The United States of America is a top destination for immigrants seeking better career prospects, education opportunities, business growth, and quality of life. As a major global economy and innovation centre, the USA offers extensive opportunities for professionals, students, entrepreneurs, and families alike. With a multicultural fabric, advanced industries, and internationally established institutions, it’s no surprise that millions choose the U.S. as their immigration destination each year.
America is known as "The Land of Opportunity," offering a stable economy, democratic values, and one of the most powerful passports in the world. U.S. citizens enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to over 160 countries. The country’s major cities—New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco—serve as economic hubs and cultural melting pots, making them attractive to new immigrants.
With a low unemployment rate and high average salaries, the U.S. job market remains one of the most competitive and rewarding. Sectors like technology, finance, healthcare, education, and engineering actively recruit international talent. Moreover, the U.S. continues to welcome international students, skilled workers, and investors through various temporary and permanent visa programs.
Cosmos Immigration, a trusted U.S. visa consultant in Dubai, helps you navigate your U.S. immigration journey—from eligibility assessment and document preparation to visa application and post-landing support. Whether you’re looking to study, work, invest, or reunite with family, we provide tailored solutions with evidence-first advisory.
Last updated: June 2026 — reviewed against the 21 September 2025 H-1B proclamation, the 2025 visa integrity fee legislation and the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act timetable.
Permanent residency through employment sponsorship. Suitable for skilled professionals, executives, and researchers under EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-4, and EB-5 categories.
Study at top U.S. universities and colleges with flexible visa options and post-study work opportunities through OPT and CPT.
Visit the USA for tourism, business meetings, or family events. B-1 for business visitors, B-2 for leisure or medical visits.
Cosmos Immigration supports both immigrant and non-immigrant U.S. visa categories. Our team ensures accurate documentation, timely submissions, and representation for the following visa types:
Issued for purposes such as work, travel, medical treatment, exchange programs, religious work, or study:
Need help applying for a U.S. Visa from Dubai? Cosmos Immigration can guide you at every step—schedule a free consultation today!
Realistically, only if a US employer petitions for you — there is no US job-seeker visa, and you cannot file an H-1B for yourself. H-1B registration has run at roughly 25–35% lottery odds in recent cycles, and the September-2025 employer fee covered above has made overseas hires rare.
That fee — in force until 30 September 2026 unless renewed — has pushed serious Gulf-based candidates towards the two routes that need no employer at all: EB-1A and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver, both filed by you and processed through the consulate while you keep your Dubai job. And if someone in the UAE offers "US job placement with visa included", treat it as the red flag it is. Start with a free assessment and we'll tell you which side of that line your profile sits on.
Two employment-based categories need no job offer: EB-1A extraordinary ability and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver — both self-petitions you file yourself. EB-5 needs no employer either, but it runs on capital: US$800,000 at risk in a targeted employment area. Every other employment green card starts with a US employer.
The honest caveat: self-petition does not mean easy approval. NIW approvals fell from over 90% in 2022 to roughly 44% on regular processing by March 2026, and EB-1A adjudication has tightened in step — evidence quality now decides these cases. The detail lives on our EB-1A, NIW and EB-5 pages, or start with a free assessment.
As of mid-2026, B1/B2 interview waits have run roughly six to twelve weeks in Dubai, while Abu Dhabi has been reported at five to fourteen months — the gap between the two posts is the single most useful fact for UAE applicants. Waits move with season and staffing, so check both before booking anything.
Budget the fees alongside the wait: the application fee is US$185, and the enacted US$250 visa integrity fee — implementation still pending as of March 2026 — will take the effective cost to roughly US$435 once it switches on. Apply months before fixed travel dates, and never buy non-refundable tickets before the visa is in your passport. The full checklist is on our visit visa page.
Our Professional Team will consult with each client to understand their needs and interests to provide customized solutions and representation within the legal framework of immigration to reach the personal goals and changing demands of the global world.
For India-born applicants filing new EB-2 or EB-3 cases today, the honest answer is decades — the backlog is structural, built on annual limits and a roughly 7% per-country cap, and no consultant can shorten it. That is exactly why category choice matters more for Indian nationals than for anyone else.
What does work for India-born professionals: EB-1A moves in years rather than decades, and the EB-5 set-aside categories have remained largely current for India. The queue follows your country of birth wherever you live — UAE residence changes nothing, though a spouse born elsewhere can sometimes shift you to a faster queue. Category strategy sits at the heart of our employment-based green card work.
They reward different profiles. Canada runs a capped, points-tested system you can enter with no employer; the USA pays more at the top but gates work visas behind employer petitions and a lottery, with decades-long waits for India-born green card applicants. The USA suits people who can self-petition or invest; Canada suits strong points profiles.
