welcome to direct us immigration's Channel where you get direct access to our most up-to-date immigration and Global Mobility space my name is matrao brown and I'm going to talk about a Visa that allows foreign Nationals who are representatives of the Foreign Press radio film or other foreign information media to enter the US in connection with the production of documentaries or newsworthy events you're not going to want to miss out on this one stay [Music] thanks for tuning in my name is mraa brown and I'm a US immigration attorney based in Washington DC I also the
principal attorney at direct US immigration where we work with clients in all 50 states and around the world before we start click on the like And subscribe button to follow our immigration Hub to get the latest immigration news uh that could be vital to your case the I Visa is a temporary visa for all journalists and other media workers who travel to the us for jobs related to the media this means that they are actively engaged in collecting and disseminating information on current news events in the US to obtain this Visa they must be employed
by a foreign Media company or organization based outside of the US so who is eligible for the I Visa so your reporters film crew videotape editors employees of independent production companies freelance journalists working under a contract and persons in similar occupations are eligible for this Visa so the media you represent should have an office in your home country and both print and film activities are included in this category now although the production companies are not themselves affiliated with newspaper or electronic news Medium as you know companies employees are they may still be recorded an i
Visa so it is important to note however that only those who are involved in the news Gathering process are eligible so um positions such as proof readers Librarians or set designers are not eligible for this type of Visa so who is a representative of foreign media so the legal definition of a representative of uh you know the foreign media includes but is not limited to your journalists uh radio reporters filmmakers film Crews newspaper editors and members of a tourist bureau who are engaged in the broadcasting of informational tourist information about the US now it is
important to note that you can apply for a media Visa only if your activities are associated with journalism so other creative occupations such as writers and designers are not eligible for the I Visa now Freelancers can still apply for the I Visa if they are working under an employment contract with a professional organization and the same uh applies to Independent reporters and filmmakers now typically to qualify for an i Visa you do need to hold a credential issued by a professional journalistic association uh produce a film that will be used by a television station or
other media to disseminate information or news uh and or produce a film that will not be used primarily for commercial entertainment or advertising purposes now while on an i Visa you can enter the US and work for Foreign Press film television or any other media for a temporary period uh you are not required to maintain a foreign residence uh you can travel in and out of the US uh or remain in the US uh continuously for the term of the production and you can apply for dependent visas available for your spouse as well as your
unmarried dependent children under the age of 21 now the limitations of the I Visa is that there is a tedious process to continuously extend that Visa yearly uh dependants cannot work well in the US independent status and the employment authorization is employer specific now in order to apply for an i Visa you generally should present the following documents at a uh US Embassy or consulate near your place of residence along with the required application fee so typically you need the completed uh ds- 156 a valid passport uh of course the non-refundable application fee uh in
addition to any uh reciprocal issuances issuance fees um and then of course depending on your position a document from your employer um you know as follows so if you are a staff journalist you typically want a letter from an employer stating your name uh position held in the company purpose and length of the state in the US if you are a freelance journalist under contract to a media organization then you're going to want to provide a copy of the contract with the organization which gives typically the following information um your name position held in the
company purpose and length of stay in the US and duration of the contract if you are part of the are if you are part of a media film crew then you typically want a letter from the employer stating you know as similar to the other letters your name position held within the company brief description of the program being filmed and then the period required for filming specifically in the US and then um if you are part of an independent production company under contract uh uh to Media organizations then again a letter from the organization commissioning
the work stating name your name your title of a brief description of the program being filmed uh and then of course the time required uh for filming in the US as well as the duration of that contract now when applying for the I Visa if you are inside of the US uh in lawful status of course then you can submit it with USCIS uh however if you are outside of the US then you need to to submit it with either an embassy or a consulate uh in your home country so in terms of processing uh
Visa processing time ones it really depends um many of the Visas are processed uh generally within about 10 days or so uh after your application um however it does very much vary uh dependent on the workload of that specific Embassy or consulate that you're applying at um and you will receive a letter as to whether you uh will receive the Visa or will not now if your Visa is approved of course you can start making arrangements for your visit in the US if it is denied then you can ask for clarification you can appeal the
decision or you can apply again now even if you get the visa there's no guarantee that you will actually be able to enter the US on the Visa that decision of Entry um of whether you can enter the us or not is in fact up to the CBP immigration officer at the US Port of Entry now in terms of Visa validity for the I Visa it really depends on uh how long you need to to be in the US so if your contract is one of a shorter nature then your Val your Visa validity period
for that I Visa is going to be shorter and if it is a longer um you know duration that you need to be in the US then that Visa issuance will be for a longer period of time now if your Visa is now if you're in the US and your Visa will be expiring soon but your contract is not complete or the work you know you still need more time in order to complete the work you can request an extension uh by filing form i539 uh with USCIS and typically um you know USCIS will review
uh why you need that extension how much longer you need and will either approve or deny depending on um you know your needs now another option that you do have while in the US is changing your status so you can change your status from an i visa to an H1B Visa if you find an employer that is willing to sponsor you now in terms of you know whether you can bring your dependence uh into the US on that I Visa with you the answer as previously stated before is yes so dependents are your spouse and
your unmarried children under the age of 21 now they can either apply at the same time that you get your Visa or after um and if they apply with you then typically you know everyone comes to the us at the same time if they apply after you then you will need to uh provide uh a copy of your approval for them to uh come in in dependent status now you know as previously stated uh dependants are allowed to enroll an academic study but they cannot work any jobs um they can also extend their visa with
yours at as a dependent of yours um they can change their status again as a dependent of yours or change to a status without being uh your uh your Visa dependent uh again depending on the unique circumstances of their case so I hope you found this video helpful subscribe if this content or information helps you in any way comment below if you want me to talk about anything in specific and share this resource because you never know who needs answers to these questions I'll see you in the next video [Music]
