Generally, non-immigrant visas allow individuals to come to the United States for a temporary period of time and for a restricted purpose consistent with the respective non-immigrant visa sought. Below is a brief, non-exhaustive, overview of some common non-immigrant visas, each subject to restrictions and requirements.
Work or Business
Business or work non-immigrant visas allow individuals to conduct business or engage in employment in the United States.
- B-1 Temporary Business Visitor Visa
B-1 visas allow foreign nationals to come to the United States for legitimate business and commercial purposes. This visa is for a short duration and does not authorize individuals to engage in local employment.
- H-1B Professionals in Specialty Occupations Visa
The H-1B visa allows individuals to come to the United States to work in a field that requires specialization or special skills.
- H-2B Seasonal Non-Agricultural Workers Visa
H-2B visas permit business owners to hire foreign workers to perform seasonal, peak-load, intermittent, or one-time only work of non-agricultural nature.
- L-1 Intra Company Transfers Visa
The L-1 visa allows foreign-based executives, managers, and employees with a specialized skill to be transferred to a United States division, affiliate, subsidiary, or parent branch of an international company.
- O-1 Persons of Extraordinary Abilities Visa
The O-1 visa is available for foreign artists, athletes, entertainers, scientists, educators, and business people of extraordinary ability or achievement who wish to temporarily come to the United States to work in their field of achievement.
- P-1 Professional Artists, Athletes & Entertainers Visa
This visa is for artists, athletes and entertainers.
- R-1 Religious Workers Visa
An R-1 visa allows individuals to enter the United States to work as a religious minister, or in a professional capacity for a qualifying religious organization.
- TN Visa
TN visas are available to skilled workers from Canada and Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). TN visas permit Canadian and Mexican citizens to temporarily enter the United States to work in a NAFTA approved occupation.
- E-1/E-2 Treaty Trader and Investor Visa
Where a reciprocal treaty of commerce and navigation is in place between the United States and another country, a national of that other country may be able to come to the United States to engage in substantial trade between the United States and that other country, or to develop or direct active investments made in the United States.
Family-Related
These special non-immigrant visas contemplate that an individual will eventually become a United States permanent resident.
- K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa
K-1 visas may be issued for fiancé(e)s of United States citizens who are entering for the sole purpose of getting married within 90 days of their admission.
- K-3 Spouse Visa
K-3 visas permit the spouses of United States citizens to lawfully enter and reside in the United States until their immigration process is complete.