NON-IMMIGRANT VISAS
FOR EMPLOYMENT

The United States offers a broad set of nonimmigrant visa categories for individuals coming to work temporarily — from specialty professionals and intracompany transferees to treaty investors, religious workers, and individuals of extraordinary ability. Selecting the right category is the single most important strategic decision in any employment-based case, and one we work through carefully with every client.

Categories We Handle

H-1B — Specialty Occupations. For professionals working in roles that require theoretical and practical application of a specialized body of knowledge, typically demonstrated by at least a U.S. bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in a related field. Most new H-1B petitions are subject to the annual cap and electronic registration lottery; cap-exempt employers and amendments follow different procedures.

H-2A and H-2B — Temporary Agricultural and Non-Agricultural Workers. For employers with seasonal, peak-load, or intermittent labor needs that cannot be met domestically. Both require Department of Labor certification before the USCIS petition.

H-3 — Trainees and Special Education Exchange Visitors. For individuals coming to receive structured training not available in their home country, in fields outside graduate medical or academic education.

L-1A and L-1B — Intracompany Transferees. L-1A for executives and managers transferring to a U.S. office of a related foreign employer; L-1B for employees with specialized knowledge of the employer's products, services, processes, or proprietary techniques. Blanket L petitions and new-office L-1 cases each require additional planning.

O-1 — Individuals of Extraordinary Ability or Achievement. For those who have risen to the top of their field in the sciences, arts, education, business, athletics, or motion picture and television production. A document-intensive category in which the quality of the evidentiary record drives the outcome.

E-1 and E-2 — Treaty Traders and Treaty Investors. For nationals of countries that maintain a qualifying treaty of commerce or navigation with the United States, engaged in substantial trade with the U.S. (E-1) or developing and directing a bona fide enterprise in which they have made a substantial investment (E-2). E-3 is also available for Australian nationals in specialty occupations.

TN — Canadian and Mexican Professionals. The TN category, established under NAFTA and preserved under the USMCA, allows Canadian and Mexican citizens to work in designated professions listed in the agreement.

R-1 — Religious Workers. For ministers and other religious workers coming to perform qualifying religious work for a bona fide nonprofit religious organization in the United States.

P — Athletes, Entertainers, and Artists. For internationally recognized athletes (individual or team), members of internationally recognized entertainment groups, and artists or entertainers performing under reciprocal exchange or culturally unique programs.

Our Services

​

Category Selection. A focused initial assessment to identify the strongest fit — and, often as important, the second-best path if the primary category presents risk.

​

Petition Drafting and Filing. Preparation and submission of petitions to USCIS, with the supporting record built to anticipate the issues most likely to arise at adjudication.

​

Evidence Development. Working with you, your employer, and (where appropriate) recognized experts to assemble the documentary record — corporate evidence, expert opinions, recommendation letters, and supporting exhibits — that an officer needs to approve the case.

​

Status Management and Long-Term Planning. Counsel on extensions, amendments, change of employer, dual-intent strategy, and the pathways from nonimmigrant work status to lawful permanent residence.

Why Employment-Based Cases Require Experienced Counsel

​

Employment-based nonimmigrant categories share a common feature: the law is technical, the adjudication record matters more than the form itself, and the cost of a misstep — a poorly framed specialty occupation, a thin specialized-knowledge showing, an evidentiary record that does not match the regulatory criteria — is a Request for Evidence at best and a denial at worst. We approach these cases as contested matters from day one, building the record to withstand scrutiny rather than hoping it will not arrive.

​

Whether you are filing for the first time, responding to an RFE, or planning a transition to permanent residence, we offer attorney-led representation at every stage.

​

Book a confidential consultation to discuss your case.