H-1B Visa Category

The H-1B visa category applies to foreign nationals employed in specialty occupations that involve theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge and which require a bachelor's degree or its equivalent in work experience. A college degree alone does not qualify a foreign national as a specialty worker; the job must require a degree related to the foreign national's particular field and the college degree that the foreign national earned must be a normal requirement for comparable jobs in the industry and with the prospective employer.

H-2 Visa Category

The H-2B visa category is used by U.S. companies temporarily to employ skilled or unskilled foreign nationals in nonagricultural positions for which the employer has a temporary need and for which qualified U.S. workers are unavailable. The company must intend to employ the foreign nationals for a temporary period and the employer's need for the skills possessed by the foreign nationals must also be temporary. In addition, the employer must seek a "labor certification" from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certifying that:

• The foreign national is not displacing a qualified unemployed U.S. worker in the region of proposed employment.
• The proposed employment does not adversely affect the working conditions of U.S. workers who are similarly employed.

H-3 Visa Category

The H-3 visa category is used by U.S. companies and institutions to bring foreign employees to the United States for a temporary period in order to participate in an established company training program. The training program may provide classroom training, or a combination of classroom and on- the-job training, which is unavailable in the alien trainee's home country. The H-3 visa category is therefore used as a means of increasing the foreign employee's knowledge and skills, thereby enhancing his or her worth to a company's foreign operations or other appropriate foreign operations.

Basic Requirements for Obtaining H-3 Visa Status

1. The alien worker, or a group of alien workers, must be entering the United States to participate in an existing company training program.
2. The training of the foreign workers cannot be conducted or engaged in with the intention of eventual employment in the United States.
3. The alien trainees cannot be employed to engage in productive employment that is other than incidental to the training program.
4. The training program must provide knowledge or experience that is unavailable in the alien's country of residence.