An H-1B Visa allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in “specialty occupations” such as IT or engineering.

To qualify for the H1B, the position must require at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field and one must have earned that degree or its equivalent. Additionally, the employer must be willing to sponsor the foreign employee.

The H-1B Visa is an excellent way for U.S. companies to hire the best talent from across the world and it is the most commonly used type of temporary work visa. (Learn more here)  

The L-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa which allows overseas companies to transfer employees under two types of L-1 visa schemes. For L-1 visa transfers of executives and managers including business owners for up to seven years there is the L-1A visa, and for specialized knowledge employees the L-1B visa allows entry for up to five years to a new or existing US office. To qualify for an L-1 visa the employee, which can include business owners, must have worked for a subsidiary, parent, affiliate or branch office of the US company outside of the US for at least one year out of the last three years.

This can be an excellent way for businesses including small businesses to expand into the US with a minimal investment. (Learn more here)

The H-2B visa is available to employers of foreign workers not working in the agricultural field. This visa is only available for work that is temporary in nature. (Learn more here)

For H2B purposes, that means one of the following:

• Recurring seasonal need: work that is regularly tied to a season, such as amusement park work in the summer, or ski resort work in the winter.
• Intermittent need: work for which the employer has not employed full time staff, and occasionally needs temporary workers.
• Peak-load need: work during busy periods for which the employer needs temporary staff in addition to their permanent employees.
• One time occurrence: work needed during a short, one time period of need.

The O-1 visa is for individuals who have been recognized nationally or internationally and have either extraordinary ability in the sciences, business, education, arts, or athletics, or extraordinary achievements in motions pictures or television. An O-1A visa is for individuals in business, education, sciences or athletics. An O-1B visa is for individuals in the arts, motion pictures or television.

To qualify for an O-1 visa, the applicant must be able to demonstrate that he or she has received sustained acclaim either nationally or internationally and is seeking entry into the United States to work in the same field for which the acclaim was achieved.