How To Relocate To The US Without a Job Offer or Sponsor

Have you been dreaming to move to the United States, but you have no sponsor or job offer? It is very much possible to reside permanently to the US without any sponsorship, no DV lottery green card, and no job offer. Normally, to get a US work visa, you need to first a get an employment offer. When you accept the job offer, the company (employer) will now go ahead to file a petition on your behalf. When the petition is approved, you now move to the US for the job. Other options are sponsorship from someone already residing in the US, or you get married to an American (Citizen of the United States) and get sponsorship from your marriage partner. Apart from these US work visas and sponsorship visas, there are some other permanent work visas which do not require a job offer or sponsorship. These are the EB-1A and EB-5 visas. In this article, you will learn how to get these visas without a job offer or a sponsor. And you can get these permanent US visas from any country, especially African countries (Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya, etc.) and some part of Asia (especially India). These are the easiest ways to immigrate to the US from any country in the world.

What are EB Visas and Why do USA Accept Immigrants?

EB visas means Employment Based visas. The United States have a birth rate of about 1.7 per woman. And the minimum required to keep the United States population from declining is about 2.1 to 2.5. This means that the birth rate of the US is below the optimum. To keep the United States competitive in Science, Arts, Engineering, Technology, etc., they need to permit the immigration of highly skilled individuals. This led to the creation of the EB-1A visa category.

Generally, all EB visas are employment-based, but the EB-1A visa category was created to employ immigrants who have exceptional skills and abilities in areas like Science, Arts, Education, Business and Athletics. So when you have any of these abilities, you can just apply for the EB-1A visa/green card, and move permanently to the United States from any country in the world.

You don’t need any educational qualification in order to be eligible to apply for the EB-1A visa. Are you an illiterate who have invented something amazing, like a functional Drone, Solar car, etc.? Has your inventions been exhibited in any national or international gathering, and you won a medal? Are you an exceptional artist, footballer, sportsman, sculptor, etc.? Do you wish to relocate to the United States for your exceptional skills? Then the EB-1A visa is for you. The application is quite easy.

The EB-5 visa category was created to provide more job opportunities through the investments of immigrant investors who wish to move permanently to the United States.

This article is meant to explain everything about EB-1A visa and EB-5 visa, and also walk you through the application steps for visa categories.

What is EB-1A US Visa and How to Get it without a Job Offer or Sponsor?

EB-1A visa (also known as the Extraordinary Ability Visa/Green Card) is meant for individuals who have extraordinary skills and expertise in various areas like: education, arts and crafts, science, athletics, business, etc. It is also available for managers and executives of multinational companies. All you need is a proof of your exceptional expertise in any of these fields from a recognized national or international organization.

Some of the ways to prove your expertise include:

1. Providing national/international award certificates, whether as an individual, or as an active member of a team/company, or as a coach/trainer of a third party who won a great, recognized award.
2. Providing a proof of active membership of an association that sets a high achievement level, which are judged by experts in that field. Not just a simple paid membership.
3. Providing a proof from high-profile publications, like top Trade journals/magazines or media. Publications from local press are not acceptable.

NOTE that your proof of expertise will be properly scrutinized to ensure your claims are correct. Therefore, make sure you are truly exceptional in any of these fields before you apply for the EB-1A US visa. If you truly are, then start gathering your proofs. Also, you will need an immigration lawyer, who will help assess your claim before you apply for this permanent visa.

Also note that once you are given an EB-1A visa, you have to limit yourself in your area of expertise when you move over to the United States, or to any other country that offered you the talent-based visa. This means that you can’t work in a firm that is not related to your area of expertise. This is because the visa was given to you because of your extraordinary ability in that sector, and the country wants you to improve their economy with your exceptional skills in that sector.

For EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability) Visa Requirements, Documents and Step by Step Application Process, Check out this guide. EB-1A visa application and processing total cost is less than $1000 USD. For a complete breakdown of the cost of processing EB-1A visa, check out this guide.

