US work visas explained: which route fits you?

Work down the questions in order and stop at the first yes. Almost every route needs a US employer (or, for the O-1, an employer or agent) to file for you. There is no general US job-seeker visa, so the realistic first step is usually an offer from an employer who is willing to sponsor.

• Are you Canadian or Mexican, and is your profession on the USMCA list? Look at the TN first. It has no lottery.
• Are you Australian with a degree-level offer? Look at the E-3. It works like the H-1B but without the H-1B lottery.
• Have you worked for a multinational for at least one continuous year in the last three, and could it move you to a US office? Look at the L-1.
• Can you show sustained national or international recognition, such as major awards, publications or press coverage? Look at the O-1.
• Is it a job that needs at least a bachelor’s degree in a specific field? The H-1B is the main route. It is capped and allocated by a selection each March unless the employer is cap-exempt, such as a university.
• Are you studying in the US now? Your OPT period is usually the bridge to an H-1B. See working in the US after graduation.
• None of these? A US employer can sometimes sponsor a green card directly, but that route is slow. See the section on permanent residence below.

This path is a reading of USCIS’s published conditions, not legal advice. For a real case, use a licensed immigration attorney or an accredited representative. USCIS warns that notarios públicos are not authorised to give immigration legal advice in the US.

The H-1B covers specialty occupations, which USCIS defines as jobs that need a bachelor’s or higher degree in a directly related field. A foreign equivalent degree counts, and so, in some cases, does a combination of education, training and progressively responsible experience. Before the employer files Form I-129, the Department of Labor must certify a Labor Condition Application covering the wage and working conditions.

Most private-sector employers are capped: 65,000 new H-1Bs a year, plus 20,000 for people with a US master’s degree or higher. Employers register each candidate online during a short March window, and the fee is $215 per person for FY 2027. From FY 2027, USCIS no longer runs a purely random lottery. Each registration is weighted by the Department of Labor (OEWS) wage level of the salary offered, so a Level IV offer is entered four times and a Level I offer once. Selected employers then have a 90-day window from 1 April to file the petition, and the job can start on 1 October at the earliest.

Universities, their affiliated nonprofits and nonprofit or government research organisations are cap-exempt. They can file at any time of year, which makes them the most reliable H-1B employers for researchers and academics.

• You can hold H-1B status for up to 3 years at first, extendable to 6 years in total.
• You can move to a new H-1B employer and start working as soon as it properly files a new petition for you.
• Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come in H-4 status. An H-4 spouse can only apply for work authorisation in limited cases, such as when you are the beneficiary of an approved I-140 immigrant petition.

A Presidential Proclamation of 19 September 2025 required a $100,000 payment on new H-1B petitions filed from 21 September 2025 for workers outside the US who did not hold a valid H-1B visa. On 8 June 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts vacated the guidance implementing it, and on 24 July 2026 the First Circuit refused to pause that order. USCIS’s FAQ (updated 28 July 2026) says DHS is complying with the order but would collect the payment if the order is later reversed.

Separately, on 25 August 2026 DHS proposed a new $103,265 fee for every cap-subject H-1B petition, including the advanced-degree allocation. Cap-exempt employers such as universities would not pay it. It is a proposal only, with comments open until 24 September 2026. If it becomes final, it will change which employers are willing to sponsor, so check the current status before you plan around the H-1B.

What this means for you now: employers already pay several thousand dollars in standard H-1B filing fees. USCIS’s fee schedule lists $780 on paper for the I-129, a $600 Asylum Program Fee, a $500 fraud prevention fee and an ACWIA fee of $750 or $1,500 for a typical employer. Many employers have become more selective about sponsorship. A strong application names the wage level, shows why your skills are hard to find, and makes the employer’s decision easy.

If your employer has a US parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate, the L-1 may be the fastest route, and it has no lottery. You need at least one continuous year with the company abroad within the three years before you enter the US.

The L-1A is for managers and executives. You can stay up to 3 years at first (1 year if you are opening a new US office), extendable to 7 years. The L-1B is for staff with specialised knowledge of the company’s products or processes, up to 5 years. An L-2 spouse is authorised to work incident to status. Large companies with a blanket L approval can process transfers faster.

If you are job hunting at an international company now, this is worth planning for: a year in its office in London, Bengaluru or São Paulo can later open the US door.

The O-1A covers extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business or athletics, which USCIS describes as being among the small percentage at the very top of the field. The O-1B covers the arts and film and television. There is no cap, lottery or degree requirement, but the evidence bar is high: at least three different types of evidence from the list in the regulations, which together show you meet the standard. USCIS’s Policy Manual sets out what each type means.

A US employer, a US agent, or a foreign employer through a US agent files the petition, with an advisory opinion from a peer group or expert, at least 45 days before the job starts. The initial stay is up to 3 years, then extensions of up to 1 year at a time. Founders and senior researchers use it as well as artists and athletes. Build the evidence file over years, not weeks.

The same kind of evidence feeds the EB-1 green card for extraordinary ability, which you can file for yourself with no job offer: either a one-time achievement such as an Olympic medal or Pulitzer, or at least 3 of 10 criteria showing sustained national or international acclaim.

The TN is for Canadian and Mexican citizens in a profession on the USMCA list (Appendix 1603.D.1), with a prearranged full- or part-time job that needs a USMCA professional and the qualifications that profession requires. Canadians can apply at a port of entry with their documents, or the employer can file with USCIS. Mexicans apply for a TN visa at a US consulate. The initial stay is up to 3 years, with extensions. A TD spouse can study but may not work.

The E-3 is for Australian nationals in a specialty occupation, with a certified Labor Condition Application just like the H-1B, but without the H-1B lottery. The initial stay is 2 years, and there is no maximum number of 2-year extensions, with some exceptions. An E-3 spouse is authorised to work incident to status.

Yes, but plan in years. Employment-based green cards fall into five categories. EB-1 covers extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and some multinational managers. EB-2 covers advanced-degree professionals and exceptional ability, including the national interest waiver, which lets you self-petition without an employer or labor certification if your work is in the national interest. EB-3 covers skilled workers, professionals and other workers. EB-4 covers special immigrants such as religious workers, and EB-5 covers investors.

For most EB-2 and EB-3 cases, the employer must first get a permanent labor certification (PERM) from the Department of Labor. That process tests whether there are enough US workers able, willing, qualified and available for the job, and the employer, not you, files it. Waiting times vary by category, so ask the employer’s immigration attorney for a realistic timeline before you count on it.

Sponsorship is the real bottleneck, not the paperwork. Most employers never sponsor, and those that do weigh the fees and the H-1B selection odds against hiring locally. Many job ads say plainly whether they will sponsor, so read to the end before you apply.

• Target cap-exempt employers (universities, teaching hospitals affiliated with them, nonprofit research institutes) if your field allows it. No lottery, and no timing constraint.
• Target the salary, not just the title. Under weighted selection, an offer at a higher wage level has a better chance of being selected.
• Write a US-style resume that proves the specialty: degree, field and quantified results. Our US resume guide covers the format.
• Be honest about sponsorship when asked. Hiding it only moves the “no” later.
• Never pay a recruiter or “sponsor” for a job offer. The FTC says honest employers will never ask you to pay to get a job, and USCIS lists pre-arrival job offers by email among common immigration scams.