E-1 Treaty Trader Visa:

This US work visa is for citizens of countries that have a treaty of navigation and commerce or other qualifying international agreement with the United States who will conduct substantial trade between the US and their country.

Examples of trade include goods, services, insurance, technology, international banking, tourism, and transportation.

The E-1 Treaty Trader Visa can be valid for up to two years and has an option to be renewed in increments of up to two years each time for as long as the individual continues to meet the requirements.

E-2 Treaty Investor Visa:

This US work visa is for citizens of countries that have a treaty of navigation and commerce or other qualifying international agreement with the United States who make a substantial investment in a genuine US enterprise.

A treaty investor must seek to enter the US for the specific purpose of developing and managing the investment enterprise that is located in the United States, such as by having operational control or demonstrating a minimum of 50% ownership of the US investment enterprise.

The E-2 Treaty Investor Visa can be valid for up to two years and has an option to be renewed in increments of up to two years each time for as long as the individual continues to meet the requirements.

H-1B Work Visa:

This US work visa is for skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations that usually require at least a Bachelor’s Degree and specialized knowledge.

Applicants for the H-1B Work Visa must possess at least a Bachelor’s Degree that is related directly to the particular specialty, or the equivalent.

The offer for US employment needs to be for an occupation that requires a Bachelor’s Degree or higher educational credential that is related directly to the specialty, or the equivalent, AND it must require the use of practical and theoretical highly specialized knowledge.

The sponsoring employer in the United States will need to get a Labor Condition Application (LCA) that is certified by the US Labor Department prior to filing the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129) with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Please note that some specialty occupations (such as registered nurses and physicians) require certification, registration or a local license before a person can start working in a particular state (this usually needs to be done before the Form I-129 petition can be filed with USCIS). 

After USCIS approves the Form I-129 petition, the foreign worker living outside of the US will generally apply for the H-1B Work Visa with the American Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence and will also need to be approved by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to enter the USA with H-1B status.

The H-1B Work Visa is valid for up to three years and has an option to be renewed for up to three additional years (a total of six years) if the skilled foreign worker qualifies.

Furthermore, the H-1B Work Visa has “dual intent” which means an eligible skilled foreign worker who has been living in the USA for six years with an H-1B Work Visa can apply for “change of status” to become a US Permanent Resident Green Card holder.

Up to 60,000 H-1B Work Visas are issued each year to skilled foreign workers, plus an additional 20,000 H-1B Work Visas are made available annually to eligible international students who graduate from qualifying US post-secondary educational programs.

L-1 Work Visa:

This US work visa is for qualifying managers and executives (L-1A) or employees with specialized knowledge (L-1B) who are employed by a foreign company and will transfer to the United States in order to work in a managerial or executive position (L-1A) or to provide services utilizing specialized knowledge (L-1B) at a branch of the same foreign company.

The employer in the United States must have a relationship with a company/organization located outside of the US that qualifies for the L-1 Work Visa Program (for example, it could be a branch, affiliate, subsidiary or parent company) AND it must be conducting business (or will conduct business) as an employer in the USA along with another country during the time that the L-1 Work Visa holder is working in the United States.

The foreign worker must have been employed by a qualifying company/organization outside of the United States for 12 consecutive months during the three years prior to entering the USA.

Additionally, the foreign worker must desire to enter the US for the purpose of providing services at a managerial or executive level (L-1A) or performing services requiring specialized knowledge (L-1B) at a branch office of the employer or at one of its organizations that qualifies.

The L-1 Work Visa is valid for up to 1-3 years and has an option to be renewed for up to two years at a time.

The maximum stay including renewals is seven years total for the L-1A Work Visa (managers and executives) and five years total for the L-1B Work Visa (employees with specialized knowledge).

The L-1 Work Visa has “dual intent” which means an eligible skilled foreign worker who has been living in the USA with an L-1 Work Visa for the maximum number of years allowed can apply for “change of status” to become a US Permanent Resident Green Card holder.

O-1 Work Visa:

This US work visa is for people who have demonstrated extraordinary ability in athletics, business, education or the sciences (O-1A), or extraordinary achievement in the arts, television or film industry that has received national or international recognition (O-1B).

An employer or agent in the United States will generally need to file the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129) with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of the O-1 Work Visa applicant and also provide documents that demonstrate the extraordinary ability or achievement as relevant.

After USCIS approves the Form I-129 petition, the foreign worker living outside of the US will generally apply for the O-1 Work Visa with the American Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence.

The O-1 Work Visa is valid for up to three years and has an option to be renewed if the person qualifies.

The O-1 Work Visa has “dual intent” which means an eligible skilled foreign worker who has been living in the USA for a certain number of years with an O-1 Work Visa can apply for “change of status” to become a US Permanent Resident Green Card holder.

NOTE: Please note that this is an overview about some of the most popular temporary US work visas, other US work visas are available, and the US work visa requirements and procedures are subject to change at any time. Furthermore, there are also Employment-Based US Immigrant Visas and Green Cards available to eligible skilled foreign workers to live and work in the USA for an unlimited period of time.