Temporary (Nonimmigrant) Worker Visas
Categories of Temporary Worker Visas
There are several categories of visas available for those who enter the United States to work. This section will cover H, L, E, I, O P, Q, R & TN Visas.
Each category defines the type of work, profession, or business that the applicant seeks to perform in the United States. Each of these visas permits employment in the the United States. Some provide a path to permanent residency.
This page covers all of these visa’s and includes links to the full web-pages dedicated to each Visa section. Within each dedicated web-page you will find out the requirements for the visa, the costs, the application process and more.
H Visas
H visa applicants are those coming temporarily to work in the United States in specialty occupations.
What is the H-1B Visa?
The H-1B visa category applies to people who wish to perform services in a specialty occupation, services of exceptional merit and ability, relation to a Department of Defense (DOD) cooperative research and development project, or services as a fashion model of distinguished merit or ability.
Click here to learn about H-1 Visas.
What is the H-2A Visa?
H-2A Nonimmigration Visa – Temporary Agricultural Workers Description
Are you looking to expand the productivity of your farming enterprise? The H-2A program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring aliens to the U.S. to fill temporary agricultural jobs. As the prospective employer you must file Form I-129, petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, on a prospective worker’s behalf. Feel free to contact us for a Free Consultation to determine if you are eligible and begin the process of bringing in Temporary Agricultural Workers for your farming enterprise.
Click here to learn about H-2A Agricultural Workers.
What is the H-2B Visa?
H-2B: Non-Agricultural Workers
H-2B Non-Agricultural Workers Visa allows temporary workers to help you in your business enterprise. The H-2B program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring aliens to the U.S. to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs. Such as seasonal workers & one-time occurrence workers.
Are you looking to bring in temporary workers to help you in your business enterprise? A U.S. employer, or U.S. agent as described in the regulations, must file Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, on a prospective worker’s behalf.
Nursing Visa Options
Are you a Registered Nurse looking to come to the U.S. to work as a R.N.?
There is no unique visa for R.N.’s but there are a few options to help you.
L Visas
What is the L Visa? The L visa serves functions similar to those of the H-1B visa but is reserved for intracompany transferees who are entering the United States to further the business needs of foreign or multinational corporations.
An L Visa holder must be employed by a firm, corporation or other legal entity, or its parent, branch, affiliate, or subsidiary.
This definition includes non-profits, religious, and charitable organizations.
The purpose of the L visa is to facilitate transfers of executives or employees with specialized knowledge between foreign-based offices to U.S. branches or subsidiaries.
Employees already working in the U.S. on an L Visa can be transferred from one U.S. affiliate to another, but a new I-129 must be filed for each transfer.
What is the L-1A Nonimmigrant Visa?
The L-1A nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States.
This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send an executive or manager to the United States with the purpose of establishing one.
Click here to learn more about L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive Visas.
What is the L-1B Nonimmigrant Visa?
The L-1B nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. employer to transfer a professional employee with specialized knowledge relating to the organization’s interests from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States. This classification also enables a foreign company that does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send a specialized knowledge employee to the United States to help establish one.
CW Visas
The CNMI-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) visa classification allows employers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to apply for permission to employ aliens who are otherwise ineligible to work under other nonimmigrant worker categories. The CW classification provides a method for transition from the former CNMI foreign worker permit system to the U.S. immigration system.
E Visas
E visas accommodate those who enter the United States pursuant to international trade and commerce and free trade agreements.
E visas are available for those who seek to participate in international trade and investment opportunities in the United States.
E-1 Treaty Trader Visa
The E-1 nonimmigrant classification allows a national of a treaty country (a country with which the U.S. maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation) to be admitted to the U.S. solely to engage in international trade on his or her own behalf. Certain employees of such a person or of a qualifying organization may also be eligible for this classification.
This is a highly desired nonimmigrant visa because it is available to nationals of treaty countries who involved in import or export trade between the U.S. and the trader’s country. There are great advantages for qualified foreign investors to apply for a E-1 Treaty Trader Visa.
E-2 Treaty Investor Visas
The E-2 nonimmigrant classification allows a national of a treaty country (a country with which the U.S. maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation) to be admitted to the U.S. when investing a substantial amount of capital us a U.S. business. Certain employees of such a person or of a qualifying organization may also be eligible for this classification.
E-2 CNMI-Only Investor Visas
The CNMI-Only Investor (E-2) visa classification allows foreign, long-term investors to remain lawfully present in the CNMI through December 31, 2029, while they resolve their immigration status. This classification is intended to help as the CNMI transitions from the CNMI permit system to U.S. immigration laws.
Click here to learn more about E-2 CNMI-Only Investor Visas.
E-3 Certain Specialty Occupation from Australia Visas
If you are a national of Australia the E-3 classification applies to you. In order to be eligible, you must be coming to the U.S. solely to perform services in a specialty occupation. The specialty occupation requires theoretical and practical application of a body of knowledge in professional fields and at least the attainment of a bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent, as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the U.S.
Click here to learn more about E-3 Certain Specialty Occupation from Australia Visas.
I Visa - Foreign Press Representatives
I visas are available to bona fide representatives of the foreign press, radio, television or information media entering solely to engage in their profession. The I visa is available for those applicants whose countries have reciprocal agreements with the Unted States.
