surges when it comes to filling its form. The applicants have to fill the requisite details to get rid of its cancellation. Here are a few tips that you ought to keep in your mind while filling its application form:

• Select the relevant Indian Consulate while applying
• Save the ID for temporary application, given at the top of the page.
• The duration of your visa could be in between 6 months and 10 years. Pay its fee together with the citizenship form.
• Take the print of your application on two pages and sign them on both.

Details to Fill in the Indian Visa Application Form:

1. Surname: It refers to your family name. Avoid typo error. Check twice upon providing with it. It should be similar to what your passport reads.
2. First Name: Write your name together with the middle name in this field. Drill into your head that the name should be identical to what is mentioned in your passport. In the case the name was being changed, you have to write your complete name (including first, middle and last name).
3. Country of Birth: Fill up this field with the name of the country where you are born in. It should match with the country you have input in the passport.
4. Email Address: Put your email address here, as it is mandatory.
5. National/Citizenship Identity Number: If you have it, provide in this field. Otherwise, you should put N/A here.
6. Religion: Tick on the religion that you belong to. In case you do not belong to any of the given ones, tick on ‘Others’, while naming your religion clearly.
7. Identification Mark: If there is any visible tattoo or birthmark, you can mention here as an identification mark. If there is none, mark as ‘NONE’.
8. Educational Qualification: Correctly select the education level as given below that you have attained:

• Illiterate, if you’re uneducated
• Below matriculation or just 10^th pass
• Higher secondary, if you have passed 12^th class
• Graduate, if you have a university degree
• Post Graduate, if you have done masters
• Professional, if you have any technical qualification/certification

9. Previous Nationality: You ought to reveal you are an Indian citizen by birth or by naturalization (shed off the previous nationality).

• Passport Details: This section is dedicated to the information filled in your passport.
• Residential Address (Present): It is the local place where you have gotten the passport from.
• Date of Expiry: Clarify when (date) your passport is going to expire.
• Pakistani Residents: If you are a citizen of Pakistan, provide with essential details, including booklet number, tracking number and a lot more.
• Green Card Holders: If you are a foreigner by citizenship, mention here to save and continue to the next level.

10. Address Details: This section requires you to input your current and former residential address:

• Present Address: It mandates filling the present or current address where you live. The space limit is 35 letters. Attach the proof, such as driving licence, utility bill or rent agreement.
• Permanent Address: It may be possible that your permanent address differs from the current place. Provide its details here under the title ‘Permanent Address’. If you do not have any permanent one, you can mention your relative’s address.

11. Family Details:

• Mother/Father/Spouse Name: Prefer the spouse name, if you are married. Alternatively, you can put here your father’s or mother’s name.
• Immigrant from Pakistan (If): If your roots are in Pakistan or if your parents or grandparents (maternal and paternal) belong to Pakistan, mention the details. If not, tick ‘No’.

12. Occupational Details: This section allows you to enter profession’s details.

• Name of Profession: Among many professions, select yours from the list.
• Dependents: If you are dependent, such as minor/ student/ homemaker, write the profession’s details of your spouse or father.
• Employer Name: Enter the name of the company where you are currently working with.
• Address of the Company: Here, you need to input the complete address, together with the phone number of your current company.
• Address and Contact Number of Previous Company: This space should be filled with the former company’s address & phone number where you worked with.
• IAF or Security Officers: Possibly, you are a part of military, security, semi-military or police organisation, tick this field while entering the name of the organisation, rank and designation.

13. Visa Details: This information pertains to the visa which you want to apply for.

• Duration: Place the number of days or months that you want to stay abroad. It could be between 6 months and 120 months
• Number of Entries: It refers to the number of how many times you want to travel, i.e. single, double, triple or multiple entries.
• Purpose of Visit: Provide here the reason of being traveled.
• Name of City to Depart to: Name the city where you land first in abroad.

14. Details of Previous Visa:

• Visited or Not Visited: If you have applied for visa before, tick on ‘Yes’. Then, fill the places where you have applied to travel on visa previously.
• Visa Refusal: If your visa to travel abroad or an application for extension was refused, provide the necessary information.