One door is firmly shut: the DV green card lottery is closed to India-born applicants until at least 2028, so "lottery luck" is not a US plan. We hold CICC-licensed capability for Canada and advise on US pathways daily, so we can assess both against your profile in one sitting — and tell you plainly if the answer is Canada, the USA, or neither yet.
A visa is required for travelling from the United Arab Emirates to the USA for both immigration and non-immigration purposes.
The standard required documents necessary for USA visa from Dubai are as follows:
DS- 160, the online Nonimmigrant visa application form, is for temporary travel to the United States. It is submitted electronically to the state website, from there the consular officer extracts the information for processing the visa. The DS -160 has replaced the DS-156, DS-157, DS- 158 and DS- 3032 which are not necessary.
The Form I-20 - an official U.S. Government form which is issued by a certain certified school. This document a non-immigrant student must have in order to get an F-1 or M-1 visa. Form I-20 is a proof-of-acceptance and contains the information necessary for paying the SEVIS I-901 fee. The Form I-20 has the student's SEVIS identification number, which begins with the letter N and is followed by nine digits, on the upper right hand side directly above the barcode.
Students and Exchange Visitors Visa (F, J, and M): You will be asked to provide your SEVIS ID, which is printed on your I-20 or DS-2019, so you should have this form available when completing your DS-160. You also will be asked to provide the details of the school in which you intend to study. This information should be present on your I-20 or DS-2019 form.
Petition-based Temporary Workers (H-1B, H-2, H-3, CW1, L, O, P, R, E2C- You should have a copy of your I-129 available when completing the DS-160.
Other (Temporary) Workers: You will be asked for information about your past employer, including the address, contact details etc., while completing your DS-160.
In order to apply for a US Tourist Visa from Dubai one should submit the following extra documents to the Dubai consulate:
A visa interview is mandatory for UAE residents falling between 14 - 79 years old. One should ascertain to attend the interview on time. On the same day, you will have your biometrics taken, before the interview; the consulate staff will enter and examine your application documents. If late, your appointment will be cancelled. The interviewer will ask some questions regarding your trip. One has to ensure to answer all interrogations correctly. Also the answers must comply with the information given in the documents.
Generally it takes four to six weeks for processing the visa.
One has to initiate the application process again, which will consist of paying the fees again, to prevent this one must submit all the documents and related information accurately.
There is an adoption of new laws and regulations, merit-based immigration means that the criteria to get a U.S Green Card based on certain achievements including demographics, qualifications, achievements, skills, job prospects and so on.
In the U.S, the proposed bill is called the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act or the RAISE Act. This RAISE Act point system will assign each applicant a certain number of points based on their qualifications.
The health insurance policy is similar for immigrants and US citizens. One has to purchase their health insurance through private companies because the US does not have a national healthcare system that covers all groups of people.
Canada, Belize, Costa Rica, The British Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Caribbean part of Netherlands, Jamaica, Mexico
The Green card does not expire, but it has to be renewed every 10 years.
After you have decided which one you can apply for, reviewed the requirements and, you must start the Green Card process. For most Green Card applications there are a few steps as follows:
Your sponsor must apply for a petition on your behalf - a family member or employer. The form for family-sponsored petitions is Form I-130, while the form for employment-based petitions is Form I-140. The petition must be filed with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the fees for US employment based Green Card must be paid.
If the petition is approved, the National Visa Centre (NVC) will send you a package – USCIS will go through the petition and will decide whether you qualify. Once approved, your documents will go to the (NVC), which will send you a package to your country of residence. The package will have all the instructions and forms which you should fill out for application. NVC will not be sending this package until your priority date is current.
You must apply for the visa at a US Embassy – following the instructions from the NVC package, you will pay all necessary application fees and apply at a US Embassy in your country of residence. You will have to submit supporting documents as well as have your visa interview.
If your visa is approved, you must travel to the US with your arrival package –the US Embassy will give you an arrival package. You are not allowed to open the arrival package but must carry it with you when you first travel to the US. Only a US immigration official is allowed to open it and decide whether you are allowed to enter the US or not. Remember that even if you have a visa, it does not guarantee that you will be allowed to enter the US. The immigration officials in the US at any port of entry have the authority to decide.
Once in the US, you have to file a Form I-485 application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status to USCIS. This form will get you the permanent residence card. After USCIS processes your request for one to four weeks, you will receive your Green Card in the mail.
An acceptance of a mere visa cannot guarantee entry into the United States. A visa permits a foreign citizen to travel to the U.S. port-of-entry, and the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) immigration officer authorizes or denies admission to the United States.
