Special Work Status for Chile

With all the controversy and difficulty around getting a work visa in the U.S., it's nice to know that a few positive changes have happened over the past few years. I was recently working with a client from Chile who has professional work in the U.S. He is currently working on a student optional practical training work status, which is only good for 12 months. Fortunately, he was planning for the future and we were discussing how he could continue to work, once the status expires. After going over the details of the regular H-1B category, which include a very stringent limit of professional workers (65,000 per fiscal year) and many, many fees (most employers will be paying over $3000 just in immigration fees), he asked about the Free Trade Agreement with Chile and Singapore that went into effect on January 1, 2005. This created the H-1B1 visa status.

Thank goodness he asked! This agreement effects only 1400 professional workers from Chile and 5400 workers from Singapore, so it's hard to remember it even exists. However, for professionals from those countries, it's a fantastic opportunity. It works very much like the Canadian TN-1 visa, so there are no papers that the employer needs to file, the visa status can be renewed every year indefinitely, and it's relatively easy to get if the applicant has an advanced degree and a professional work opportunity. The only downside is that, unlike the H-1B, there is no "dual intent." This means that in theory, people using this visa cannot openly admit to any interest in remaining in the U.S. permanently. They must have some long-term plan to go home.

A person from Chile can change status in the U.S. from another status (like F-1) to the H-1B1. However, it's hardly worth it. It costs more, it takes more time and when you change any status in the U.S., you do not get a VISA for that status. That means that the next time you leave the U.S., you must go to an American Embassy or Consulate to apply for a visa to re-enter anyway, no matter what. This client was going home for the holidays anyway. Although he has a number of months left to be in the U.S. on an F-1 visa, applying for the H-1B1 now might save some trouble in the long run. After discussing what to do, he said he'd seriously consider it. I will be interested to hear how it goes so more on that later...