Visa Options for Foreign Workers in the US
If you would like to work in the United States, and you are a citizen of a foreign country, you will need to apply for a visa in order to legally work in the US. There are a variety of visas available. Some are for temporary work and may extend for one to three years. A permanent work visa is called a “green card.” It allows an immigrant to permanently work in the United States. Many visas require that your future employer submit the visa application on your behalf. Some visas are for very specific types of workers. There are even visas that are specifically for workers from a certain country.
Non-Immigrant Visas
If you do not intend upon staying in the United States, you can apply for a temporary visa. In the case of some of these visas, you can choose to either leave the US when your visa expires or apply for an extension your temporary visa. Depending upon the conditions of your visa, you may even apply at a later time for a permanent visa.
The categories for non-immigrant visas include:
H-1B Specialty Occupation: These visas are issued for professionals in highly specific fields of study, such as engineering and computer science. You will need a verified job offer from a US employer and a bachelor’s degree in the field of endeavor. These temporary visas have a yearly cap.
L-1A and L-1B Visas: These visas are for foreign nationals who may be transferring between a foreign branch of their international company to an existing US branch location or starting a new US branch office.
O-1 Visa: These visas are issued to exceptionally talented people from a wide variety of fields who are either famous in their own country or internationally.
E-1 Visa: This visa is also called an “investor visa.” It allows the non-immigrant to conduct investment and trade activities within the country. One of the main requirements of the visa is that the company you represent must have majority ownership by US citizens.
TN Visa: This visa is a NAFTA visa. It allows Mexican and Canadian nationals to work in the United States on projects supported under the auspices of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Australian Professional Specialty Visa: This visa is solely for Australian citizens with a firm job offer, a bachelor’s degree and skills in their field. There is a yearly cap on the number of these particular visas issued.
H2-A Seasonal Agricultural Work Visa: Workers from a list of 86 countries are eligible for these work visas when there is a need for more agricultural workers. Each visa is issued for up to a year in duration and is capped at a maximum stay of three years.
Immigrant Visas
If your intention is to permanently move to the United States, you will need to apply for a permanent visa, or green card. The number of green cards issued has a yearly limit.
EB-1 First Preference Visa: These visas are issued to either candidates that have abilities that are beyond those of the average worker in their field, professors and researchers at the top of their fields as well as multinational managers and executives. This particular visa does not require an offer of employment.
EB-2 Second Preference Visa: This category of immigrant visa is also for candidates who are advanced degree-holders or those who are outstanding in their field of endeavor. The difference with the EB-2 visa is that you will need an employer to sponsor your visa.
EB-3 Third Preference Visa: These visas are issued for a wide variety of workers, including professional workers as well as skilled and unskilled workers. A US employer must sponsor the EB-3 applicant and be offering the future employee permanent, full-time work.
