A U.S. work visa is called by an alphanumeric code — H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, and so on — rather than by a single generic name. Each code comes from a subsection of the Immigration and Nationality Act and identifies a specific category of foreign worker, with its own eligibility rules, length of stay, and job restrictions. The permanent-residency counterparts carry an “EB” prefix (Employment-Based) and are the green card versions. So when someone asks what a work visa is called, the honest answer is that there isn’t one name; there’s a family of codes, and the right one depends on the job, the worker, and the employer.
How the Codes Are Built
Every work-related classification traces back to Section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, codified in Title 8 of the U.S. Code. That section lists dozens of nonimmigrant categories. Each gets a letter (H, L, O, P, and others) plus a number to mark subcategories. “H-1B” is shorthand for section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b). The labels are bureaucratic, but once you learn the handful that matter for employment, the system is navigable.
The codes fall into two groups. Nonimmigrant classifications — the letter-and-number codes — cover temporary stays tied to a specific job, employer, or purpose. Immigrant classifications, the EB codes, lead to a green card and permanent work authorization. Separately, an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is a card issued to people who have legal permission to work but don’t hold a traditional work visa stamp. Whichever code applies, every worker completes a Form I-9 with their employer to verify identity and work eligibility.
H-1B: Specialty Occupations
The H-1B is the most widely recognized work visa in the United States. It covers “specialty occupations” that require at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in a directly related field.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Specialty Occupations Software engineers, financial analysts, and architects are typical examples. The employer files the petition and must first submit a Labor Condition Application to the Department of Labor promising to pay at least the prevailing wage for the role and location.2U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 402.10 – Temporary Workers and Trainees – H Visas
Congress caps the H-1B at 65,000 new visas per fiscal year, plus 20,000 reserved for workers holding a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Cap Season Demand routinely exceeds supply, so USCIS runs a lottery to decide which petitions it will process. The maximum stay is generally six years.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FAQs for Individuals in H-1B Nonimmigrant Status
H-2A and H-2B: Agricultural and Seasonal Work
The H-2A covers temporary or seasonal agricultural work. Employers must first show the Department of Labor that there aren’t enough U.S. workers available for the job and that hiring foreign workers won’t drag down wages or conditions for domestic employees.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers There is no annual cap on H-2A visas.
The H-2B handles temporary non-agricultural jobs such as landscaping, hospitality, and seafood processing. The employer runs a similar labor-market test but faces an annual cap of 66,000, split between the two halves of the fiscal year. Both H-2A and H-2B are employer-specific: the worker can’t simply switch jobs without a new petition.
L-1: Intracompany Transferees
The L-1 lets multinational companies move employees from a foreign office to a U.S. location. L-1A is for managers and executives; L-1B is for employees with specialized knowledge of the company’s products, services, or internal systems.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2 Part L Chapter 1 The employee must have worked for the overseas affiliate for at least one continuous year during the three years before the transfer.7U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 402.12 – Intracompany Transferees – L Visas L-1A holders can stay up to seven years; L-1B holders are capped at five. There is no annual numerical limit.
O-1: Extraordinary Ability
The O-1 is for people at the top of their field. O-1A covers extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, or athletics; O-1B covers extraordinary ability in the arts or extraordinary achievement in the motion picture and television industry.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. O-1 Visa: Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement The evidentiary bar is high — sustained national or international recognition through awards, published work, high salary, or similar markers. The O-1 has no annual cap, which is a meaningful advantage over the H-1B for applicants who can meet the tougher standard. Initial approval lasts up to three years, with one-year extensions available as long as the work continues.
TN: The USMCA Professional Visa
The TN classification exists under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (formerly NAFTA) and is available only to Canadian and Mexican citizens.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Part P – USMCA Professionals (TN) The trade agreement lists specific professions that qualify, including engineers, accountants, and scientists. Canadians can often apply directly at the border without a pre-approved petition, which makes the TN faster and cheaper than the H-1B for those who qualify. Mexican citizens file through a consulate or through USCIS. TN status is granted in increments of up to three years and can be renewed indefinitely, though it is not a dual-intent visa, which creates complications for anyone thinking about a green card.
E-1 and E-2: Treaty Trader and Treaty Investor
The E-1 (Treaty Trader) and E-2 (Treaty Investor) visas are open to nationals of countries with a qualifying treaty of commerce with the United States. The E-1 requires substantial trade primarily between the U.S. and your home country. The E-2 requires a substantial investment of capital in a real, operating U.S. business.10U.S. Department of State. Treaty Trader and Treaty Investor Visas Neither has a fixed maximum stay; status is granted in two-year increments and renewable indefinitely while the business activity continues. These visas are popular with entrepreneurs and small-business owners. Neither is considered dual-intent.
P-1 and R-1: Athletes, Entertainers, and Religious Workers
The P-1 covers internationally recognized athletes and entertainment groups. P-1A applies to individual athletes competing at an internationally recognized level; P-1B is for members of entertainment groups with sustained international acclaim.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. P-1A Athlete The petition is event-specific: the athlete or group must be coming for a particular competition, season, or tour.
The R-1 is for religious workers. You must have been a member of a religious denomination with a bona fide U.S. nonprofit organization for at least two years before the petition is filed, and the job must involve a religious function such as serving as a minister or working in a religious vocation.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. R-1 Nonimmigrant Religious Workers R-1 status lasts up to 30 months and can be extended to a maximum of five years.
J-1: Exchange Visitor
The J-1 is technically a cultural exchange visa, but many J-1 holders perform work. The category covers professors, research scholars, trainees, interns, au pairs, and summer work-travel participants, among others. The Department of State oversees the programs, and each participant is sponsored by a designated exchange-visitor program.
The catch is the two-year home-country physical presence requirement. Certain J-1 holders must return home and live there for at least two years before they can apply for a green card, an H or L visa, or a K (fiancé) visa.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Terms and Conditions of J Exchange Visitor Status It typically applies when the program was government-funded, when your field appears on a skills list for your home country, or when you came as a foreign medical graduate. Waivers are available through the State Department under specific circumstances, including a “no objection” statement from your home government, a claim of exceptional hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse or child, or a request from a federal agency.14U.S. Department of State. Waiver of the Exchange Visitor Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement
The Employment Authorization Document (EAD)
Not every person legally working in the United States holds a traditional work visa. The Employment Authorization Document, or EAD (Form I-766), is a card issued by USCIS that proves its holder has the right to work.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization The EAD covers people who fall outside the standard visa classifications: asylum applicants with pending cases, Temporary Protected Status holders, applicants waiting for their green card to be processed, F-1 students on Optional Practical Training, and others.
An EAD authorizes work, but it does not by itself authorize you to enter the United States. A visa stamp lets you travel to a U.S. port of entry; the EAD lets you work once you’re here. Some nonimmigrant visa holders — certain dependent spouses in particular — also carry an EAD to unlock work authorization their dependent visa alone doesn’t provide.
Dependent Codes and Whether They Allow Work
When a foreign worker enters on a visa like the H-1B or L-1, their spouse and minor children receive a dependent classification (H-4, L-2, and so on). These dependent visas do not automatically come with work authorization, but some dependents can apply.
L-2 spouses and spouses of E-1, E-2, and E-3 visa holders are considered employment-authorized by virtue of their status. Since January 2022, USCIS has been issuing specific admission codes (L-2S, E-1S, E-2S, E-3S) that distinguish spouses from children and serve as proof of work eligibility on a Form I-9.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization for Certain H-4, E, and L Nonimmigrant Dependent Spouses These spouses can also apply for an EAD if they want a standalone card.
H-4 spouses face a higher bar. An H-4 spouse can apply for an EAD only if the H-1B worker has an approved immigrant petition (Form I-140) or has been granted an extension beyond the six-year H-1B limit under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses If neither condition is met, the H-4 spouse cannot work at all. Dependent children in any category are not authorized to work.
EB Codes: The Green Card Versions
When a work-based path leads to permanent residency, the relevant codes carry an “EB” prefix. These are the formal names for what most people call an employment-based green card. Congress allocates approximately 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas per year, divided among several preference categories, with no single country receiving more than 7 percent of the total.
The three main preference categories:
- EB-1 (First Preference): people with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational managers or executives. Many EB-1 applicants can skip the labor certification process entirely and self-petition.18U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: First Preference EB-1
- EB-2 (Second Preference): professionals holding an advanced degree (or a bachelor’s plus five years of progressive experience treated as equivalent) and individuals with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business.19U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: Second Preference EB-2
- EB-3 (Third Preference): skilled workers whose jobs require at least two years of training or experience, professionals with a bachelor’s degree, and unskilled workers in positions requiring less than two years of training.20U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: Third Preference EB-3
Most EB-2 and EB-3 applicants go through the PERM labor certification process before the employer can file the immigrant petition. PERM (officially, the Application for Permanent Employment Certification, Form ETA-9089) requires the employer to prove to the Department of Labor that no qualified, willing, and available U.S. worker exists for the position and that hiring the foreign worker won’t undercut wages or conditions for similarly employed Americans.21U.S. Department of Labor. Permanent Labor Certification The PERM filing date becomes the applicant’s “priority date,” which sets their place in line for a visa number.
Dual Intent: Which Codes Let You Pursue a Green Card
One of the most consequential differences between visa types is whether you can pursue permanent residency without jeopardizing your temporary status. The concept is called “dual intent.” Federal law explicitly provides that filing for a green card doesn’t count as evidence that an H-1B or L-1 holder has abandoned their temporary status.22Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants In practice, H-1B and L-1 workers can be sponsored for a green card while continuing to work on their nonimmigrant visa.
Most other nonimmigrant codes don’t get that protection. TN, J-1, and E-2 holders, among others, are expected to intend to leave when their status ends. Filing for permanent residency while on one of these visas can create complications, including denial of a visa renewal or trouble at reentry. The O-1 sits in a middle ground: filing a labor certification or immigrant petition doesn’t jeopardize O-1 status, but traveling abroad while an adjustment-of-status application is pending requires advance parole. If you’re on a non-dual-intent visa and considering a green card, this is where an immigration attorney earns their fee.