If a visa is damaged one has to reapply for a new visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad.
It is strongly recommended that applicants should not book their travel until they receive their passport and new visa. The best way to avoid the unwanted circumstance of having bought an airplane ticket is by finding out that the visa was refused, or else you might require to go through the costly process of changing your tickets to another travel date.
On May 31 2019, the Department of State updated its immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms to request additional information, including social media identifiers/ handlers, from most U.S. visa applicants worldwide. Including the data of Facebook, twitter and Instagram.
One has to obtain a new passport before interview if:
You qualify for the Visa Waiver program if you are a citizen of a Visa Waiver Program eligible country, possess a machine-readable passport, are traveling for temporary business or a visit of less than 90 days, meet the program requirements, and must have obtained an authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).
Yes, for most applicants. There are only a few exceptions where the applicants generally do not have to appear in person:
Not required. If your visa is valid and undamaged, you can travel with your two passports together (old and new), if the purpose of your travel matches your current non-immigrant visa. The personal details must be the same in both the passports, and from the same country and of the same type (i.e., both tourist passports and both diplomatic passports).
Section 214(b) is part of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It states:
'Every alien shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to a non-immigrant status.'
The consular officers have a tough job for deciding in a very short time whether someone is qualified to receive a temporary visa. Most cases are decided on the basis of a brief interview and review of whatever evidence of ties an applicant presents. To qualify for a US visitor Visa or student visa, an applicant must meet the requirements of the INA. Failure to do so will result in the refusal of a visa under INA 214(b). The basis for such refusal is the concern that the prospective visitor or student shall have a residence abroad and he/she has no intention of abandoning. Applicants must prove the existence of such residence by showing that they have ties abroad that would compel them to leave the United States at the end of the temporary stay.
Strong ties differ from in all aspects like country to country, city to city, and individual to individual. Some examples of ties can include a job, a house, a family, a bank account. "Ties" can bind you to your country of residence: your possessions, employment, social and family relationships.
U.S. consular officers are aware of this diversity. During the visa interview they look at each application individually and consider professional, social, cultural and other parameters. In cases of younger applicants, consular officers may look at the applicant’s intentions, family situations, and prospects within his or her country of residence. Each case is thus examined meticulously and is in accorded with every consideration under the law.
No, the consular officer shall reconsider a case if an applicant shows further convincing evidence of ties outside the United States. Unfortunately, some applicants may not qualify for the nonimmigrant visa, unless how many times they reapply, until their personal, professional, and financial circumstances change.
An applicant refused under Section 214(b) should review carefully their situation and evaluate their ties. They may write a note down regarding the qualifying ties they have which may not have been evaluated at the time of the interview with the consular officer. Also, if it has been refused, they should review what documents were submitted for consideration in the first place. Applicants refused visas under section 214(b) may reapply for a visa. When they do, they will have to show evidence of their ties or how their circumstances have changed since the original application. It may help to answer the questions before reapplying: (1) Did I explain my situation in a genuine way? (2) Did the consular officer overlook something? (3) Is there any additional information that I can present to secure strong ties abroad.
The petition is a request form/ document stating the details that must be submitted by the prospective employer no earlier than 6 months prior to your proposed employment start date. Before applying for a temporary worker visa at the U.S. Embassy, one must have an approved Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, from USCIS. The employer should file the petition as soon as possible within the 6-month period to allow adequate time for processing. Once this gets approved, your employer will be sent a Form I-797- Notice of Action.
The U.S. non-immigrant visa grants you permission to travel to a Port of Entry (airport/seaport) in the United States. When you arrive at the destination Port of Entry, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer processes your entry, which will determine the length of time that you may remain in the country. The visa duration does not determine the length of time that you may legally remain in the United States; only the Customs and Border Protection officer can decide this upon your arrival in the United States.
If one prefers a combination of dynamic career opportunities with eminent facilities and a balanced work life, the USA should be your place. Extremely multicultural and welcoming country due to various authenticities yet no problem in communication as the basic language is English with Spanish language spoken in the USA. Thus, the USA is the best destination for migration.
Cosmos services include Skilled Migration, Business Migration and study abroad programmes, we provide end-to end services from determining the country of your choice, submitting your applications, complying with the requirements, understanding the migration law for a country or region; dos and don'ts before you arrive in the country of destination and once you arrive as an immigrant.
No. The H-1B must be filed by a US employer for you, and registrations face a lottery that has selected roughly 25–35% in recent cycles. New petitions also carry the September-2025 employer fee covered above, which has made overseas hiring rare. If you have a strong professional record, EB-1A and EB-2 NIW need no employer at all.
