HOUSTON IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION ATTORNEYS
U.S. Coast Guard Manning Exemption Application Process
Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978 (OCSLA), only U.S. citizens or lawful permanent resident aliens employ as members of regular complement of Unit. 9 FAM 41.31 N.9.9. However, OCSLA requirements are waived for certain B-1 visa applicants, as specified under U.S. Coast Guard’s regulations under 33 CFR 141, and any such B-1 visa qualified under the Exemptions are notated as “OCS.” See our previous article titled, “B-1 Business Visitor Visa, Temporary Work And OCS Manning Exemptions.” The application process to receive a U.S. Coast Guard Manning Exemption, commonly known as “a citizenship exemption,” can be a time consuming and lengthy process. The process begins when our Houston OCS Immigration Attorneys prepares and file the application package with the Chief of the Coast Guard’s Division of Foreign and Offshore Compliance. The application must contain, at the very least, the following information or the package may be denied or rejected.
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The application must contain the scope of the project;
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Information regarding the different type of personnel that will be involved in such project;
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The name of the vessel, the maritime flag in which it is sailing under, and its ownerships;
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Contracts, subcontracts and/or bareboat charter agreements that affect ownership or control of the ship (the vessel must be at least 50% owned by a foreign entity);
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Parent company public trading and registration documents;
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Information regarding the parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate company(ies) that own the vessel;
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Affidavits from executives or the Board of Director of the company(ies) identifying and certifying its ownership, control, and nationality of shareholders and directors of any such company(ies).
The application typically takes up to 60 days to be approved. In some circumstances, the application process may take longer if the Chief of the Coast Guard’s Division of Foreign and Offshore Compliance need additional information and further inquire into information provided in the applications. For these reasons, our Houston OCS Manning Exemption Lawyers and our Houston OCS Citizenship Exemption Attorneys usually request employers to file the application as soon as they have a full scope of the proposed project.
For more information regarding U.S. Coast Guard Manning Exemption Applications, please contact our U.S. OCS Citizenship Exemption Law Firm. You are invited to contact our Houston Immigration Attorneys and our Houston OCS Manning Exemption Lawyers to assist you in the manning exemption application process. Our Houston B-1 Visitor Visa Lawyers and our Houston OCS Manning Exemption Attorneys have assisted clients in bringing foreign employees to the U.S. quickly through B-1 visitor visas and work on a temporary basis for the affiliated U.S. company. Our Houston Work Visa Lawyers and our Houston Employment Visa Attorneys can be reached at 713-517-6645.
DISCLAIMER
Immigration Law is a vast area of law and requires an immigration attorney with years of experience to understand the intricacies of the Immigration & Naturalization Law. In addition, the U.S. Consular Offices are keen to scrutinize the foreign national’s “immigration intent” for non-immigrant visas, especially visitor visas. Please contact the Houston Nonimmigrant Visa Attorneys and the Houston B-1 B-2 Visitor Visa Lawyers to ensure proper documentations to show that the foreign national does not have the presumed “immigrant intent.” Please callthe Houston Immigration Attorneys and the Spring Texas B-2 Visitor Visa Immigration Lawyers at the Law Offices of Steven Tuan Pham. today at 713-517-6645
or complete our Contact Form.