Work Visa Lawyer for Employment and Investment Visas

Q: Which visa is best for professionals working in the United States?

That depends on the person’s citizenship, profession, employer, and long-term goals. Common professional visa options include H-1B, TN, E-3, L-1, and O-1.

Q: Which visa is best for entrepreneurs or investors?

That depends on the business structure, nationality, investment strategy, and planned activity in the United States. Common options may include E-1, E-2, and other business or employment-based immigration paths depending on the facts.

Q: Can family members come with a work or investment visa holder?

Many work and investment visa categories allow a spouse and children to accompany or follow to join in dependent status, although work authorization rules vary by category.

Q: Can work visas and investment visas be extended?

Many temporary visa categories can be extended or renewed if the employment, business activity, or qualifying program continues and the applicant remains eligible under the visa category.

Q: Can a temporary work or investment visa lead to a green card?

Some temporary visa holders later pursue permanent residence through employment-based or other immigration options, but the long-term strategy depends on the specific visa category and the facts of the case.

info@messersmithlaw.com

+1 305-515-0613

390 N Orange Ave, Suite 2300, Orlando, FL 32801

Give us a Call Now!

Work Visas and Investment Visas for the United States

People often search for this issue as work visa, work visa USA, U.S. work visa, employment visa, employment-based visa, business immigration lawyer, investor visa, investment visa, temporary work visa, or employment-based immigration. We help employers, professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, and families with work visas and investment visas for the United States, including H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, E-1, E-2, H-2A, H-2B, J-1, R-1, and other employment-based options. These cases often involve job offers, employer sponsorship, professional qualifications, investor strategy, business structure, family members, extensions, renewals, and longer-term immigration planning.

This page is designed as a starting point for temporary work visas, business and investor visas, and other employment-based immigration options, with links to the specific visa categories most commonly used by professionals, companies, entrepreneurs, and investors.

Explore work visas and investment visas for the United States by category. These options include professional work visas, investor and business visas, seasonal and temporary worker visas, exchange and training visas, religious worker visas, and visas for athletes, entertainers, and other specialized workers.

Professional and employer-sponsored work visas

These visa categories are commonly used by professionals, executives, managers, and other workers who have a qualifying U.S. job opportunity or an employer seeking to sponsor or transfer them for temporary work in the United States.

H1B Visa

Specialty Occupation

L1 Visa

Intracompany Transferee

TN Visa

USMCA Professionals

E3 Visa

Australian Professionals

O1 Visa

Extraordinary Ability

Investor and business visas

These visa categories are commonly used by entrepreneurs, treaty traders, treaty investors, and business visitors entering the United States for qualifying business activity, investment, or commercial operations.

E1 Visa

Treaty Trader

E2 Visa

Treaty Investor

B1 Visa

Business Visitor

Seasonal and temporary worker visas

These visa categories are used for temporary agricultural work, temporary nonagricultural labor, and other short-term work or training arrangements that meet the requirements of the specific visa category.

H2A Visa

Agricultural Workers

H2B Visa

Temporary Nonagricultural Workers

H3 Visa

Trainees and Special Education Exchange Visitors

Exchange visitor and training visas

These visa categories are used for approved exchange programs, training opportunities, internships, research, teaching, and other temporary educational or professional development activity in the United States.

J1 Visa

Exchange Visitors

H3 Visa

Training Programs

Religious worker visas

These visa categories are used for ministers and other religious workers coming to the United States to carry out qualifying religious work for a religious organization.

R1 Visa

Religious Workers

Athlete, entertainer, and performer visas

These visa categories are used for athletes, artists, entertainment groups, performers, and related support personnel coming to the United States for qualifying competitions, tours, productions, exchanges, or culturally unique programs.

O1 Visa

Extraordinary Ability

O2 Visa

Essential Support Personnel

P1 Visa

Athletes and Entertainment Groups

P2 Visa

Reciprocal Exchange Performers

P3 Visa

Culturally Unique Artists and Entertainers

Work and investment visas for the United States

Choosing the right work or investment visa depends on the type of job, the employer, the worker’s qualifications, the business structure, and the long-term immigration goal. Some visa categories are designed for professionals with U.S. job offers, some are for business owners and treaty investors, some are for temporary or seasonal work, and others are used for performers, athletes, religious workers, exchange visitors, and trainees.

Our work visa and investment visa page is designed to help employers, professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, and families identify the visa category that best fits their situation. Some cases focus on employer sponsorship and professional qualifications. Others focus on investment activity, business operations, temporary work, family members, renewals, or future immigration planning.

If you are not sure which visa category fits your situation, start with the category sections above and review the individual visa pages for more detailed requirements, timelines, and strategy considerations.

