Visas for foreign nationals who do not intend to reside permanently in the United States are referred to as nonimmigrant visas. There are many different types of nonimmigrant visas available depending on the reason for the foreign national’s stay in the United States.

The Allott Immigration Law Firm helps clients to determine which nonimmigrant visa is best suited for their needs. Our attorneys not only assist with the initial application process, including consular processing, but once the visa is granted we continuously monitor for any necessary extensions. 

 

Visa Pilot Program Fact Sheet - U.S. Department of State Office of the Spokesperson, January 19, 2012

A comprehensive list of all the available nonimmigrant visas can be downloaded from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services website, however the following are some of the more commonly used nonimmigrant visas:

E Visa

An E visa is designed for treaty traders. The foreign national must be coming to the United States under a treaty of commerce and navigation that is in effect between the United States and the foreign national’s country. While in the United States, the foreign national must carry on substantial trade between the United States and his or her country or must develop a business in which he or she has invested substantial capital.

New York Times article: 05-28-2010 "Maine Business Is Shut Without a Renewed Visa"

 

VISA	Initial Stay	Extension of Stay
E-1	Two (2) years	Up to 2 years per extension. No maximum number of extensions, with some exceptions.
E-2	Two (2) years	Up to 2 years per extension. No maximum number of extensions, with some exceptions.

E-3 Visa

Established by the REAL ID Act of 2005, the E-3 nonimmigrant visa classification allows for the admission of a temporary worker who is a national of Australia and is entering the U.S. to perform services in a “specialty occupation.” Nonimmigrant aliens who are already legally present in the United States may apply to change their status. There is a yearly cap of 10,500 new E-3 visa workers.

To qualify, an alien must be an Australian national who is seeking employment in a specialty occupation requiring possession of a bachelor’s degree or higher (or its equivalent), and possess the appropriate degree (or its equivalent) in the filed in which the alien wishes to work. E-3 nonimmigrant status is initially granted for a period of no more than two years, however extension of stay may be granted indefinitely in increments not to exceed two years.

A dependant of an E-3 visa worker may apply for and receive employment authorization. The application for an individual that is present in Australia can be filed directly at the Embassy, a change of status is filed at the USCIS office on the United States. All supporting documentation is required, and the visa office has indicated that the DOL will not accept fax or e-mail versions of the ETA 9035. It must be mailed to the DOL and certified prior to submission.

H Visa

An H visa is a temporary work visa and is divided into multiple categories.

H-1B visa: Appropriate for foreign workers in a specialty occupation that requires theoretical or technical expertise. An example would be scientists, engineers or computer programmers.

H-2B visa: For skilled and unskilled workers performing temporary or seasonal work. Either an H-1B visa or H-2B visa may be sought after the labor certification process has established that no United States workers are available for the position. Information about the H-2B cap count can be found at www.uscis.gov/h-2b_count.

VISA	Initial Stay	Extension of Stay
H-1B1	Up to 3 years	Increment of up to 3 years. Total stay limited to 6 years.
H-1B2	Up to 3 years	Increment of up to 3 years. Total stay limited to 6 years, with some exceptions.
H-1C	Up to 3 years	Total stay limited to 3 years.
H-2A and H-2B	Same as validity of labor certification, with maximum of 1 year.	Same as validity of labor certification (increments of up to 1 year). Total stay limited to 3 years.
H-3	Special Education Training-up to 18 months. Other Trainee-up to 2 years	Special Education Trainee-total stay limited to 18 months. Other Trainee-total stay limited to 2 years.

Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions for FY 2013 may be filed starting March 30, 2012 USCIS will accept cap-subject H-1B petitions for FY 2013 on
Monday, April 2, 2012 for jobs with a start date of October 1, 2012 or later.

Fiscal Year 2012 H-1B Visa Cap Count

Cap Type	Cap Amount	Cap Eligible Petitions	Date of Last Count
H-1B Regular Cap	65,000	65,000	Nov. 23, 2011
H-1B Master's Exemption	20,000	20,000	Oct, 19, 2011

Fiscal Year 2012 H-2B Visa Cap Count

Cap Type	Cap Bene-ficiaries	Beneficiaries Approved	Bene-ficiaries Pending	Target Bene-ficiaries (1)	Total	Date of Last Count
H-2B:  1st Half	33,000	21,689	7,612		29,301	1/27/2012
H-2B:  2nd Half	33,000(2)	1,705	931		2,636	1/27/2012

(1) Refers to the estimated number of beneficiaries needed to be included on petitions filed with USCIS to reach the H-2B cap, with an allowance for withdrawals, denials and revocations.  This number will always be higher than the actual cap.

(2) As noted, if the cap is not reached for the 1st half of the fiscal year, those numbers will be made available for use during the 2nd half of the fiscal year.  In some fiscal years, therefore, depending on demand for H-2B workers, more than 33,000 cap-subject persons may be granted H-2B status during the 2nd half of the fiscal year.

J Visa

A J visa is reserved for foreign nationals on an exchange visitor program. This can include trainees, certain students, teachers, scholars, and au pairs. The exchange program must be a program that has been designated by the department of state.

L Visa

An L visa is limited to foreign nationals who have worked for a company outside the United States for at least one year and whom the company wishes to bring to the United States temporarily to work in a managerial capacity or to provide specialized knowledge. Such foreign nationals are often referred to as intracompany transferees.

 

VISA	Initial Stay	Extension of Stay
L-1A	Coming to existing office-up to 3 years.Coming to new office-up to 1 year.	Increments of up to 2 years. Total stay limited to 7 years.
L-1B	Coming to existing office-up to 3 years.Coming to new office-up to 1 year	One increment of up to 2 years. Total stay limited to 5 years.

O Visa

An O visa is for persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. The applicant must show that he or she has received consistent national or international acclaim.

VISA	Initial Stay	Extension of Stay
O-1 and O-2	Up to 3 years	Increments of up to 1 year

P Visa

A P visa is suited to entertainers and athletes who are internationally recognized and who wish to come temporarily to the United States to perform.

VISA	Initial Stay	Extension of Stay
P-1, P-2, P-3 and their support personnel	Individual athlete-up to 5 years. Athletic groups and Entertainment groups-up to 1 year.	Individual athlete-Increments of up to 5 years. Total stay limited to 10 years. Athletic groups and entertainment groups-Increments of 1 year.