Nonimmigrant Visa Types and Classifications

The United States makes available a variety of nonimmigrant or temporary visas, each permitting access to the United States for a specific purpose or reason. The different visas are known by a letter number combination and name. In granting admission through a nonimmigrant visa, the United States assumes that the entering / applying party will perform certain activities once in the United States. Therefore, your nonimmigrant visa will permit access to the United States for a specific purpose and for a specific duration of time.

One must remember that a nonimmigrant visa is very different from a green card, in that the former permits access to the United States for a limited time, whereas the latter are permanent.

The following represent a list of available nonimmigrant or temporary visas:

A-1. Ambassadors, public ministers, or career diplomats and their immediate family members.

A-2. Other accredited officials or employees of foreign governments and their immediate family members.

A-3. Personal attendants, servants or employees, and the immediate family members of A-1 and A-2 visa holders.

B-1. Business visitors

B-2. Tourist visitors. (Also, tourists from certain countries are permitted to come to the U.S. without B-2 visas under what is known as the Visa Waiver Program.

C-1. Foreign travelers in immediate and continuous transit through the U.S.

C-2. Foreign travelers going directly to and from the United Nations Headquarters District.

D-1. Crewmen who need to land temporarily in the U.S. and who will depart aboard the same ship or plane on which they arrived.

E-1. Treaty traders and their spouses and children.

E-2. Treaty investors and their spouses and children.

E-3. Nationals of Australia working in a specialty occupation that requires a bachelor’s degree or higher education.

F-1. Academic or language students.

F-2. Immediate family members of F-1 visa holders.

F-3. Citizens or residents of Mexico or Canada commuting to the U.S. as academic or language students.

G-1. Designated principal resident representatives of foreign governments coming to the U.S. to work for an international organization, their staff members and immediate family members.

G-2. Other accredited representatives of foreign governments coming to the U.S. to work for an international organization, and their immediate family members.

G-3. Representatives of foreign governments and their immediate family members who would ordinarily qualify for G-1 or G-2 visas except that their governments are not members of an international organization.

G-4. Officers or employees of international organizations and their immediate family members.

G-5. Attendants, servants, and personal employees of G 1 through G-4 visa holders and their immediate family members.

H-1B. Persons working in specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in on-the-job experience and distinguished fashion models.

H-1C. Registered nurses.

C-2. Foreign travelers going directly to and from the United Nations Headquarters District.

H-2A. Temporary agricultural workers coming to the U.S. to fill positions for which a temporary shortage of U.S. workers has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

H-2B. Temporary workers of various kinds coming to the U.S. to perform temporary jobs for which there is a shortage of available qualified U.S. workers.

H-3. Temporary trainees.

H-4. Immediate family members of H-1, H-2, or H-3 visa holders.

I. Bona fide representatives of the foreign press coming to the U.S. to work solely in that capacity and their immediate family members.

J-1. Exchange visitors coming to the U.S. to study, work, or train as part of an exchange program officially recognized by the U.S. Information Agency.

J-2. Immediate family members of J-1 visa holders.

K-1. Fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens coming to the U.S. for the purpose of getting married.

K-2. Minor, unmarried children of K-1visa holders.

K-3. Spouses of U.S. citizens who have filed both a fiancé visa petition and a separate application to enter the U.S.

K-4. Minor, unmarried children of K-3 visa holders.

L-1. Intracompany transferees who work in positions as managers, executives, or persons with specialized knowledge.

L-2. Immediate family members of L-1 visa holders.

M-1. Vocational or other nonacademic students, other than language students.

M-2. Immediate families of M-1 visa holders.

M-3. Citizens or residents of Mexico or Canada commuting to the U.S. to attend a vocational program.

N-8. Parents of certain special immigrants.

N-9. Children of certain special immigrants NATO-1, NATO-2, NATO-3, NATO-4,and NATO-5. Associates coming to the U.S. under applicable provisions of the NATO Treaty and their immediate family members NATO-6. Members of civilian components accompanying military forces on missions authorized under the NATO Treaty and their immediate family members NATO-7. Attendants, servants, or personal employees of NATO-1 through NATO-6 visa holders and their immediate family members.

O-1. Persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.

O-2. Essential support staff of O-1 visa holders.

O-3. Immediate family members of O-1 and O-2 visa holders.

P-1. Internationally recognized athletes and entertainers and their essential support staff.

P-2. Entertainers coming to perform in the U.S. through a government-recognized exchange program.

P-3. Artists and entertainers coming to the U.S. in a group for the purpose of presenting culturally unique performances.

P-4. Immediate family members of P-1, P-2, and P-3 visa holders.

Q-1. Exchange visitors coming to the U.S. to participate in international cultural exchange programs.

Q-2. Immediate family members of Q-1 visa holders.

R-1. Ministers and other workers of recognized religions.

R-2. Immediate family members of R-1 visa holders.

S-1. People coming to the U.S. to supply critical information to federal or state authorities where it has been determined that their presence in the U.S. is essential to the success of a criminal investigation or prosecution.

S-5 or S-6. People coming to the U.S. to provide critical information to federal authorities or a court, who will be in danger as a result of providing such information and are eligible to receive a reward for the information.

S-7. Immediate family members of S visa holders.

For more information in determining which visa best fits your situation contact an experienced immigration law attorney or the experienced Phoenix, Arizona based immigration law firm of Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC