Visas are required for persons from other countries to
enter the United States for work. There are two kinds of visas: immigrant
and nonimmigrant. An immigrant visa is a visa issued to a person wishing
to live permanently in the United States. Immigration law provides
for a limited allocation of employment-based immigrant visas each
year. Nonimmigrant visas are for international travelers (citizens
of other countries) coming to the United States temporarily to visit,
study, or work. These visas allow travel to a U.S. port of entry (an
airport, for example) to request permission to enter the United States.
A visa does not guarantee entry into the United States.
The type of visa needed is defined by immigration law
and relates to the principal purpose of the person's travel. While
in the United States, temporary visitors are restricted to the activity
or reason for which the nonimmigrant visa was issued with few exceptions.
The most commonly referenced employment-related nonimmigrant visa
is the H-1B visa, which is issued to individuals who work in specialty
areas of expertise (usually highly technical and professional workers
such as computer scientists or engineers). Generally, a bachelor's
degree, at minimum, is required to obtain this visa.
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