Non - Immigrant Visas

Visitors to the United States (B Visa Category)

The B visa category is used by foreign visitors for business (B-1) and pleasure (B-2). These visas permit relatively short visits to the United States of up to 6 months, and are granted for the purposes of touring, visiting family members, obtaining health care, or conducting certain business transactions in the United States.

Foreign nationals admitted to the United States are prohibited from engaging in any gainful employment or from enrolling in a structured academic program of study.

Exchange Visitor - J-1 Visa Category

J-1 visas are available to foreign students, scholars, experts, medical interns and residents, "international visitors," as well as industrial and business trainees to travel to the United States as "exchange visitors" in U.S. government-approved Exchange-Visitor Programs, for the purpose of gaining experience, studying, or doing research in their respective fields.

Treaty Traders and Investors - E Visa Category

This is a business-based category which is divided into two visas:

• E-1 Visa: Available to foreign nationals who engage in trade principally between their home country and the United States. Trade can consist of the exchange of either goods or services, and in order to qualify for the visa, the applicant must show a frequency of transactions.
• E-2 Visa: Granted to foreign nationals who acquire and conduct an active business enterprise in the United States. These visas are granted for extended periods of time and permit their holders to remain in the United States to oversee and manage their qualifying business enterprise or activity.

E-visas are available only to nationals of countries with which the United States has entered into a treaty of "Friendship, Commerce and Navigation", or bilateral investment treaty. The E visa category was established to give effect to those treaties between the United States and foreign countries that provide for reciprocal benefits to nationals of each country who invest in the other country or who conduct trade between the two countries. The E visa category can be used by many different types of companies, from one owned by a single investor to a large multinational corporation. The E visa category can be used by a company's principals or by its employees, as long as they are performing functions approved by the applicable rules.

Intracompany Transfers (L Visa Category)

The L non-immigrant visa category permits international enterprises to transfer foreign managers and executives to the United States and be employed at a qualifying related US entity (e.g., a subsidiary or branch) temporarily in their managerial or executive capacity.

Specialty Occupations (H-1B Visa Category)

The H-1B visa category is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ graduate-level foreign nationals in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields such as IT, finance, accounting, architecture, engineering, mathematics, science, medicine, etc.

This visa requires a US employer to file for a labor condition application (LCA) from the US Department of Labor, attesting that there is no displacement of US workers, and that the foreign worker will be paid at least the US "prevailing wage" for the position to be filled. This category is subject to an annual numerical cap of 66,000 visas.

Temporary Employment (H-2B Visa Category)

The H-2B visa category is used by U.S. employers temporarily to employ skilled or unskilled foreign nationals in non-agricultural positions for which the employer has a temporary need and for which qualified U.S. workers are unavailable. The company must intend to employ the foreign nationals for a temporary period, not to exceed one year, and the employer's need for the skills possessed by the foreign nationals must also be temporary.

In addition, the employer must seek a "labor certification" from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), certifying that the foreign national is not displacing a qualified unemployed U.S. worker in the area of proposed employment, and that the proposed employment does not adversely affect the working conditions of U.S. workers who are similarly employed. H-2B visas are subject to an annual cap of 66,000, which are divided into 33,000 visas for each half of the fiscal year.

Professionals with Extraordinary Abilities (O Visa Category)

The O visa category is set aside for persons of "extraordinary" ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, certain persons accompanying or assisting those individuals, and their family members. O non-immigrants must intend to work in their area of extraordinary ability or achievement.

No numerical cap is placed on the annual admission of these non-immigrants, but the definition of "extraordinary ability" has a high threshold which effectively limits the number of annual admissions.

Entertainers and Athletes (P Visa Category)

The P visa category covers entertainers and athletes who come to the United States to perform at specific events, or seek admission under a reciprocal exchange program or provide "culturally unique" programs.

North American Free Trade Agreement (TN Visa Category)

The TN visa category is available to nationals of the NAFTA treaty states (Mexico and Canada) who come to the United States for business purposes either as employees in a professional capacity or to engage in investment or trading activities in the United States. A similar visa category has been established under trade agreements between the United States and Chile and Singapore.

Waivers

We provide representation to clients who have been denied visas, or whose visa has been cancelled, or who have been denied entry to the United States, by applying for "waivers" to overcome the grounds of inadmissibility, including for prior criminal conduct or acts of "moral turpitude".