Temporary Work Visas
If you want to work in the U.S. temporarily as a nonimmigrant, under U.S. immigration law, you need a specific visa based on the type of work you will be doing. Most temporary worker categories require that the applicant's prospective employer or agent to file a petition which must be approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before you can apply for a visa.
There are various categories (called classifications) of nonimmigrant visas for a person who wishes to work temporarily in the United States, based on U.S immigration laws, specifically the Immigration and Nationality Act. If you want to work in the U.S. temporarily, under immigration law, you need a specific visa based on the purpose of your travel and type of work you will be doing.
There are annual numerical limits on some visa types, which are shown in parentheses below.
H-1B Persons in 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. (65,000). This category also includes fashion models and Government-to-Government research and development, or co-production projects administered by the Department of Defense (100);
H-2A Seasonal Agricultural Workers – Review USCIS H-2A program requirements and regulations, which apply to all petitions filed for this visa category. NOTE: USCIS may approve a petition for this visa category on your behalf if you are a citizen or national of a designated country. If you are a citizen or national from a non-designated country, USCIS may approve a petition on your behalf if it is determined to be in the United States’ interest. Learn more from USCIS;
H-2B Temporary or Seasonal Nonagricultural Workers – Review USCIS H-2B program requirements and regulations, which apply to all petitions filed for this visa category. NOTE: USCIS may approve a petition for this visa category on your behalf if you are a citizen or national of a designated country. If you are a citizen or national from a non-designated country, USCIS may approve a petition on your behalf if it is determined to be in the United States’ interest. Learn more from USCIS. (66,000);
H-3 Trainees (other than medical or academic) - This visa type also applies to practical training in the education of handicapped children (50);
L Intracompany 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 that same employer in the U.S. in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity;
O-1 Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or extraordinary achievements in the motion picture and television field;
O-2 Persons Accompanying an O-1 to assist in an artistic or athletic performance for a specific event or performance;
P-1 Individual or Team Athletes, or Members of an Entertainment group that are internationally recognized (25,000);
P-2 Artists or Entertainers who will perform under a reciprocal exchange program;
P-3 Artists or Entertainers who perform under a program that is culturally unique; and
Q-1 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.
ADDITIONAL CATEGORIES OF TEMPORARY WORKERS
- Crewmembers (D visa)
- Foreign Media, Press, and Radio (I visa)
- Religious Workers (R visa)
- Treaty Traders & Treaty Investors (E visa)
- Australian in Specialty Occupation (E-3 visa)
- Chile Free Trade Agreement Professional (H-1B1 visa)
- Mexican and Canadian (NAFTA) Workers (TN and TD visas)
