The US, under the authority of the Immigration and Nationality Act, provides several categories of nonimmigrant visas for a person who wishes to work temporarily in the US.

In order to be considered for a nonimmigrant-temporary work visa in a classification for which a petition is required, an applicant's prospective employer or agent must file Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, with the Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Form I-129 can be filed by the employer electronically on the USCIS website at: http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/eFiling.htm

Once approved, the employer or agent is sent a notice of approval, Form I-797. It should be noted that the approval of a petition shall not guarantee visa issuance to an applicant found to be ineligible under the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

We have established an electronic record USCIS approval of petitions for nonimmigrant status, the Petition Information Management System (PIMS). The electronic PIMS record is the primary evidence of petition approval available to a consular officer who is considering an applicant's eligibility for a visa.

E Non-immigrant Classifications: These classifications allow aliens of countries with which the US maintains an appropriate treaty of friendship, commerce or naviagation to enter the US to carry on substantial trade or to develop and direct the operations of certain enterprises.

E1 applies to treaty traders, treaty trader employees, spouse and minor unmarried children of E1 and E1TECRO, spouse and minor unmarried children;

E2 applies to treaty investors entering under provisions of a treaty between the US and the alien's country of nationality to develop and direct an enterprise in which the alien has invested or is investing a substantial amount of money; qualifying employees of the investor, and the spouse and minor unmarried children;

E3 applies to nationals of Australia in a 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. This classification requires certification by the Secretary of Labor that the intending employer has filed the necessary labor attestation.

H Non-immigrant Classifications: These classifications permit eligible aliens to receive training or to be employed temporarily in the US when qualified US workers are not available.

H1B applies to persons in a 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. This classification requires a labor attestation issued by the Secretary of Labor. This classification also applies to Government-to-Government research and development, or co-production projects administered by the Department of Defense;

H1B1 applies to nationals of Chile and Singapore in a 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. This classification requires certification by the Secretary of Labor that the intending employer has filed the necessary labor attestation.

H1C applies to nurses going to work for up to 3 years in health professional shortage areas;

H2A applies to temporary or seasonal agricultural workers;

H2B applies to temporary or seasonal nonagricultural workers. This classification requires a temporary labor certification issued by the Secretary of Labor;

H3 applies to trainees other than medical or academic. This classification also applies to practical training in the education of handicapped children;

H4 applies to the spouse or minor unmarried child of an H1, H2 or H3 worker;

I Non-immigrant Classification: This classification allows eligible representatives of foreign information media (and spouses/minor unmarried children) to enter the US.

L Non-immigrant Classifications: These classifications are designed to facilitate the temporary transfer of aliens to the US to continue employment with a parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate of the same employer that employed the alien abroad. It applies to intracompany transferees who, within the 3 preceeding years, have been employed abroad continuously for 1 year, and who will be employed by a parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate of the same employer in the US in a managerial, executive or specialized knowledge capacity.

L1A applies to executive or managerial intracompany transferees;

L1B is for specialised knowledge intracompany transferees;

L2 is for the spouse or minor unmarried children of an L1 worker;

O Non-immigrant Classifications: These classifications allow for the admission of persons with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business and athletics. It also includes those with extraordinary achievement in motion picture and television production and their essential support personnel.

O1 applies to persons who have extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics or extradordinary achievements in the motion picture and television field;

O2 is for aliens (support) accompanying O1;

O3 applies to the spouse or minor unmarried child of an O1 or O2;

P Non-immigrant Classifications: These classifications allow certain athletes, entertainers and artists to enter the US.

P1 applies to individual or team athletes, or members of an entertainment group that are internationally recognized;

P2 applies to artists or entertainers who will perform under a reciprocal exchange program;

P3 applies to artists or entertainers who perform under a program that is culturally unique;

P4 applies to spouses and minor unmarried chidlren of P1, P2 and P3;

Q Non-immigrant Classifications: These classifications allow eligible aliens temporary entry into the US for the purposes of working under the specific terms of programs such as international exchange and diversity programs.

Q1 applies to participants in an international cultural exchange program for the purpose of providing practical training, employment, and the sharing of history, culture, and traditions of the alien's home country.

R Non-immigrant Classifications: These classifications allow aliens to seek admission into the US to perform duties of a religious worker. They must be coming solely to carry on the vocation of a minister of the religious denomination or to work in a professional capacity in a religious vocation or occupation.

R1 applies to temporary religious workers;

R2 applies to the spouse and minor unmarried children of R1;

TN Non-immigrant Classification: This classification allows eligible Canadian and Mexican citizens temporary entry into the US to engage in business activities at a professional level in one of the professions set forth in Appendix 1603.D.1 of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.

Petitions are not required for E1, E2, E3, H1B1, I or TN classifications but, for the other classifications, a petition must be filed with USCIS. After it approves a petition, USCIS will inform the Kentucky Consular Center, which electronically records the approval in the Petition Information Management System (PIMS). When considering whether the applicant qualifies for a visa, the embassy or consulate where the application is received will verify through PIMS that the petition has been approved. Unless there is a record of petition approval in PIMS, no visa may be issued. H and L visa applicants do not need to show that they intend to leave the US when their temporary work is finished.

Category L1 applies to non-immigrants who work for a parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate company in the US. These workers come to the US as intracompany transferees who are coming temporarily to perform services either in a managerial or executive capacity (L1A) or which entail specialized knowledge (L1B) for a parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate of the same employer that employed the professional abroad.