Other Countries Offering Visas to Top-Talented Individuals & Investors

Note that the United States is not the only country offering talent-based visa to non-citizens and investors.

Other countries offering talent-based visas to top individuals with extraordinary abilities and investors include:

• United Kingdom: Global Talent Visa.
• Australia: Global Talent Independent Program.
• New Zealand: Talent Visas.
• France: Researcher-Talent Visa/Passport.
• China: Talent R Visa (Also known as 1,000 Talent Plan of Foreign Experts Visa).
• Finland
• Canada
• Switzerland
• Malta
• United Arab Emirates (UAE), etc.

O-1A Visa vs. EB-1A Visa

Another visa very similar to the EB-1A visa is the O-1A visa. Both are similar, in that you need have exceptional skills to earn any of them.

The O-1A visa is a non-immigrant visa offered to individuals with extraordinary skills in the following sectors: Science, Education, Business and Athletics (Note: Arts is not included), and they are not meant to reside or work permanently in the United States. The O-1A visa is usually valid up to three years, and can be extended by one-year increment (with no limit to number extensions). But if the visa was granted to cover a specific even or activity, the validity period might be less.

On the other hand, the EB-1A is an immigrant visa, meant for individuals with exceptional/extraordinary skills (in the following sectors: Science, Arts, Education, Business and Athletics), who wish to reside and work permanently in the United States.

What is EB-5 US Visa and How to Get it without a Job Offer or Sponsor?

EB-5 visa is also called Immigrant Investor Visa. This is because it is meant for business people and job creators, who can invest at least $800,000 in some sectors of the United States economy, where the investment can create job opportunities. EB-5 immigrant investor visa category was created to encourage and attract foreign investors to the United States, as well as to make more job opportunities available.

Therefore, to get the EB-5 visa, you don’t need a job offer, rather you will be creating job opportunities in the US. Also, note that getting this type of visa will help you get a US green card faster. A green card is a permit that allows an immigrant to live and work permanently in the US.

There are many benefits of investing in the United States. Some of these benefits include: large consumer market and talented workforce, easy access to resources, safe from US changing immigration regulations, etc. So when you invest in the US, you enjoy these benefits.

As an EB-5 visa applicant, you are required to make at least a minimum investment of $1,050,000 USD. But if the EB-5 project is located in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA), the investment amount will be reduced to at least $800,000 USD. In order for the EB-5 project to qualify for TEA designation, it must be located in a rural area, or an area with high unemployment rate. The EB-5 investment can be in form of cash, equipment, inventory, tangible property, secured indebtedness, or cash equivalents (which will be evaluated in fair market value of USD). You can learn more from this EB-5 Visa program update.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the EB-5 investment must create at least 10 full-time jobs for US workers. After the EB-5 investor has been given a conditional permanent residency, these stipulated job opportunities must be created within two year period, with a proof of job creation.

There are four main steps in the EB-5 Visa/Green Card Application:

Step 1: Selecting a Qualified EB-5 Project.

Step 2: Making Investment and Filing of the EB-5 Petition (Form I-526) with the USCIS.

Step 3: Obtaining a Two-Year Conditional Permanent Residency.

Step 4: Becoming an Unconditional Permanent Citizen of the US, via the I-829 Petition.

You can learn more about these EB-5 visa/green card application in this guide.

Watch this YouTube tutorial video: How to Immigrate to the US without a Job Offer or Visa Sponsorship | No DV Lottery Green Card.

Conclusion

You have now learnt how to immigrate to the US without a job offer or sponsorship or DV lottery green card, how the EB-1A visa and the EB-5 visa work, guide on how to apply for these visas, other countries offering talent-based visas to immigrants with extra ordinary skills. You also learnt the benefits of investing in the US.

Make maximum use of the opportunity to visit and possibly live in some other countries, explore new business opportunities, make new friends, experience new environments, government policies, etc.