Nonimmigrant visas are for foreign nationals who desire to enter the United States for a specific purpose, but do not intend to stay in the United States permanently. The world of nonimmigrant visas is "alphabet soup," with each type of visa named after their specific subsection in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Our firm can help you navigate this maze and find the right type of visa for you or your worker. Some of the visas we help our clients obtain include:
- B-1 (Business Visitor) or B-2 (Tourist): This category is available to persons who can demonstrate that (a) they have no intention of abandoning their residence abroad and (b) they are visiting the US temporarily for business or pleasure. Regardless of the life of the visa itself, most B-1 or B-2 admissions are normally no longer than 6 months.
- E-1 (Treaty Trader) or E-2 (Treaty Investor): This category is available for traders, investors and their employees to carry on substantial trade, or to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which the national has made a substantial investment where the applicant is a national of a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation.
- F-1 (Student) or M-1 (Vocational Student): This category is available to persons wishing to pursue academic studies and/or language training programs (F-1), or wishing to pursue nonacademic or vocational studies (M-1).
- H-1B (Professional Worker): This category is available for persons coming temporarily to perform services in a specialty occupation, or as a fashion model of distinguished merit and ability. Generally, a "specialty occupation" is defined as the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge requiring completion of a bachelor's degree as a minimum qualification.
- H-2A (Farm Worker) or H-2B (Temporary Worker): This category is available to persons coming temporarily to meet temporary or seasonal needs in positions for which qualified US workers are not available. Generally, the employer must conduct a "recruitment campaign" designed to locate minimally qualified US workers before proceeding with a visa petition.
- J-1 (Exchange Visitor) or Q-1 (Cultural Exchange Visitor): This category is available to persons coming temporarily for educational and cultural exchange programs designated by the Department of State (J-1), or an international cultural exchange program designated by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (Q-1).
- L-1A (Manager or Executive Transferee) or L-1B (Specialized Knowledge Worker Transferee): This category is available to persons transferring from a company outside the United States to the company's US parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate. Generally, the person must have been employed full time abroad for the company for at least one continuous year out of the last three-year period to qualify.
- O-1 (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) or P-1 (Athletes, Entertainment Groups, Artists): This category is available to persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics (O-1); or to perform at a specific athletic competition as an athlete, individually or as part of a group or team, at an internationally recognized level of performance (P-1 Athlete); or to perform as a member of a foreign-based entertainment group that has been recognized internationally as outstanding in the discipline for a sustained and substantial period of time (P-1 Entertainment Group); or to perform, teach or coach as artists or entertainers, individually or as part of a group, under a program that is culturally unique (P-3).
- R-1 (Religious Worker): This category is available for persons entering temporarily to work for a bona fide nonprofit religious organization at the request of the organization, in a religious occupation which relates to a traditional religious function.
- S-1 (Crime "Snitch") or S-2 (Terrorism "Snitch"): This category is available for persons who have important information on a criminal organization and whose presence is needed by the law enforcement authorities investigating or prosecuting the matter (S-1), or persons supplying key and reliable information to law enforcement regarding a terrorist organization, and in doing so, are placing themselves in danger (S-2).
- T (Trafficking Victim): This category provides temporary immigration benefits to aliens who are victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons, and their immediate family members.
- TN (NAFTA Worker): This category is available to certain Canadian and Mexican professionals entering temporarily to work for a US employer under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). TN employment must be in a profession listed in Appendix 1603.0.1 to NAFTA and the TN employee must possess the credentials required.
- U (Serious Crime Victim): This category provides temporary immigration benefits to aliens who are victims of certain serious crimes, such as rape, torture, sexual assault, domestic violence, and others.
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