Non-Immigrant Visas

Temporary Workers Visa Classifications

The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act provides several categories of non-immigrant visas for a person who wishes to work temporarily in the United States. There are annual numerical limits on some classifications.

A full list of immigration classifications and visa categories is published by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.

The following is a list of the most commonly requested types of visas:

B-1 classification is a non-immigrant visa for persons desiring to enter the United States temporarily for business.

B-2 classification is a non-immigrant visa for persons desiring to enter the United States temporarily for pleasure.

C classification applies to aliens transiting through the U.S.

D classification applies to crew members.

F-1 classification applies to academic students studying full-time (more than 18 hours per week).

F-2 classification applies dependants of F-1 visa applicants.

M-1 classification applies to non-academic of vocational students.

M-2 classification applies to dependants of M-1 visa applicants.

J classification applies to persons who are approved to participate in exchange visitor programs.

I classification applies to foreign journalists working for an overseas branch, office, or subsidiary of a U.S. network, newspaper, or other media outlet if the journalist is going to the U.S. to report on U.S. events solely for a foreign audience. If the journalist will replace or augment American journalists reporting on U.S. events for an American audience, a work visa will be required.

H-1B classification applies to persons in a specialty occupation, which requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge requiring completion of a specific course of higher education. This classification requires a labor attestation issued by the U.S. Secretary of Labor. Government-to-Government research and development, or co-production projects administered by the Department of Defense also apply to this classification.

H-2A classification applies to temporary or seasonal agricultural workers.

H-2B classification applies to temporary or seasonal non-agricultural workers. This classification requires a temporary labor certification issued by the U.S. Department of Labor.

H-3 classification applies to trainees other than medical or academic. This classification also applies to practical training in the education of handicapped children.

L classification applies to intra-company transferees who, within the three preceding years, have been employed abroad continuously for one year, and who will be employed by a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of the same employer in the U.S. in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity.

O-1 classification applies to persons who have extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or extraordinary achievements in the motion picture and television field.

O-2 classification applies to persons accompanying an O-1 alien to assist in an artistic or athletic performance for a specific event or performance.

P-1 classification applies to individual or team athletes, or members of an entertainment group that are internationally recognized.

P-2 classification applies to artists or entertainers who will perform under a reciprocal exchange program.

P-3 classification applies to artists or entertainers who perform under a program that is culturally unique (same as P-1).

Q-1 classification applies to participants in an international cultural exchange program for the purpose of providing practical training, employment, and the sharing of the history, culture, and traditions of the alien's home country.

R classification applies to religious workers.