Every year, thousands of individuals enter the U.S. with temporary or non-immigrant visas to conduct business. Below is a general overview of non-immigrant visa representation handled by Cordova Immigration Law.

B-1 Business Visitor
A B-1 business visitor may come to the U.S. for a short period of time for the following purposes:

• To attend professional conferences or meetings
• To engage in meetings and consultations with U.S. business associates
• To attend non-productive training that will benefit the company abroad

The B-1 visitor cannot perform productive work or be engaged in gainful employment in the U.S., and he/she must maintain a foreign residence to which he/she intends to return at the conclusion of the authorized period of stay. The B-1 visitor cannot be compensated from the U.S. company, save for reimbursement of incidental expenses.

H-1B Visas
An H-1B visa is available to professionals in a “specialty occupation.” A specialty occupation is one that requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge. This typically refers to the completion of a bachelor’s degree as a minimum degree requirement, but some individuals may qualify on the basis of specialized skills and work experience.

Authorization for H-1B employment is specific to the petitioning company. Additionally, the authorization extends only to the specific occupation named in the H-1B petition. The status cannot be transferred between employers without the new company first filing a petition with USCIS.

New H-1B visas are subject to what is commonly known as an annual “cap.” The current annual limit of H-1B visas is 65,000, with an additional 20,000 visa numbers available to H-1B applicants holding U.S. advanced degrees. Job candidates must wait until the beginning of the USCIS fiscal year of October 1 before beginning work in H-1B status. Certain educational institutions and nonprofit or government research organizations are exempt from the cap. Special cap number allocations are also available to H-1B non-immigrants who are nationals of Chile or Singapore under the special Free Trade Agreements, although the H-1B duration is limited to a renewable one year segment. Spouses and children of H-1B workers are eligible for dependent visas in the H-4 classification. H-4 spouses and children may not work.

L Visas
An L visa is available to an intracompany transferee who, within the three preceding years, has been employed outside of the U.S. continuously for at least one year, and who will be employed by a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of the same employer in the U.S. in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity. The L-1 classification requires clear documentation of the qualifying relationship of ownership and control between the U.S. and foreign office. The L-1B visa applies to a person who will perform work requiring “specialized knowledge” of the company’s advanced processes and procedures. The L-1A visa is available to managerial and executive candidates.

Blanket Ls
Certain multinational companies may take advantage of L-1 processing under the “Blanket L” program. The pre-employment period for Blanket L applications is also one full year. Once the multinational company is approved for the blanket L program, the Immigration Service step of processing can be eliminated for all managerial and executive candidates. Blanket L processing is also available to specialized knowledge candidates who are also “professionals.”

O Visas
The O-1 visa classification is intended for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. To qualify, the applicant must generally have extraordinary ability demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim. Applicants must present extensive documentation that demonstrates that they have received recognition of their extraordinary abilities and/or achievements from qualified, objective sources in their occupational field.

A U.S. employer files an O-1 visa petition on behalf of the employee, showing that it has a position in the U.S. that requires extraordinary ability. The beneficiary employee must qualify on the basis of individual merit, not by virtue of membership in a group that has received acclaim. O-1 status may be granted for a maximum of three years at a time, and may be renewed indefinitely.

TN Visas
The TN-1 Visa for Canadian citizens was created by the 1992 North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”), and it applies exclusively to Canadian citizens temporarily entering the United States to engage in business activities at a professional level. Unlike the more common H-1B visa classification, the TN-1 category is only open to Canadian citizens who will work in certain pre-designated professions. The TN-1 visa process can be completed with relative speed. Most TN-1 visa applications may be made at land, sea, or airports of entry. Canadian citizens flying to the United States from Canada will typically apply for their TN-1 visas at designated “Pre-Flight Inspection stations” located within major Canadian international airports before leaving Canada. Because of the expediency of TN-1 visas, many U.S. employers hiring Canadian citizens are able to bring their TN employees into the company and its payroll within a matter of days or weeks, rather than the months-long wait that the H-1B or L-1 visa application process usually requires. The TN-1 visa category has no annual limits per fiscal year, nor is it subject to a cap, as is found with H-1B visas. Spouses and children of TN-1 workers are eligible for dependent TD visas.

Mexican citizens can apply for the TN-2 nonimmigrant visa classification, also created under NAFTA. TN-2 visas for Mexican citizens also enjoy the speediness advantage in processing that Canadian citizens enjoy with the TN-1 visa. Most TN-2 visa applications may be made directly with a U.S. Embassy or Consulate without the need for pre-approval by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Typically, Mexican citizens traveling to the United States from Mexico will apply for their TN-2 visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in Mexico. Some U.S. Consulates in Mexico may require that the TN applicant present evidence, known as a “cedula,” which certifies that the Mexican government recognizes the degree issued by a Mexican academic institution.

J-1 Visa
The J-1 visa is available to individuals participating in a recognized international exchange program. The purpose of the exchange visitors visa is to promote cultural and educational exchange between the U.S. and other countries. In general, the goal of the program is that foreign citizens will come to the U.S. to share their cultural experience and learn about U.S. culture, and, in turn, take their experiences back to their home country as a way of improving international relations.

The J-1 visa may be available for Professors and Research Scholars, Short-term Scholars, Trainees, College or University Students, Teachers, Secondary School Students, Graduate Medical Education or Training, International and Government Visitors, Camp Counselors, Summer Work/Travel Students and Au Pairs. A J-1 visa is obtained by applying through an approved sponsoring organization that can be a school, company, public or private organization approved by the U.S. Department of State. The sponsor will issue a Form DS-2019 that is used by the foreign national to obtain a J visa.

The J-1 student and researcher program allows the J-1 visa holder to accept training in the U.S. J-1 students are generally admitted for the length of their educational studies in the U.S. J-1 students often receive a period of authorized practical training (18 months for undergraduate and pre-doctoral training and 36 months for post-doctoral training) similar to F-1 students. The authorization for this employment is issued by the J program sponsor and does not require prior USCIS approval. The J-2 dependent spouse of a J-1 visa holder may qualify for work authorization as long as it is demonstrated that the spouse’s income is not necessary to support the J-1 visa holder.

F-1 Visas
An individual may come to the U.S. under an F-1 visa to attend an academic program as a full time student. F-1 students are issued Form I-20 by their sponsoring school, and apply for their F-1 visas at a U.S. consulate abroad. F-1 students are allowed to remain in the U.S. for the time period required to finish their educational program, as evidenced by Form I-20. Usually, F-1 students will be issued an I-94 card upon entry to the U.S. with the annotation “D/S”, meaning duration of status. F-1 visa holders may be entitled to work authorization. Enrolled F-1 students, as well as recently graduated foreign students, may be eligible to engage in “practical training” in the field in which they studied.