The employee must have been employed abroad for the corporation, firm, or other legal entity (or an affiliate or subsidiary thereof) on a full-time basis for at least one continuous year out of the last 3 year period to qualify.

The company must be doing business in the US, which means regular, systemic, and continuous provision of goods and services and does not include the mere presence of an agent or office in the US.

Limitations to L1 visas: An alien who has spent 5 years in the US in a specialized knowledge capacity or 7 years in an executive/managerial capacity may not be readmitted to the US unless the alien has resided and been physically present outside the US for one year prior to admission.

For more information on L1 visas, please go to http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/visas.htm

Applicants for temporary work visas should apply at the American Embassy or Consulate with jurisdiction over their place of permanent residence. Although visa applicants may apply at any US consular office abroad, it may be more difficult to qualify for the visa outside the country of permanent residence.

Each applicant for a temporary work visa must pay a nonrefundable application fee and submit:

• Depending on which form is in use at the US Embassy or Consulate where the traveler plans to apply, either:
  • The electronic Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-160, which is completed online and signed electronically. The form is accessible through the website of the particular Embassy or Consulate. Information about the form is available at http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_4401.html
  • A Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-156, which is accessed and completed online through the website of the particular Embassy or Consulate, printed, and brought to the Embassy or Consulate at the time of the interview.
• A passport valid for travel to the US and with a validity date at least 6 months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the US. If more than one person is included in the passport, each person desiring a visa must make an application;
• One 2x2 photograph;
• A notice of approval, Form I-797.

It is recommended that a visa application be submitted well in advance of intended travel.

For many applicants, a personal appearance interview is required as a standard part of visa processing. Additionally, applicants affected by these procedures are informed of the need for additional screening at the time they submit their applications and are being advised to expect delays. The time needed for adjudication of individual cases will continue to be difficult to predict.

Processing times for the various embassies are available at http://travel/state.gov/visa/temp/wait/tempvisitors_wait.php

All the above classifications have fixed time limits in which the alien may perform services in the US.

E1:  admitted for up to 2 years. The admission period may not extend more than 6 months beyond their passport expiration.

E1 TECRO: admitted for duration of status.

E2: admitted for up to 2 years. Admission period may not extend more than 6 months beyond their passport expiration.

H1B: admitted for validity of petition, with a maximum initial period as follows:

• Specialty occupations - 3 years
• DOD Workers - 5 years
• Fashion models - 3 years

H1C: admitted for validity of petition, with a maximum initial period of 3 years.

H2A&H2B: admitted for validity of labor certificate, with a maximum period of 1 year. 3 years in H2A status requires a 6 month absence from the US before returning as an H2A.

H3: admitted for validity of petition, with a maximum initial period as follows:

• Special education training - 18 months
• Other training - 2 years.

H4: admitted for the same period as principal.

I: admitted for duration of status, with a maximum initial stay of 1 year.

L1: admitted for validity of petition for 3 years if coming to an existing office. If coming to open or work in a new office, maximum period is 1 year. After 7 years in the US as an L1A or 5 years as an L1B, the alien must remain outside the US for 1 year before being readmitted as an L1.

L2: admitted for the same period as principal.

O1&O2: admitted for validity of petition, with a maximum initial period of 3 years.

O3: admitted for the same period as principal, with a maximum initial period of 3 years.

P1: admitted for validity of petition, with a maximum initial period as follows:

• Athletic teams and entertainment groups - 1 year
• Individual athletes - 3 years

P2&P3: admitted for validity of petition, with a maximum initial period of 1 year. After a year in P2 status, the alien usually cannot return as a P2 for 3 months.

P4: admitted for the same period as alien beneficiary.

Q1: admitted for validity of petition, with a maximum initial period of 15 months. After admission as a Q1, the alien must reside and be physically present outside the US for a year before being eligible to return as a Ql.

R1: admitted for up to 3 years. Extensions may be granted for up to 2 years. The worker's total period of stay may not exceed 5 years.

R2: admitted for the same period as principal.

TN: admitted for up to 1 year.

In some cases the Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Service may extend those time limits in order to permit the completion of services. Thereafter, the alien must remain abroad for a fixed period of time before being readmitted as a temporary worker under any classification. USCIS will notify the petitioner on Form I-797 whenever a visa petition, an extension of a visa petition, or an extension of stay is approved. The beneficiary may use a copy of Form i-797 to apply for a new visa.

For updated information, please see http://uscis/gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/TempWorker.htm

The extension of stay varies, depending on the type of visa. For additional information, please see http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/TempWorker.htm.

The petitioner must apply for the petition extension and the alien's extension stay concurrently on Form I-129. You must be physically present in the US at the time an extension of stay is filed. If you are required to leave the US for business or personal reasons while the extension request is pending, you may request USCIS to cable notification of approval to the consular office abroad where you will apply for a visa.

With the exception of 'Q1 Cultural Exchange Visitors' and the TN non-immigrant classification, the spouse and unmarried, minor children of an applicant under any of the above classifications may also be classified as non-immigrants in order to accompany or join the principal applicant.

The following visas allow for dependents to attend school without changing their visa status: E1, E2, H4, I, L2, O3, P4, R2.

L2 visa holders that are a spouse of an L1 visa holder may apply for an Employment Authorization Document. P4 visa holders may be employed if granted employment authorization. A person who has received the remaining types of visas as the spouse or child of a temporary worker may not accept employment in the US. The principal applicant must be able to show that he or she will be able to support his or her family in the US.