Embassy of the United States

Work Visas

Temporary Worker

If you wish to work in the United States, you will need a visa.  For more information on the different types of employment visas available and how to obtain them, please visit the State Department’s website at http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1271.html for a comprehensive overview.

The application process for a work visa can be complicated, and it is the U.S. employer’s responsibility to file an application in the U.S. and send you all of the documents (copy of the I-129 petition and the approved I-797 petition) to present at the Embassy during your interview. In the majority of cases, applicants will have to present an approved work petition from the Department of Homeland Security of the United States (DHS). If you have been offered employment in the U.S., ask your prospective employer exactly what procedures he/she has followed to allow you to work legally in the U.S. 

Temporary Religious Workers

The Immigration and Nationality Act provides a nonimmigrant visa category "R" for aliens proceeding to the United States to work in a religious capacity.  For a more detailed explanation than is provided here, please visit the State Department’s website at http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1272.html

Definition of Religious Workers

Religious workers include ministers of religion who are authorized by a recognized denomination to conduct religious worship and perform other duties usually performed by members of the clergy such as administering the sacraments, or their equivalent. The term does not apply to lay preachers. A religious vocation means a calling to religious life, evidenced by the demonstration of a lifelong commitment, such as taking vows. Examples include nuns, monks, and religious brothers and sisters. A religious occupation means a habitual engagement in an activity which relates to a traditional religious function. Examples include liturgical workers, religious instructors or cantors, catechists, workers in religious hospitals, missionaries, religious translators, or religious broadcasters. It does not include janitors, maintenance workers, clerks, fund raisers, solicitors of donations, or similar occupations.

Requirements

The applicant must be a member of a religious denomination having a bona fide nonprofit religious organization in the U.S.;The religious denomination and its affiliate, if applicable, are exempt from taxation, or the religious denomination qualifies for tax- exempt status (documentation required at the time of the visa interview);The applicant has been a member of the denomination for two years immediately preceding admission (documentation required at the time of the interview);The applicant is entering the United States solely to carry on the vocation of a minister of that denomination, or, at the request of the organization, the applicant is entering the United States to work in a religious vocation or occupation for the denomination or for an organization affiliated with the denomination, whether in a professional capacity or not; and the applicant has resided and been physically present outside the United States for the immediate prior year if he or she has previously spent five years in this classification.

Learn and Know - Your Rights, Protections, and Resources

For Visa Applicants in A-3, G-5, NATO-7, B-1 domestic employee, H-1B, H-1B1, H-2A, H-2B, and J-1 categories:  Before your visa interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, it is important that you take the time to carefully read this pamphlet, as you will be required to have read and understood the pamphlet before being issued a U.S. visa in your category.  In doing so, you will learn about and understand your rights, protections, as well as resources available to you, if help is needed when you come to the U.S.  During your visa interview, the consular officer will make sure you are aware of your legal rights and protections.  After reading the pamphlet, keep it handy for quick reference later, as needed.

English: Rights, Protections and Resources Pamphlet  (All versions are in .pdf format)

Online Reading Pamphlet Version