An I Visa holder is admitted for up to one year, with indefinitie one-year extensons. There are no restrictions on adjustment and no foreign residency requirements.
Freelance workers may also apply as long as you have a valid and existing contract in place. Spouses and children can accompany or follow to join, but they must apply independently for employment authorization if they wish to work in the United States.
O Visas - Athletes, Entertainers, Performers
The O category covers athletes, entertainers, and performers or others in the arts, sciences, business, or education, who have exhibited “extraordinary ability” demonstrated by “sustained national or international acclaim.”
The O category also covers immediate relatives and support staff of the principal O visa recipient. An O visa is available initially for a three-year period with the possibility of one-year extensions.
There are three categories for the O Visa.
O-1 , O-2 & O-3 Visas
The O-1 Visa is for the athlete, entertainer, and performer. The O-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the individual who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.
The O-2 Visa is for the persons accompanying and assisting the O-1 artist, athlete or performer for a specific event or events.
The O-3 Visa is for spouses and children accompanying and following to join the O-1 Visa holder.
P Visas
The P nonimmigrant category contains several subcategories of recognized athletes and entertainers.
For the P category, an entertainment group or athletic team may be as few as 2 persons and the manner in which the act is billed is not determinative of its eligibility for P status.
P-1 visa holders are admitted for up to five years, with the possibility of up to a five year extension. The rest of the P categories are admitted initially for one year and can seek one year extensions.
There are 3 P-1 Visa Categories.
The P-1 category is reserved for internationally recognized athletes or entertainment groups performing in specific events.
The P-2 category is reserved for artists and entertainers seeking to enter the United States under reciprocal exchange programs.
The P-3 category is used by artists or entertainers providing “culturally unique” programs.
P-1A - Athletes Visa
The P-1A classification applies to you if you are coming temporarily to the United States solely for the purpose of performing at a specific athletic competition as:
An individual athlete at an internationally recognized level of performance;
Part of a group or team at an internationally recognized level of performance;
A professional athlete; or
An athlete or coach, as part of a team or franchise that is located in the United States and a member of a foreign league or association.
P-2 Visa: Performer Under Reciprocal Exchange Program Visa
P-2: Individual Performer or Part of a Group Entering to Perform Under a Reciprocal Exchange Program
The P-2 Nonimmigrant Visa classification applies to you if you are coming temporarily to perform as an artist or entertainer, individually or as part of a group, who will perform under a reciprocal exchange program between an organization in the United States and an organization in another country.
You must be an artist entering the United States through a government recognized reciprocal exchange program. In addition, you must possess skills comparable to those of the United States artists and entertainers taking part in the program outside the United States.
P-3 Visa: Artist or Entertainer Part of Culturally Unique Program
P-3: Artist or Entertainer Coming to Be Part of a Culturally Unique Program
The P-3 Nonimmigrant Visa classification applies to you if you are coming temporarily to perform, teach or coach as artists or entertainers, individually or as part of a group, under a program that is culturally unique.
For a P-3 visa, you must be coming to the United States either individually or as a group for the purpose of developing, interpreting, representing, coaching, or teaching a unique or traditional ethnic, folk, cultural, musical, theatrical, or artistic performance or presentation. In addition, you must be coming to the United States to participate in a cultural event or events which will further the understanding or development of your art form. The program may be of a commercial or noncommercial nature.
Q Visas
The Q visa allows for sponsorship of an employee whose work inherently calls for the exchange of cultural information, regardless of skill level.
The Q Visa is also known as a “Disney Visa.” The Q Visa earned this name after Disney lobbied for the creation of the Q visa under the Immigration Act of 1990.
Workers who seek to come to the United States to exchange culture, history, or traditions of a country, as well as for employment and to provide practical training are eligible for Q visas.
Click here to learn more about Q Visas.
R Visas
R visas are available to religous workers. Those who are eligibe include ministers, persons in a professional religious capacity, persons working for religious organizations, and those who were, for two years before applying, a member of a bona fide religious organization.
R visa holders may not work in the U.S. in any other capacity but as a minister or religious worker, but thye may work for more than one qualifying eployer as long as each files a petition.
An R visa holder is considered out of status if he/she works for a religious organization other than the petitioner.
Entry is limited to give years and a visa is available for spouses and children accompanying or following to join the principal applicant as R-2. The R-2 visa holder may not work.
TN Visas
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) created special economic and trade relationships for the United States, Canada and Mexico. The TN nonimmigrant classification permits qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to seek temporary entry into the United States to engage in business activities at a professional level.
Among the types of professionals who are eligible to seek admission as TN nonimmigrants are accountants, engineers, lawyers, pharmacists, scientists, and teachers. You may be eligible for TN nonimmigrant status, if:
- You are a citizen of Canada or Mexico;
- Your profession qualifies under the regulations;
- The position in the United States requires a NAFTA professional;
- You have a prearranged full-time or part-time job with a U.S. employer (but not self-employment – see documentation required below); and
- You have the qualifications to practice in the profession in question.
Free Case Evaluation and Free Consultation
We have provided a great deal of information on this Employment-Based Visa Category page. Under each section are dedicated web-pages with detailed information regarding qualifications, lengths of stay, filing fees, process steps and more.
We understand that you more than likely have many questions regarding the Visa that you are interested in pursuing. As such we offer free case evaluations and free consultations. Please fill out our contact form or give us a call at (619) 363-2871 so that we can begin helping you in further detail.