A nonimmigrant is a foreign national seeking to enter the U.S. temporarily for a specific purpose. Nonimmigrants enter the U.S. for a temporary period of time, and once in the U.S. are restricted to the activity or reason for which their visa was issued. They may have more than one type of nonimmigrant visa but are admitted in only one status.
General requirements for foreign nationals seeking temporary admission include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The foreign national must possess a valid passport;
• The foreign national must maintain a foreign residence and must intend to return to his or her home country, in most instances;
• The foreign national may be required to show proof of financial support;
• The foreign national must be admissible or have obtained a waiver for any ground of inadmissibility;
• The foreign national must abide by the terms and conditions of admission.
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IMPORTANT NONIMMIGRANT CLASSIFICATIONS
A. STUDENTS/ TRAINEES
1. F-1 - bona fide students enrolled in a full course of study who enter the U.S. solely for the purpose of being full-time students.
2. J-1 - bona fide students, scholars, trainees, teachers, professors, research assistants, specialists, or leaders in a field of specialized knowledge or skill, who are coming temporarily to the U.S. as participants in a program designated by the Department of State, for the purpose of teaching, instructing or lecturing, studying, observing, conducting research, consulting, demonstrating special skills, or receiving training.
3. M-1 - foreign nationals who seek to enter the U.S. temporarily and solely for the purpose of pursuing a full course of study at an established vocational or other recognized nonacademic institution (other than in a language training program) in the U.S. particularly designated by him and approved by the Attorney General, after consultation with the Secretary of Education.
4. Q-1 - participants in an international cultural exchange program for the purpose of providing practical training, employment, and the sharing of the history, culture, and traditions of the foreign national's home country.
B. TEMPORARY WORKERS
1. E - persons who seek to enter to U.S. under the provisions of a bilateral treaty, in order to carry on substantial trade or to direct the operations of an enterprise in which they, or others of the same nationality, have invested a substantial amount of capital.
2. H-1B - persons in a specialty occupation that requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge requiring completion of a specific course of higher education.
3. H-2A - temporary or seasonal agricultural workers.
4. H-2B - temporary or seasonal nonagricultural workers.
5. H-3 - trainees other than medical or academic.
6. L - intra-company transferees who, within the three preceding years, have been employed abroad continuously for one year, and who will be employed in the U.S. by a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of that same employer in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity.
7. O-1 - persons who have extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or extraordinary achievements in the motion picture and television field.
8. O-2 - persons accompanying an O-1 visa holder to assist in an artistic or athletic performance for a specific event or performance.
9. P-1 - individual or team athletes, or members of an entertainment group that are internationally recognized.
10. P-2 - artists or entertainers who will perform under a reciprocal exchange program.
11. P-3 - artists or entertainers who perform under a program that is culturally unique.
12. R - persons who, for the 2 years immediately preceding the time of application for admission, have been members of a religious denomination having a bona fide nonprofit, religious organization in the United States; and who seek to enter the United States to perform religious work for that denomination.
13. TN – Canadian or Mexican citizens in occupations designated by the North American Free Trade Agreement. Note that for Canadians, this is not considered a visa category, because Canadians usually do not need visa stamps in their passports in order to obtain nonimmigrant status in the U.S.
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