Common work and investment visa options

Common options on this page include:

H-1B for specialty occupations
L-1 for intracompany transferees
O-1 for extraordinary ability
TN for qualified Canadian and Mexican professionals
E-1 for treaty traders
E-2 for treaty investors
H-2A and H-2B for temporary workers
J-1 and H-3 for exchange and training programs
R-1 for religious workers
O and P visas for athletes, entertainers, and performers

Find the right visa category

Use this page as a starting point for:

temporary work visas
employer-sponsored work visas
investor and business visas
exchange and training visas
religious worker visas
athlete and performer visas

Frequently asked questions about work visas and investment visas

What is a work visa for the United States?

A work visa allows a foreign national to enter the United States temporarily for qualifying employment, business activity, exchange activity, religious work, performance-based work, or other approved professional activity, depending on the visa category.

What is the difference between a work visa and an investment visa?

A work visa is usually based on employment, professional qualifications, or a qualifying temporary work category. An investment visa is usually based on qualifying business activity, treaty trade, or treaty investment.

What are the most common work visas for the United States?

Common work visas include H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, H-2A, H-2B, J-1, R-1, and several athlete, entertainer, and performer visa categories.

What are the most common investment and business visas?

Common business and investment visas include E-1 treaty trader, E-2 treaty investor, and B-1 business visitor options, depending on the purpose of the trip and the business activity involved.

Which work visas require employer sponsorship?

Many work visas require a U.S. employer, sponsoring organization, or agent to file or support the case. Common examples include H-1B, L-1, O-1, R-1, and several P visa categories.

Which visa is best for professionals working in the United States?

That depends on the person’s citizenship, profession, employer, and long-term goals. Common professional visa options include H-1B, TN, E-3, L-1, and O-1.

Which visa is best for entrepreneurs or investors?

That depends on the business structure, nationality, investment strategy, and planned activity in the United States. Common options may include E-1, E-2, and other business or employment-based immigration paths depending on the facts.

Can family members come with a work or investment visa holder?

Many work and investment visa categories allow a spouse and children to accompany or follow to join in dependent status, although work authorization rules vary by category.

Can work visas and investment visas be extended?

Many temporary visa categories can be extended or renewed if the employment, business activity, or qualifying program continues and the applicant remains eligible under the visa category.

Can a temporary work or investment visa lead to a green card?

Some temporary visa holders later pursue permanent residence through employment-based or other immigration options, but the long-term strategy depends on the specific visa category and the facts of the case.

Thousands of Approved Cases

Scroll through fifty recent approval notices below or click here to view thousands.

Customer Testimonials

Real Testimonials from Past Clients

Impressed beyond infinity

I liked Peter's calm, honest, and balanced approach to our very difficult immigration problem. He is very organized and responsive. He filed both of our cases with the DOS and USCIS promptly and the process went without a hitch. He is very intelligent and knowledgeable, but your success will also depend on your willingness to provide as much information and detail as possible. Peter will be able to organize it in the most effective way. We've just learned that our case was approved. Hoorah!

ALEX

Green Card through NIW

Went very smoothly. Very fast responses to my inquiries. Always sent me an email when a status would change. Peter sent me a list of items that I needed to submit to him, and after that he took over and managed everything in a timely manner. I never needed a lawyer before, and this was a very easy first experience.

LUKAS

A patient and professional attorney!

Peter is great. I found him online and scheduled an interview with him, letting him review my CV. He gave me very honest suggestions and we decided to work on my extraordinary ability alien worker permanent residence petition, the EB1A. It took me a long time to gather information: recommendation letter, publication, etc. etc. During this time, Peter is very responsive and guided my questions timely. He also finally decided that I had enough evidence and should submit the petition. When I was waiting for the approval, he is still available to answer my questions. My case was submitted in June 2011 and I received my permanent resident card at the end of 2011, which is, according to many of my friends, super fast and smooth. I highly recommend Peter as your immigration lawyer.

Linlin

Excellent legal service

The office of Mr. Peter did a great job preparing and submitting my application for a green card. During my interview, the immigration officer said "your lawyer submitted a well prepared application". The interview could not have been more comfortable. And my application could not have been better prepared. Thanks to Mr. Peter and his assistant Jen's professional work. I definitely recommend this office for all your immigration services and needs.

GEORGE

The Best Lawyer Ever!

Peter is very professional and honest lawyer. Believe me, I have done an extensive research and his name was always coming up. I hired him last year to help me to obtain a green card. He was very quick to response and he explains everything clearly. He even checked my recommendation letters! When I moved, the green card of my wife was sent twice and it was returned. He and Jen handled this issue for no additional fee. Thanks to him and Jen I got my green card in less than 4 moths. He is really good. Trust me. I highly recommend him! I’d give him 10 starts if I could.

Mikhail F

Committed, Insightful, Efficient

This is the best law firm I have had the pleasure of doing business with. They came highly recommended by close friends. I was easily able to convine my company to hire them. While I had very high expectations at the start, I was pleasantly surprised to see Peter and his team surpass all my expectations. Extremely intelligent and committed team, highly effective, efficient and there to stand by you when you need them most. I highly recommend this firm with no reservations.

Samvith