Employment Immigration Options

BUSINESS VISAS

Visas grant temporary authorization to reside in the United States for a specific purpose. In the business context, there are multiple categories of visas:

• H-1B visas for specialty workers sponsored by U.S. employers
• H-2A and H-2B visas for temporary agricultural and unskilled workers
• L visas for intracompany transferees (employees based abroad who are transferring to a domestic position for their U.S.-based employer)
• E-1 and E-2 visas for treaty traders and investors who meet specific criteria
• E-3 visas for Australian nationals seeking to enter a specialty occupation in the U.S.
• TN visas for Canadian and Mexican professionals pursuing business opportunities in the U.S. pursuant to the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• B-1 visas for those traveling to the U.S. temporarily for business purposes
• H-3 visas for employees of domestic companies pursuing training in the U.S.

Each visa has highly specific requirements that both the sponsoring employer and prospective visa holder must meet.

BUSINESS-RELATED LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENCE

U.S. employers may sponsor workers for a green card (lawful permanent residence) under specific circumstances. There are five preference categories for employment-based green cards:

• First preference (E1) for certain specialty workers, researchers, scientists, managers and executives
• Second preference (E2) for those with advanced degrees or exceptional ability in certain fields
• Third preference (E3) for certain professionals as well as qualifying skilled and unskilled workers
• Fourth preference (E4) for specific categories of employees
• Fifth preference (E5) for those making a substantial investment in a U.S. enterprise that will create jobs in the U.S.

As with temporary visas, there are many nuances to navigating the green card process.