Visa information

In order to enter the US you will need a visa. There are lots of visas available. Their types are denoted by various letters and numbers. Some of them allows you to work, but most of them don't. There are a few visa types which allow "dual status", which means you can both work and in the same time file your papers for the permanent residency (also called "green card"). Some visas can be obtained with relative ease, while others are limited in number and can take months of waiting to get it approved.

Here is a list of the main visa types.

Visa code	Visa type	Description
A-1 A-2	Foreign Government Officials
B-1 B-2	Visitors	Business and tourist visitors.
C	Transits
D	Crewmen
E-1	Treaty Trader Visa	Owners and key employees of businesses which conduct a substantial volume of trade between the U.S. and the home country are eligible to apply for visas as treaty traders (E-1).
E-2	Treaty Investor Visa	those who invest a substantial amount of capital in the U.S. and help to create jobs for U.S. workers are referred to as treaty investors (E- 2). To qualify, the home country must have a treaty with the U.S.
G-1 G-2 G-4 G-5	The Representatives to International Organizations Visas	For representatives of international organizations and their accompanying spouse and/or children only.
F-1 F-2	The Student Visas for academic and language programs	To be eligible for this temporary, non-immigrant visa, you must apply to an accredited college or university, or an institution that provides language training, the fine arts or the professions.
H-1A H-1B H-2A H-2B H-3	Temporary Employees Visas (Worker visas)	For the temporary training of certain types of employees by their employers and for certain types of temporary work.
I	Representatives of Information Media
J-1 J-2	Educational and cultural exchange visa: is designed to promote the interchange of people, knowledge and skills in the fields of education, sciences and the arts. Participants include students at all academic levels; people coming to on-the-job training with firms, which allows work with certain limitations.
K	Fiancées and Fiancées of United States Citizens
L-1A L-1B	Intra-company Transferees: Executives, managers or persons with specialized knowledge employed in a company abroad, may transfer to the U.S. branch, affiliate or subsidiary to assume a similar position.
M-1 M-2	Students in established vocational or other recognized nonacademic institutions, other than in language training programs. To be eligible for this temporary, non-immigrant visa, you must apply to a community college that provide technical training and awards associate degrees; a trade school; or a school other than language training.
N	Certain parents and children of section 101(a)(27)(l) special immigrants
O-1 O-2 O-3	The Aliens of Extraordinary Ability or Achievement Visas	For persons who have extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who have a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry, and their accompanying spouse and/or children.
P-1 P-2 P-3 P-4	The Artist, Athlete and Entertainer Visas	For non-immigrant aliens coming to the US to perform as an artist or entertainer under a reciprocal exchange program, or to perform, teach or coach under a program that is culturally unique.
Q	International Cultural Exchange Visitor
R	Religious Workers
NATO-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7	NATO Nonimmigrant Aliens

What individuals can obtain a Student Visa?
There are two types of Visas for educational purposes:
- student visas: F-1 Academic or M-1 Vocational
- exchange visas: J-1 Read more about Worker Visas in the next section.

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