There are several visas available based on United States employment. Our office will represent both the employer and the employee to ensure a smooth transition and that US requirements are met as quickly as possible.
Generally speaking, your potential employer needs to meet their requirements successfully before you can apply for the appropriate visa.
If you are inside the United States already under a different visa classification, you can apply for one of these visas by transferring your current qualifying status. For example, you have a tourist (B-2) visa but you want to apply for a temporary worker (H-1B) visa.
If you are inside the United States but your visa status has expired, you will need to leave the United States and apply in your home country for a visa unless you are able to change your status legally inside the United States. Our office can evaluate your case and let you know if that type of transfer is available to you.
For reference purposes, consider the following table of employment-based visas as published by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service HERE.
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Temporary Workers and Trainees |
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| H-1B | Workers in a specialty occupation. For example, architecture, engineering, medicine, accounting. |
| H-1B1 | Free Trade Agreement professionals from Chile and Singapore. (See the “H-1B Specialty Occupations and Fashion Models” link to the left) |
| H-1B2 | Specialty occupations related to Department of Defense Cooperative Research and Development projects or Co-production projects. (See the “H-1B Specialty Occupations and Fashion Models” link to the left) |
| H-1B3 | Fashion model of distinguished merit and ability. (See the “H-1B Specialty Occupations and Fashion Models” link to the left) |
| H-IC | Registered nurse working in a health professional shortage area as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor. (This visa classification expired on June 13, 2005.) |
| H-2A | Temporary or seasonal agricultural worker |
| H-2B | Temporary or seasonal nonagricultural worker. For example, ski instructor, hotel employee, theme park worker, etc. (Returning H-2B workers are given the classification H-2R) |
| H-3 | Trainees other than medical or academic. This classification also applies to practical training in the education of handicapped children. For example, management training or nurse training for whom equivalent training is not available in home country |
| O-1, O-2, O-3 | Persons with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Includes O-2 persons accompanying to assist O-1 and O-3 spouse or children of O-1 or O-2. (See the “O-1 Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement” link to the left) |
| O-1B | Person with extraordinary ability in motion picture or TV production (see the “O-1 Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement” link to the left) |
| P-1A | Internationally recognized athlete |
| P-1B | A member of an internationally recognized entertainment group |
| P-2 | Individual performer or part of a group entering to perform under a reciprocal exchange program |
| P-3 | Artist or entertainer, either an individual or group, to perform, teach, or coach under a program that is culturally unique |
| P-4 | Spouses and children of P-1, P-2, P-3 (see the respective links to the left for more information) |
| Q-1 | Persons participating in an international cultural exchange program for the purpose of providing practical training, employment, and to share the history, culture, and traditions of the alien’s home country. |
| R-1, R-2 | Religious workers. R-2 is for spouses and Children of R-1 (see the “R-1 Temporary Religious Workers” link to the left) |
| TN | North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) temporary professional from Mexico and Canada. TD is for spouses and children of TN. (See the “TN NAFTA Professionals” link to the left) |
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Intracompany Transferees |
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L-1A |
Intracompany transfer in a managerial or executive position (see the “L-1A & L-1B Intracompany Transferees” link to the left) |
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L-1B
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Intracompany transfer in a position utilizing specialized knowledge (see the “L-1A & L-1B Intracompany Transferees” link to the left) |
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L-2 |
Spouse or child of an L-1A or L-1B (see the “L-1A & L-1B Intracompany Transferees” link to the left) |
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Treaty Traders and Investors |
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| E-1 | Treaty Traders and their spouses and children (see the “E-1 Treaty Traders” link to the left) |
| E-2 | Treaty Investors and their spouses and children |
| E-3 | Free Trade Agreement professionals from Australian including spouses and children |
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Representative of Foreign Information Media |
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| I-1 | Representatives of foreign press, radio, film or other foreign information media and their immediate family members |
