You must be sponsored by a U.S. employer for the appropriate working visa in order to work in the United States. There are several categories of working visas, and the visa you will hold depends on your background, experience, nationality and the proposed job duties. The visa application process is initiated and driven by the U.S. employer: this is not something the individual foreigner can do on his or her own.

There are two basic types of working visas. Non-immigrant visas allow you to live and work in the United States for a defined purpose for a defined length of time. Immigrant visas, also known as green cards, allow a foreigner to live and work in the U.S. permanently. Because ‘green cards’ take a long time to obtain, most foreigners will initially enter the U.S. to work in a nonimmigrant visa category.

Common non-immigrant visa categories:

H-1B “specialty occupations” visas: for persons who hold the equivalent of a U.S. university degree and who are coming to “professional” positions requiring such education. This is the most commonly used non-immigrant working visa.

L-1A/B “intracompany transferee” visas: for persons who have worked overseas for at least a year in a qualifying capacity overseas at a related company overseas, and who are being transferred to the parent, subsidiary or branch of that company in the U.S. to work in an executive or managerial capacity, or one involving specialized knowledge.

TN “Trade NAFTA” visas: for Canadians or Mexicans coming to render services as a member of a list of approved professionals.

E “Treaty Trader/Investor” visas: for persons coming to work in a qualifying capacity for companies owned by nationals of their country of citizenship. The sponsoring employer must have qualified as a “treaty trader/investor” under a treaty between the U.S. and the home country, and under the Department of State regulations. .

Your employer will work with immigration counsel to identify the appropriate visa category for you. The employer will file a visa petition requesting the visa for you from U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (formerly the Immigration & Naturalization Service). If you are already in the United States in another visa category when this happens, the employer will request that your status in the U.S. be changed to the requested visa category. If you are overseas, the US CIS will communicate the approval to your local U.S. consulate; you will apply for the visa there; and then you will be able to enter the U.S. to commence work.

Questions about your visa category, processing procedures, and any limitations on your visa should be addressed to your employer, who is working with immigration counsel to obtain the visa for you.

Spousal Employment

The nonimmigrant visa you hold authorizes YOU and only you to work. Your spouse and children will not be authorized to work in the United States by virtue of your visa. If your spouse wishes to work, she or he would have to be sponsored for a working visa by a U.S. employer. There is an exception to this rule for the spouses of L and E visa holders: these spouses can apply for work authorization once they arrive in the U.S., which can be granted usually 90-120 days after filing.

Spouses who are not permitted to work are permitted to engage in genuine volunteer work at schools or qualified not-for-profit institutions, and they may attend language or training schools or universities. They may not engage in self-employment.

Your children are permitted to attend local public schools or universities without any additional visa paperwork. Questions about alternatives for your spouse and children should be addressed to your employer, so that these issues can be addressed in the planning process for your working visa. Similarly, questions about renewal or extension of your visa, or planning for a ‘green card’ should be addressed to your employer.