Work Visas | H-1B: up to 3 years initially; 6 years max

The H-1B Visa category applies to workers coming to the United States temporarily to perform services in a specialty occupation, or as a fashion model of distinguished merit and ability. A “specialty occupation” is defined as requiring a level of theoretical and practical application of specialized knowledge that is obtained through completion of at least a bachelor’s degree. The fashion model category applies to a fashion model who is nationally or internationally recognized and will be employed in a position requiring someone of distinguished merit and ability.

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L-1A/L-1B: up to 3 years initially (1 year for new companies); 7 years max for
L-1A, 5 years max for L-1B.

The L-1 Visa category applies to workers employed outside the United States by a company with a subsidiary or affiliate in the United States. These workers are known as as intra-company transferees. They enter the U.S. temporarily to perform services for the subsidiary or affiliate in either an executive or managerial capacity (L-1A) or to provide skills that require specialized knowledge or training (L-1B). In order to qualify for an L-1 visa, the worker must have been a full time employee of the foreign company for at least one continuous year out of the last three.

TN: 1 year; renewable indefinitely

The TN Visa category was created in 1994 by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It applies to certain Canadian and Mexican workers and facilitates their ability to come to the United States temporarily for employment. TN employment under the NAFTA must be in one of the listed professions and the the worker must possess the credentials required for the profession.

O-1: 3 years initially; renewable indefinitely.

The O-1 category applies to workers coming temporarily who have extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, athletics, arts, motion pictures, or television. Workers with extraordinary ability are those with “sustained national or international acclaim and whose achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation.” You must be one of “that small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor,” to be granted this classification.

Category: R-1 Duration: 3 years initially; 5 years max.

The R-1 classification applies to a religious worker. This is a worker coming to the U.S. temporarily as a minister of religion, as a professional in a religious vocation or occupation, or for a bona fide nonprofit religious organization at the request of the organization, in a religious occupation which relates to a traditional religious function. The applicant (religious worker) must have been a member of a religious denomination having a nonprofit religious organization in the United States for at least the two years immediately prior to the application date.

To be eligible, the U.S. petitioning organization must be a nonprofit religious organization granted (or eligible for) tax exempt status, and must demonstrate that it can and will provide for all of the R-1 beneficiary’s financial and physical needs.

Permanent Residence (green card).

Foreign Labor Certification – this is the process that most workers must undertake to obtain permanent residence via employment. Certification may be obtained in cases where it can be demonstrated that there are insufficient qualified U.S. workers available and willing to perform the work at wages that meet or exceed the prevailing wage paid for that occupation in the area of intended employment.

Please note, until recently the labor certification process has been excruciatingly slow, taking as long as two to five years in some backlogged states such as California and New York. Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Labor has implemented a newer, faster labor certification process, called PERM. Through PERM, a labor certification can now be prepared, filed, and approved in as little as four months.

Permanent Residence (exempt from the Foreign Labor Certification requirement)

While most foreign born workers apply for permanent residence through the Labor Certification process, there are certain categories of workers who are exempt from the Labor Certification requirement, including:

Multinational Managers or Executives – similar to the L-1A nonimmigrant visa. A multinational manager or executive is eligible for priority worker status if he or she has been employed outside the U.S. in the three years preceding the petition for at least one year by a firm or corporation and seeks to enter the U.S. to continue service to that firm or organization. The employment must have been outside the United States in a managerial or executive capacity and with the same employer, an affiliate, or a subsidiary of the employer.

Outstanding Professors and Researchers – Outstanding professors and researchers are recognized internationally for their outstanding academic achievements in a particular field.
In addition, an outstanding professor or researcher must have at least three years experience in teaching or research in that academic area, and enter the U.S. in a tenure or tenure track

teaching or comparable research position at a university or other institution of higher education. If the employer is a private company rather that a university or educational institution, the department, division, or institute of the private employer must employ at least three persons full time in research activities and have achieved documented accomplishments in an academic field.

Extraordinary Ability –Workers with extraordinary ability are those with “extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim and whose achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation.” You must be one of “that small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor,” to be granted this classification.

Physical Therapists –Workers with extraordinary ability are those with “extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim and whose achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation.” You must be one of “that small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor,” to be granted this classification.

For the skill, knowledge and dedication you want for all your immigration needs, whether for businesses or green cards for individuals, contact the Law Office of Isabel Machado.