The United States makes temporary visas – in technical language, nonimmigrant visas – available to a wide variety of people, from the tourist coming for a short stay to the worker who plans to stay for years at a time. What these visas have in common is that they come with, under the law, a limited possible duration and various limits and restrictions on what activities you can pursue in the United States on that visa. What’s more, they do not (except in rare circumstances) lead directly to a U.S. green card.

 

Many nonimmigrant visas allow their holders to apply for an extension of their stay, up to a certain maximum period of time. However, if the visa holder stays in the United States beyond the time permitted, this can lead to severe penalties and create problems for the person’s future immigration plans.

 

A number of temporary (nonimmigrant) visas to the United States are meant to fill the needs of U.S. companies and employers or to foster international trade. For example, visas are available for skilled and unskilled workers, musicians, artists and other performers, religious workers, workers transferring within an overseas company to an office in the United States, and more.

 

The foreign national applying for one of these visas must typically have a job or a job offer first. In fact, the employer must ordinarily start the process on the person’s behalf. The foreign national will likely attend an interview at a U.S. consulate.

 

The following is a non-exhaustive live of nonimmigrant visa options for the US:

 

B-1 / B-2 Business Visitor and Tourist Visas

 

To visit the United State for Business you will need to obtain a Temporary Visitors for Business Visa, unless you qualify for admission without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program. Temporary business visitor status allows a foreign national to conduct activities of a commercial or professional nature, such as consulting with business associates, negotiating a contract, or attending a business conference. The tourist B-2 visa allows for entry for up to 6 months at a given time, to travel and explore the US.

 

E-1 and E-2 Treaty Trader and Treaty Investor Visas

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• Various treaties between the United States and other countries allow foreign nationals with key positions or highly specialized skills, whose companies are actively investing in the U.S., to spend time in the U.S. in order to develop and direct this company's trade with the United States.

 

E-3 Visas for Australian Nationals

 

The E-3 visa is for Australian nationals who wish to come to the U.S. to work on a temporary basis in a “specialty occupation”, which means that it is a position that requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge. What this means in practice is that the position should be one that requires at minimum the attainment of a bachelor's degree in a specified field, or the equivalent in education and/or experience.

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H-1B Visas for Temporary Specialty Workers

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• The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa. It is designed to allow U.S. employers to recruit & employ foreign professionals in specialty occupations within the US for a specified period of time.  Please see the section on E-3 visas above for a definition of "specialty occupations".

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H-3 Visas for Temporary Trainees

 

The H-3 nonimmigrant visa category allows foreign nationals coming temporarily to the United States as either a: (a) Trainee, to receive training in any field of endeavor, other than graduate medical education or training, that is not available in the foreign national’s home country; or (b)
Special Education Exchange Visitor, to participate in a special education exchange visitor training program that provides for practical training and experience in the education of children with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities.

 

I Visas for Members of the International Press

 

The I, Representatives of Foreign Media, nonimmigrant visa, is available to individuals who:

represent a foreign information media outlet (press, radio, film, or other foreign information media); are coming to the United States to engage solely in the media profession; and have a home office in a foreign country. The I visa does not cover reality television crews. 

 

L Visas for Intracompany Transferees​

 

The L1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa which allows companies operating both in the US and abroad to transfer certain classes of employee - managers/executives and individuals with specialized knowledge within the company - from its foreign operations to the US operations for up to seven years. The employee must have worked for a subsidiary, parent, affiliate or branch office of the US company outside of the US for at least one continuous year out of the last three years.

 

O-1 Visa for Workers With Extraordinary Talent

 

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.

 

P Visas for Artists, Entertainers, Athletes​

 

The P-1 classification applies to you if you are coming to the US temporarily to either: (A) 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; or (B) perform as a member of an entertainment group that has been recognized internationally as outstanding in the discipline for a sustained and substantial period of time.

 

In addition, the P-3 visa is for individuals 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.

 

R Visas for Religious Workers

 

An R-1 is a foreign national who is coming to the United States temporarily to be employed as a minister or in another religious vocation or occupation at least part time by either: a non-profit religious organization in the US; a religious organization  authorized by a group tax exemption holder to use its group tax exemption; or a non-profit religious organization which is affiliated with a religious denomination in the United States.

 

TN and TD Visas Under NAFTA

 

Under tfhe North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 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.

 

​K-1 Visa for Fiance(e) of U.S. Citizen

 

The fiancé(e) K-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) of a US citizen. The K-1 visa permits the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) to travel to the United States and marry his or her US citizen sponsor within 90 days of arrival. The foreign citizen will then apply for adjustment of status to a permanent resident, from within the US.

 

 

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