IN ORDER FOR A FOREIGN NATIONAL TO OBTAIN AUTHORIZATION TO WORK TEMPORARILY IN THE UNITED STATES, THEY MUST FOLLOW THESE 10 STEPS: 1. Contact an immigration lawyer and be prepared to answer the following questions: • Did you make a legal entry to the U.S.? • How long have you been in the U.S.? • Are you requesting a work, dependent, or travel VISA? • What VISA do you currently hold? • Where are you working? • What is your professional field and educational background? • Do you have family members you wish to bring to the U.S.? • Do you have an employer willing to sponsor you? 2. Your sponsoring employer completes the Employer Questionnaire and sends it to your lawyer. The lawyer begins to process application. To view timeline for processing a visa, click here. 3. Submit your passport, educational documents, resume, birth certificate, and proof of any current visas to your lawyer. 4. Your employer submits an Employer Authorization Letter to your lawyer and provides a contact at the company for further follow up to begin processing. 5. Your lawyer will indicate for which visa you are eligible. Click here for a list of available visas. 6. Your lawyer will complete the necessary transactional legal work for submission of your application to the appropriate Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) Center* in your area. 7. The BCIS later processes the application which takes from 2 to 4 months depending on the geographic center. 8. Additional information may be requested by the BCIS and will be followed up by your lawyer. 9. Approval notice is received by your lawyer by mail and forwarded to you or your sponsoring employer. 10. You can now begin working, if in the United States. * In case of a TN VISA , final documents are provided to the applicant directly to bring to the U.S./Canada border for review.