NON-IMMIGRANT VISAS
Symbols and Meaning
There are many US Immigration visas. This table lists most of the non-immigrant visas. Permanent Resident visas do not appear in this table. These are not the official description of these visas. The descriptions and comments are simplified and generalized. This table should not be relied upon for legal precision. Look at other pages of this site for more complete descriptions of non-immigrant visas.
The author makes no warranties and assumes no liability resulting from the use of this table or any of its content.
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| A | Diplomatic Visa | Issued through diplomatic channels |
| B-1 | Business Visitor | Entry for 30 to 90 days is usual |
| B-2 | Visitor for Pleasure (Tourist) | Entry for 6 months, can be extended for 6 more months |
| C | Transit Visa | Passenger making connecting flight |
| D | Crew Member | Air and ship crews |
| E-1 | Treaty Trader | Must be national or citizen of country having treaty with US |
| E-2 | Treaty Investor | Must be national or citizen of country having treaty with US |
| F-1 | Student | Full time student, school must issue Form I-20, student must show no need to work |
| F-2 | Family of student | |
| G | Diplomat: International organization | UN and similar organizations |
| H-1A | Registered Nurse | |
| H-1B | Specialty Occupation (Professional) | Authorized to work for petitioner only |
| H-2A | Temporary Agricultural Worker | |
| H-2B | Temporary Worker | For jobs that will last less than one year |
| H-3 | Trainee | For company training programs, not for schools |
| H-4 | Family of H visa holder | |
| I | Journalist | For news media of any type |
| J-1 | Exchange Visitor | Some J visas require holder to live outside the US for 2 years before changing to another visa status |
| J-2 | Family of Exchange Visitor | |
| K | Fiancé | Fiancé of US citizen only |
| L-1 | Intra-Company Transfer | International executive or specialist |
| L-2 | Family of L-1 | |
| M | Vocational Student | Non-academic student |
| O-1 | Extraordinary Ability | Science, Arts, Business, Athletics |
| O-3 | Family of O-1 visa holder | |
| P-1 | Athlete or Recognized Entertainment Group | |
| P-2 | Artist or Entertainer in Reciprocal Exchange Program | |
| P-3 | Artist or Entertainer in Culturally Unique Program | |
| P-4 | Family of P visa holder | |
| Q-1 | Cultural Exchange Program | |
| R-1 | Religious Occupation | Must be full time religious worker for the two years before applying; |
| R-2 | Family of R-1 | |
| S-1 | Supplier of information in criminal investigation | |
| S-2 | Supplier of information in espionage case | |
| TN | Treaty NAFTA, a visa issued according to the North American Free Trade Agreement | |
| TD | Treaty Dependent (NAFTA), a visa issued to a family member of TN visa holder. | |