The visa bulletin is the US State Department's monthly queue report — it shows which priority dates can move forward, with separate Final Action and Dates for Filing charts. Dates retrogress when demand outruns the annual supply, capped at roughly 7% per country of birth. That cap, not your UAE residence, is why India-born applicants wait longest.
No — green card queues run on country of birth, not residence or even citizenship. Years in the UAE, or a second passport, do not change your place in the line. The one genuine exception is cross-chargeability: if your spouse was born in a country with a shorter queue, your application can use their queue instead.
The US$250 visa integrity fee was enacted in 2025 and sits on top of the US$185 application fee — an effective B1/B2 cost of roughly US$435. As of March 2026, though, consular implementation guidance was still pending, with rollout expected before 30 September 2026. Check the current position before you pay anyone anything extra.
Vetting has tightened across 2025–26 — expanded social-media screening and closer scrutiny of student and work applications are real. That is a reason to file carefully, not to panic: disclose accounts accurately on the DS-160, keep your story consistent across every form, and assume anything public will be read alongside your application.
No. India-born applicants are ineligible for the Diversity Visa lottery — India has sent more than 50,000 immigrants in the past five years, which excludes it, and that is expected to hold until at least 2028. UAE residence makes no difference. Applicants born in the UAE or Sri Lanka generally remain eligible.
EB-5 is open — the Regional Center programme is reauthorised through 30 September 2027. The protections that come with filing under current Reform and Integrity Act rules apply to petitions filed by 30 September 2026, which is the real deadline to watch. The "Gold Card" announced in September 2025 is a separate executive-action pathway, not a replacement.
Counting US government charges only: a B1/B2 currently costs US$185, rising to roughly US$435 once the enacted US$250 integrity fee is implemented; new H-1B petitions add the September-2025 employer fee of US$100,000; and EB-5 requires US$800,000 invested in a targeted employment area plus filing fees. Know the government numbers before anyone quotes you a package.
The EB-2 National Interest Waiver is an employment-based green card that waives the usual job offer and labour certification when the work is in the US national interest. Eligibility is assessed under the three-prong test from Matter of Dhanasar (2016): the endeavour has substantial merit and national importance, you are well positioned to advance it, and on balance it benefits the US to waive the job-offer requirement. It suits strong individual profiles with no US employer.
USCIS I-140 processing usually runs around 6-18 months under standard processing, or about 15 business days where premium processing is available. Consular processing at the US embassy then adds further time. Your overall timeline depends heavily on your priority date and country of birth, since green card supply is capped per country — so two identical profiles can wait very different lengths. Check current USCIS times before counting on any figure.
No employer or US sponsor is required. What matters is showing strong ties to your home country, sufficient funds for the trip, and a clear, genuine purpose of visit. You complete the DS-160 online, pay the fee, and attend a consular interview at the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi or Consulate in Dubai with your valid passport, photo and confirmation page. An invitation letter is optional, not decisive.
The standard steps are: gain acceptance to a SEVP-certified school, receive your Form I-20, pay the SEVIS I-901 fee, complete the DS-160, then attend the consular interview. You will need to show genuine financial support for your studies and an intention to return after your program. Bring your I-20, SEVIS receipt, DS-160 confirmation and passport to the interview. You may enter the US up to 30 days before your start date.
Yes. The EB-3 category (Skilled Worker, Professional, or Other Worker) needs a permanent, full-time US job offer, a PERM labour certification from the Department of Labor, and an approved I-140 petition. Your PERM filing date becomes your priority date. A visa-bulletin backlog applies and is particularly long for applicants born in India and China — that queue runs on country of birth, not your UAE residence.
Cosmos Immigration is a regulated immigration consultancy founded in Dubai in 2014, working through CICC-, MARA- and IAA-registered professionals, with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hyderabad and Oakville — 10,569 assessments since 2014. Cosmos Immigration is a private consultancy, not a government body; US criteria, fees and queues rest with USCIS, the Department of State and CBP, and have changed repeatedly within a single year — which is why every figure on this page carries its as-of date.
Find out where you stand — free assessment, or message us on WhatsApp. If no US route fits your profile this year, we'll say so before you spend a dirham.
| Category | Processing time | Key requirement | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| F-1 Student | 45-90 days | I-20 from accredited school + financial proof | Pursuing US degree |
| B1/B2 Visit/Business | 30-180 days | Strong ties + clear purpose | Tourism / business meetings |
| EB-5 Investor | 24-48 months | USD 800K (TEA) or USD 1.05M investment | Direct investment or regional centre |
| L-1 Intra-company | 3-6 months | 1+ year with multinational + transfer | Internal transfer to US office |
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