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Foreign nationals interested in
working in the U.S. must first apply for and be
granted an employment authorization before they
can be legally employed. In most
instances, the potential employer must file a
non-immigrant/immigrant petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) on behalf of the foreign national and
upon approval of the petition the beneficiary
may be issued a visa to work in the U.S. A
person may enter the U.S. on a visitor or
student visa and change to an employment-based
visa before the expiration of his/her legal
stay. Those who are outside the U.S. must apply
for a visa at a U.S. embassy upon the approval
of the
employment petitions filed by their employers.
The USCIS has an expedited
service for certain types of temporary work
visas where they guarantee the processing of
cases within 15 calendar days upon receipt of the
cases. The program is known as Premium Processing
and the fee for the service is $1,000 in
addition to the base filing fee.
The following are the most
sought temporary employment visas:
-
Visas for Specialty Occupations (H1-B Visas)
This visa allows foreign nationals with at
least a bachelor's degree or equivalent to
work for U.S. employers offering employment
positions requiring their degree or
equivalent.
-
Visas
for Artists and athletes (P-1 Visas)
This visa may be issued to foreign artists,
athletes, and entertainers coming to perform
in the United States.
-
Visas
for Individuals with Extraordinary Ability (O
Visas)
This allows foreign nationals with
demonstrated extraordinary ability in the
sciences, arts, education, business, or
athletics to temporary enter the U.S. to work
in their area of expertise.
-
Visas for Canadian & Mexican Professionals (TN
Visas)
This is a special visa created
under the provisions of the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that allows
Canadian and Mexican professionals to work in
the United States.
-
Visas for Intra-company transferees (L-1
Visas) Foreign executives, managers and
specialized knowledge employees of a company
may be issued this visa to work for the
company's U.S. affiliate, subsidiary or
branch.
-
Visas
for Temporary Workers (H-2B Visas)
This visa
allows foreign nationals to enter the U.S.
temporarily and engage in nonagricultural
employment which is seasonal, intermittent, a
peak load need, or a one-time occurrence.
-
Visas
for Religious Workers (R Visas) This visa
may be issued to foreign religious workers
coming to the U.S. to work as ministers or
other religious occupations.
-
Visas for Exchange Visitors (J-1 Visas)
This visa may be issued to students,
short-term scholars, business trainees,
teachers, professors and research scholars,
specialists, international visitors,
government visitors, camp counselors and
au-pairs.
-
Visas for Nurses (H1-C Visas) This visa
allows a nurse to enter the U.S. temporarily
to work in hospitals or for employers that are
pre-designated by the U.S. as having a special
need for nurses that is greater than that of
the need across the U.S.
Foreign nationals who intend to
work and reside permanently in the U.S. may
apply for the
green card
if they meet the eligibility requirements under
the immigration law.
DISCLAIMER:
The information given in this website is
intended as general information only and is not
a substitute for the services of an immigration
attorney in your specific case.
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