United States Visa’s

I am sure that you have heard of the H1-B Visa. It has been in the news lately as a result of the election of President Trump, and his appointment of Elon Musk to head up “DOGE.”

However, there are over 50 Visa Categories. First, however, you should be aware that Visa’s are divided into two categories, Non-immigrant and Immigrant.

Non-immigrant Visa’s are issued to those who want to enter the United States on a temporary basis, for tourism, business, medical treatment, study and temporary work. These Visa’s limit the individual to only that purpose for which the Visa was issued.

Immigrant Visa’s are issued to people who want to live in the United States permanently. These Visa’s grant the individual indefinite work rights and residency.

What is a Visa? A Visa is a form that allows someone who is not a citizen of the United States to travel to the United States. It allows one to request entry but does not guarantee entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, at points of entry, have the authority to either permit entry or refuse entry.

The issuance of Visa’s is under the U.S. Department of State, while the administration of Visa’s falls under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Non-Immigrant Visa’s:

There are over 35 types of non-immigrant Visa’s. B-1 is for athletes competing for money, J is for Au pair’s, B-1 is for a business visitor, J-1 for an exchange visitor, J for a professor or school teacher, H-2A for agricultural workers, L-1A for intra-company transfers of executives and managers with foreign organizations doing business in the U.S., and etc. A complete list can be found at travel.state.gov.

Temporary worker Visa’s fall under the non-immigrant category. The most popular of these are the H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B.

The H-1B Visa is for those working in a specialty occupation, generally the tech sector. The requirement for this Visa requires the applicant to have a bachelor’s degree, or equivalent experience. This Visa is portable from one employer to another. There can be up to 65,000 of the H1-B Visa’s issued annually, plus an additional 20,000 for Master Degree individuals. These numbers can be changed annually. The tech community holds most of these Visa’s. However, public accounting firms such as Deloitte & Ernst & Young have a significant number of employees in an H1-B Visa. Someone on an H1-B Visa can stay for up to 3 years and sometimes they can be extended up to 6 years. They are also eligible to apply for a “green card,” which would allow them to stay indefinitely.

The H-2A Visa is for seasonal agricultural work while the H-2B Visa is for seasonal non-agricultural work. The H2-A Visa is usually for 10 months or less but can be extended for up to a year. The maximum period is 3 years. Once you have stayed for the maximum period, you must leave the United States for at least 3 months before you can apply to return.

On the H-2A Visa, a company or organization must apply to the United States Citizenship and Immigration and Services Agency (USCIS), demonstrating that they have jobs available and that they aren’t able to find enough U.S. citizen workers to fill them. They also have to demonstrate that they will employ you, and that all wages and working conditions will be similar to U.S. workers. Once approved, the U.S. Department of Labor issues a valid temporary labor certification. Also, only residents of certain approved countries will be eligible for an H-2A Visa. The employer must provide housing and transportation to the job site, at no cost, to holders of an H-2A Visa. The families of an H-2A Visa holder may apply for admission to the United States, but if approved, they are not eligible for employment.

The H-2B Visa requirements are similar to that of an H-2A Visa. However, the jobs are mostly in the hospitality area and landscaping/lawn/groundskeeper area. There is a cap on H-2B Visa’s of 66,000. That is set by Congress and can change annually.

The J-1 Visa is primarily for those individuals that will take part in work & study based exchange programs. This can include students, scholars, teachers, trainees, Au pairs & camp counselors, among others. Annually, over 310,000 individuals from over 200 countries participate. The length of stay is from a few months to over 7 years for a physician. Employers who hire those on a J-1 Visa do not have to collect Social Security or Medicare Taxes and do not have to match these taxes. They also do not have to pay Federal Unemployment Taxes. Once a J-1 Visa holder returns home, they generally must stay home for two years before re-entering the United States unless they are able to obtain a waiver.

Immigrant Visa’s:

This category is more popularly known as the “green card.” There are various methods for obtaining a green card that will allow one to stay in the United States on a permanent basis.

One method is through the Department of State’s “Diversity Visa Lottery.” There are currently authorized 55,000 green cards, annually, through this method. Over 22 million applicants participate annually. They must be from a country that has seen a low number, 50,000, immigrate during the past 5 years, and that country must be one that is allowed to participate. There is a random computer drawing and those who are successful may also bring their spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21.

Another method is through the normal application process. One can be sponsored by a family member who is already a U.S. resident, through employment, a religious worker, a victim of human trafficking and crime, a victim of abuse, the fiancé of a U.S. citizen, the widower of a U.S. citizen, a physician, an immigrant investor, an individual who was granted asylum, or a refugee who was admitted to the United States over a year ago, among others.

This is obviously not an all-inclusive paper, concerning Visa’s. However, the best place to view requirements, and process, is through the United States Department of State’s ’s web site and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services web site.

Timing of success is based upon many factors. It is currently believed that Non-Immigrant Visa’s can take from a few months to over a year. I think that is ambitious. A green card can take from 9 or 10 months to over 6 years. The process is long and onerous.

With the reductions in staff, that is happening in the Federal Government today, I don’t believe that anyone could give you a reasonable estimate of the time period required to be successful.

Good Luck!

Jess Sweely

Madison, VA.