_________________________________________________________________________NON-IMMIGRANT VISAS
Non-immigrant visas allow a foreign national to enter the US legally and to stay in the US for a certain period of time. Most non-immigrant visas require that a foreign national has a residence in the foreign country that he/she has no intention to abandon. Visas are issued by consular officers abroad and there is no possibility to appeal a visa denial. There are lots of various visa categories. This section will discuss the most popular visas and Visa Waiver Program.
B-1 Visitor for Business
To be eligible for B-1 visa, a foreign national must:
- Have a residence abroad which she/he has no intention to abandon
- Entry the U.S. for the purpose of engagement in legitimate business activities
- Intend to enter the US for a specific limited period of time (less than 6 months)
B-1 visa holders are not allowed to be employed in the U.S. and/or receive a salary or other remuneration from a U.S. source. Extensions of stay may be granted in increments of 6 months.
B-2 Visitor for Pleasure
B-2 visa is used for tourism, visits of relatives, rest, medical treatment, incidental studies, emergency temporary visit etc. Usually B-2 visitors are permitted to stay in the US for up to 6 months, with a possibility to extend their stay. B-2 visa holders are not allowed to work in the United States . If B-2 visitor changes his/her status within 60 days after arrival, it is presumed that he/she committed fraud while applying for B-2 visa.
O Extraordinary Ability Foreign Nationals
O-1 type of visa is available for foreign nationals of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics.O-2 is available for supporting stuff of O-1 holder. O-3 is issued to family members of O-1 and O-2 holders.
Extraordinary ability is interpreted as being a part of a small percentage of individuals who have risen to the very top of their field.
To qualify for O visa, foreign national must show that he/she is going to perform services in his/her area of achievement.
A period of stay usually equals to the duration of the event, up to 3 years.
P Performers
P visas are issued to performing athletes, artists and entertainers who are able to demonstrate international recognition. P-1 is available for athletes who are competing, individually or as a part of a team, at an internationally recognized level. It also can be issued to foreign nationals who perform with, or are an integral and essential part of , an entertainment group. The group must:
• have received international recognition for a sustained a substantial period of time
• be foreign based
• coming to a competition or event that requires internationally recognized entertainment groups
• have at least 75% of its members who have sustained and substantial relationship with the group for at least 1 year. There are exceptions to this requirement for circus performers and emergency replacements.
P-2 visas are applicable for reciprocal exchange programs between U.S. based and foreign-based organizations.
P-3 visas are issued to those coming to participate in culturally unique programs. Entertainers may obtain P3 visa individually, as opposed to P1.
P4 visa is issued to the family members of P-visa holders.
H1B1 Specialty Occupation
H1B1 visa is available to the person who is going to be engaged in a specialty occupation, fashion models and qualified workers in certain Department of Defense projects.
There are three threshold requirements for H1B1:
• The foreign national must have at least a Bachelor's degree or equivalent
• His/her field of study must be related to the job being offered to him/her
• The job being offered to him/her must usually require at least a Bachelor's degree
3 years of progressively responsible work experience in a related field may equate to 1 year of university-level study
H1B1 holder can only work for the employer who sponsored his visa. He/she can work for several employers concurrently, but separate H1B1 must be filed for each employer.
Usually, the foreign national may stay in the United States up to 6 years (H1B1 is good for three years; one extension is allowed). If by the end of 6 year term H1B1 holder has an employment-based preference petition or labor certification pending for more than 365 days, such H1B1 holder may extend his H1B1 status, in one year increments, until final decision is made on his petition.
A Labor Condition Application must be submitted and approved by the Department of Labor before an H1B1 petition can be filed. This certification proves that an employer is paying prevailing wage to a foreign employee.
H1B1 holder's dependents receive H4 visa. They are not allowed to work, but may attend school.
TN Treaty Nationals
TN visa is available to professionals from Canada and Mexico . Canadians can simply provide their documents at the port of entry, while Mexican citizens must apply to a U.S. Consulate in order to obtain TN visa.
A professional applying for a TN visa as a professional must meet requirements that are fairly similar to those imposed upon H1B1 visa applicants. However, labor condition application is not required. Also, TN status may be renewed unlimited amount of times.
L Intracompany transferees
L visas are issued to transferees of the U.S. company having related company abroad. The basic requirements of the L visa are as follows:
- The employee must have worked abroad for an overseas company for at least 1 year in the preceding 3 years.
- Overseas company must be related to the U.S. company. It can be a branch office, subsidiary, affiliate, or parent of the U.S. company, or be involved in a 50-50 joint venture with the U.S. company
- Foreign national must be an executive or manager of the company abroad, or must have developed specialized knowledge.
- Foreign national must be qualified for the position
- Foreign national must intend to depart the U.S. eventually.
Dependents of L visa holder are issued L2. Spouses of L visa holders may apply for work authorization, but children cannot.
Some large companies may use the benefit of, so called, blanket petitions. This means that USCID pre-approves a certain U.S. company for L visas and, therefore, this company does not need to apply for every individual's visa.
E Treaty traders/Treaty Investors/Australian Specialty Occupation
E visas are available to citizens of the countries that have treaties with the U.S. The foreign national must intend to depart the U.S. upon termination of E status.
For E1 Treaty Traders visa there must be an existing substantial trade principally between the US and the treaty country. The individual's duties must be either executive or supervisory.
For E2 Treaty Investors there must be an active substantial investment that is not marginal. If the individual is the principal investor, he/she must be solely directing and developing the enterprise.
The E-3 visa is available for citizens of Australia who would otherwise qualify for H1B1 visa.
F1 Academic Students
This visa is available for students pursuing academic courses of study.
Student must prove that he/she has a residence abroad and no intention to abandon it. Also that he/she has sufficient funds available to cover the expenses of the academic program for at least one year.
A student must be enrolled in a full course of study, usually not less than 9 credits, and the school must have been previously approved by the Attorney General.
F1 holders may not engage in employment in the U.S. without a work authorization. The only exception is a work on campus for up to 20 hours/week.
After obtaining a degree, Optional Practical Training is available to F1 holders for a period of up to 1 year. Optional Practical Training allows to be employed by a U.S. company with a purpose of obtaining necessary experience in the area directly related to the course of study.
M Vocational Students
Eligible are the students who enroll in the vocational or other recognized non-academic institution. The student must be enrolled in a full course of study.
M students are allowed to change their school within the first 6 months only. They may be admitted up to 1 year and ask for a 1 year extension. They may not ask to change their status for F1.
J Exchange visitors and scholars
J visa covers several categories of travelers: full-time students, short-term scholars, trainees, teachers, professors and research scholars, experts, physicians, camp counselors, and au pairs. J visa must be sponsored by a U.S. institution.
J-1 may change their sponsors, but they do not get any additional time.
Some holders of J visa are subjects to the two-year home residence requirement. This means that J holder will not be permitted to obtain H, L or permanent residence status until they live in their home country for full two years after completion of their J program. J holder may request a waiver of this requirement.
Visa-waiver Program
The Visa Waiver Program is applicable to citizens of certain countries who seek to enter the U.S. for B-1 or B-2 purposes. Currently, the citizens of the following countries participate in the Visa-waiver program: Andorra , Australia , Austria , Belgium , Iceland , Ireland , Italy , Japan , Norway , Portugal , San Marino , Singapore , Brunei , Denmark , Finland , France , Germany , Liechtenstein , Luxemburg , Monaco , The Netherlands, New Zealand , Slovenia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , United Kingdom .