15. Additional Information: If you have visited abroad in the last 10 years, write the name of all those countries. Also, provide name, phone and address of your reference in India or abroad.

Once you are done with every section, click ‘save and continue/exit’ to save your data. If you need to edit in some entries, select ‘modify/edit’.

At the end, check all answers before hitting ‘verified and continue’ tab. Now, submit the form to get a confirmation number, including a ‘File’ and ‘Applicant Number’.

Appointment with the US-based company may be your dream. You would walk in the air if your dream comes true. But, there are certain immigration formalities that you should be aware of. Every country prefers natives over foreigners first when it comes to appointing on a designation.

But, there are some exceptional designations that require a highly skilled workforce. And if not even a single native qualifies to meet the requirement, there emerges a void. To fill that vacuum, the government allows recruitment of the foreigner who fulfills the job requirements perfectly.

This is where the non-native candidates a silver lining to work with the US-based employer. Here, they should know that they can apply for the temporary and permanent US visa. However, the latter visa to work there is hard to get approval on. But, they can apply for the L-1 Visa, which is a temporary work visa.

L-1 Visa:

If you consider the temporary work visa in particular, the L-1 visa is the most pervasive choice. It is an intra-country transfer to the US for working. Simply say, the US employer calls a non-native employee to temporarily discharge his duties in the interest of the American company. To do so, the employer transfers him from one office to another office in the USA.

Types of L-1 Visa:

1. L-1 A Visa: This temporary visa is issued to managers and executives, who are migrating to the US office. Or, the reason of transiting can be setting up an office in the US.
2. L-1 B Visa: This visa is meant for the specialist skilled non-native US workforce.  

L-1 Visa Duration:

The employer can apply for the transfer on behalf of the employee. Also, the employee should have worked with the US employer for a 12-month continuously in the previous 36-month tenure.

• To mention the tenure specifically, the L-1A visa can be applied for up to 7 years. On the flip side, the tenure of the L-1B visa is up to 5 years only. Both tenures are non-extendable. In other words, the employee cannot seek extensions once his tenure is over.
• It is worth mentioning if the employee has previously worked under the H-1B visa, his tenure will be deducted from the allowed stay.

L-1 Visa Requirements:

• The companies comprising a corporation, a charity (non-government) organisation and a religious entity, but not limited to, may file visa application.
• The petitioning employer should have a corporate relationship with a foreign company, for instance, as a parent company, subsidiary, branch or affiliate.
• The employer must own a company in the US as well as in the non-US nation. It proves that he runs a multinational business, delivering goods or services actively and frequently.
• The employee must be associated with the employer for at least one year (i.e. 12 months) in the last 3 years prior to visa application. If he has tenure in the US before, that will not be counted.
• The employee must be willing to leave America at the end of his tenure.

About Wages and Payroll:

Being a foreign entity, the L-1 visa holder is going to work on behalf of a foreign qualifying employee. So, there is no need to show prevailing wages. However, they are generally recruited on the lower wages as compared to the native worker.

As far as the payroll is concerned, the employee can or cannot be on the payroll of the US employer. Therefore, he will have a right to get only the allowance there.

About EAD (Employment Authorization Document) Card for the Spouse:

The EAD card is a work permit, provided by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It is delivered to the noncitizens as an authority to work there. The temporary workers can seek it for their spouse to be authorized for working there. This authority can be obtained through filling a Form I-766.   

L1 Visa to Green Card:

The employee can apply for the green card in the EB 1C category. This category exempts the L1 visa holders from filling for the PERM Labour Certification. Therefore, they can apply for the green card in less than a year. But, the employer must have the PERM Labour Certification, which approves them to get the green card.

L1 Visa Application Requirement:

1. As an applicant for the L1-A visa, you have to provide the proof of being appointed to the role of an executive or a manager.
2. For L1-B visa, you should have all supporting documents, proving that you possess the requisite skills, knowledge and experience. It should be underscored as “specialized knowledge”, which determines that the possessed knowledge is not a commonplace within the organisation or within the industry. This knowledge can be associated with technology, services or company processes.