Non Immigrant Employment Related Visas

J Visas.  Exchange visitors.  Non immigrant visitor who is a professional or research scholar, bona fide trainee or intern, college or university student, teacher, secondary school student, non academic specialist, foreign physician, international visitor, government visitor, camp counselor, , au pair or summer student in a travel/work program. Must have sufficient funds and be fluent in English. Must maintain sufficient medical insurance for accident and illness and have a residence abroad.  May be subject to the 2 year residence requirement.

South Korean, Australia and New Zealand  have special country programs.

E-1 AND E-2 VISAS. For treaty traders and investors. The person is entering the U.S. for an indefinite time based on a treaty between the U.S. and the country of alien’s nationality. 

E-3 VISAS. Australian Specialty Occupations. Allows persons to enter the U.S. solely to perform services in a specialty occupation in the United States if the alien is a national of the Commonwealth of Australia. This visa is limited to 10,500 per year.

H-2A and H-2B. Workers performing agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature and workers performing other temporary services or labor.

H1-B VISA.  Work visa for a person in a specialty occupation for a maximum of six years. Maximum of 65,000 visas per year unless exempt. Earliest you can file is April 1st for the next fiscal year beginning on October 1st. The cap is reached usually within the first week of April.

H1-B1. Fast track H1 B visas for citizens of Chile and Singapore.

H1_B for Fashion Models.  Fashion models may fall under the H1-B category  if they are of distinguished merit and ability.

Trainees H-3 Visas.  Temporary worker for purpose of receiving instruction and training. A maximum of 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas are allowed annually under the Immigration and Nationality Act. These visas are divided into five preference categories. The first three worker categories for employment-based visas each receive 28.6 percent of the yearly worldwide limit of such visas. The last two categories of workers receive 7.1 per cent of such visas. Specific rules govern what kinds of workers fall into each category.

O VISAS.  For those with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics

P VISAS. For athletes and group entertainers

L VISAS.  Intra company transferees. L-1 status may be accorded to an alien who, within 3 years preceding his application for admission was employed abroad continuously for 1 year by a parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary of the U.S. petitioning company and the alien seeks to enter the U.S. temporarily to continue to work for the same employer, affiliate or subsidiary. Must continue to work in a managerial or executive capacity (L-1A) or in a position involving specialized knowledge (L-1B).

Q VISAS. Cultural Exchange programs