A NONIMMIGRANT is a foreign national who seeks to enter the United States
temporarily for a specific purpose. Employers wishing to hire foreign
workers to temporarily perform services or labor file, in most cases,
a nonimmigrant visa petition with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration
Services (USCIS). Workers who enter the United States under such a petition
must depart the United States upon reaching their maximum period of
stay authorized by USCIS. Petitions for extension of stay or for change
of status are available for certain nonimmigrants.
There are many nonimmigrant classifications for foreign nationals who have come to the United States as temporary visitors. Each nonimmigrant classification is symbolized by a letter which generally corresponds to the visa issued by the Department of State. Those classifications that relate to employment or investment are listed below.
An IMMIGRANT is a foreign national who has been authorized to live and
work permanently in the United States. Becoming an immigrant based on
the fact that a foreign national has a permanent employment opportunity
in the United States involves a multi-step process.
First, a foreign national must be eligible for lawful permanent residency
under one of USCIS’ routes to such status. Second, in most cases
the U.S. employer must complete an Application for Permanent Employment
Certification (labor certification) for the foreign national, and submit
it to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.
(Note: Qualified foreign physicians who will practice medicine in an area
of the United States that has been certified as underserved by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services are excused from this requirement.)
Third, after securing an approved labor certification, the U.S. employer
must file with USCIS an immigrant visa petition on behalf of the foreign
national. Fourth, the Department of State must give the foreign national
an immigrant visa number, even if the individual is already in the United
States. When he or she receives an immigrant visa number, it means an
immigrant visa has been assigned to him or her. Fifth, if the individual
is already in the United States in some legal status, he or she must apply
to adjust to permanent resident status after a visa number becomes available.
If the foreign national is outside the United States when an immigrant
visa number becomes available, he or she will complete the process at
his or her local U.S. consular office. The different employment-based
paths to becoming an immigrant are listed
below.
NONIMMIGRANT Temporary Worker Visas
For more information on a particular nonimmigrant temporary worker visa, click the corresponding link.
• E – E-1 Treaty Trader & E-2 Treaty
Investor
• E-3 – Specialty Occupations (Australia)
• H-1B – Specialty Occupations, Department
of Defense Workers, Fashion Models
• H-1B1 – Specialty Occupations (Chile &
Singapore)
• H-2A – Temporary Agricultural Worker
• H-2B – Temporary Worker (nonagricultural):
Skilled and Unskilled
• H-3 – Trainee
• I – Visa for Foreign Media Representative
• L – Intra-Company Transferee:
L-1A (Executive, Managerial) & L-1B (Specialized Knowledge)
• O-1 & O-2 – Foreign National of Extraordinary
Ability or Achievement in Sciences, Arts, Education, Business or Athletics
• P-1, P-2, & P-3 – Athletes and Entertainers
• R-1 – Temporary Workers in Religious Occupations
• TN – NAFTA Professionals (Canadians &
Mexicans)
Employment-Based
Paths to IMMIGRANT Status (Permanent Residence – “Green
Card”)
There are five employment-based (EB) categories for granting permanent residence to foreign nationals. For more information on each category, click one of the links below.
• EB-1 Priority Workers
• Foreign nationals
of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or
athletics
• Foreign national
that are outstanding professors or researchers
• Foreign nationals
that are managers and executives subject to international transfer to
the United States
• EB-2 Professionals with Advanced Degrees or
Persons with Exceptional Ability
• Foreign nationals
of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business
• Foreign nationals
that are advanced degree professionals
• Qualified alien
physicians who will practice medicine in an area of the U.S. which is
underserved
• EB-3 Skilled or Professional Workers
• Foreign national
professionals with bachelor's degrees (not qualifying for a higher preference
category)
• Foreign national
skilled workers (minimum two years training and experience)
• Foreign national
unskilled workers
• EB-4 Special Immigrants
• Foreign national
religious workers
