The L Visa Category
The L nonimmigrant visa category is available to international companies who wish to bring foreign employees to the United States. To qualify for the L-1 status the employee must have worked abroad for the overseas company for a continuous period of one year in the preceding three years. This employment must be in a managerial or executive capacity, or a position involving "specialized knowledge." The company abroad must be the same employer or a subsidiary or affiliate of the U.S. Company.
The TN Visa Category
The United States, Canada, and Mexico have entered into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which allows expedited admission of businesspersons of each country into the other country. A designated group of H-1 level professionals can be employed and paid in the United States as employees of U.S. companies or as employees of Canadian and Mexican companies who work on contract with a U.S. company.
The H-1B Visa Category
The H-1B category is for foreign workers in "Specialty Occupations" who have a United States employer who wishes to employ them in the United States. H-1B candidates must posses a bachelors degree or higher.
H-2A Visas For Temporary Agricultural Workers
The H-2A is a visa for temporary agricultural workers. For H2-A visa, the employer must demonstrate that there are not sufficient able, willing and qualified US workers available at the time and place needed and the employer must show the use of foreign workers will not create an adverse effect on the wages or working conditions of similarly employed US workers. Under the H-2A program H-2A workers must be offered the same wage as US workers.
The H-2B Visa Category
U.S. companies to temporarily employ skilled or unskilled foreign nationals in positions where U.S. workers are unavailable use the H-2B visa category. The company must intend to employ the alien for a temporary period of time, and the need for the skill provided by the alien must be temporary.
The H-3B Visa Category
U.S. companies to bring foreign employees to the United States to participate in an established company-training program use the H-3 visa category. The training program must provide classroom training or a combination of classroom and on the job training, which is unavailable in the alien's home country.
The Q Visa Category
The Q nonimmigrant category is for aliens participating in an international cultural exchange program. This designated program must provide practical training, employment and the sharing of history, culture and traditions of the country of the alien's nationality. This is program is limited to 15 months.
The R Visa Category
The R category is for aliens who for at least 2 years have been a members of a religious denomination having a bona fide nonprofit organization in the U.S. and are coming to work temporarily in the U.S. as a minister or in a religious vocation for that organization.
The O Visa Category
The O category is for aliens of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics.
The P Visa Category
The P category is for alien athletes who compete individually or as part of a team at an internationally recognized level, and aliens who perform with or are an integral and essential part of the performance of an entertaining group that has received international recognition as outstanding.
The V Visa Category
The newly enacted LIFE Act creates a V Visa available to spouses and unmarried children under 21 of permanent residents who have been waiting for permanent residence for 3 years or more from the time the visa petition was filed on his or her behalf, provided the visa petition was filed on or before 12-21-00
Family Members
In most of the above visas family members, spouses or children under 21, are allowed to accompany the principal alien to the United States on a temporary visa which corresponds with the principal alien's visa.
