H-1B and L Visa Alternatives - A must list for Employers

After the H-1B CAP is filled, most of the employers want to know any other alternatives. Everybody are aware that L's are very tough. Therefore, I list below alternatives for H-1B's and L's

Classification	Characterization	NOTES
H-1B1	Specialty Occupation Visa for Chilean and Singapore Nationals	·         1,400 H1B1 visa are available for Chileans, while 5,400 are set aside for Singaporean nationals. ·         Unlike the H1B visa there is no requirement for a Petition for Nonimmigrant worker to be approved by the USCIS. The candidate can apply for a H1B1 visa directly at the US Consulate in his or her home country by submitting the appropriate nonimmigrant visa application along with a detailed employment offer letter, a Labor Condition Application (LCA) certified by the Department of Labor, and supporting documents.
E3 VISA	Specialty Occupation VISA only for Australians Nationals	E-3 visa classification applies only to nationals of Australia as well as their spouses and children. E-3 principal applicants must be going to the United States solely to work in a specialty occupation. There is an yearly CAP of 10,500 new E3 VISA’s
J1 VISA	The J-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa issued by the U.S. Department of State through the Exchange Visitor Program that facilitates cultural exchange and mutual understanding. CDS International sponsors the intern and trainee categories of the J-1 visa. These categories give students and professionals from all over the world the opportunity to enhance their professional skills and gain knowledge of American business practices by interning or training at U.S. companies. Programs may last from 6 weeks to 18 months	The host company may be the U.S.-based employer that provides the internship/training program. Requirements: ·         Spend no more than 20% of their time on unskilled or clerical tasks; ·         Work at least 32 hours per week; ·         Not displace American workers; ·         Remain at the same host company throughout the program (with limited exceptions) and not work a second job; ·         Plan to return to their home countries following the program.
O-1	Alien of extraordinary ability	The individual must demonstrate at least three of the following: ·         Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized awards or prizes for excellence in his/her field. ·          Membership in associations in the field of extraordinary ability, which require outstanding achievement for membership, as judged by national or international experts. ·         Citations in professional publications, written by others about the individual's work in the field. Include the title, date, and author and any translation, if necessary. ·         Participation on a panel or as a judge of the work of others in the same or an allied field. ·         Original scientific, scholarly or business contributions of major significance to the field. ·         Authorship of scholarly articles in the field in professional journals or major media. ·         Previous employment in a critical capacity for organizations and/or establishments that have a distinguished reputation. ·         Evidence of high salary or other significantly high remuneration for services in relation to others in the field, as proven by contracts or other evidence. ·         Merely providing three sources of evidence does not establish that the foreign national possesses extraordinary ability. USCIS considers the quality of the evidence provided and not just whether the minimum amount of documentation has been submitted.
TN Visa	Temporary Employment-Based Visas for Canadian and Mexican Nationals	The one difference between TN for Canadians and TN for Mexicans is that a Canadian citizen is not required to apply for a TN visa in his or her passport prior to coming to the United States. (For most nonimmigrant categories, Canadian citizens do not require a visa in order to proceed to a port of entry to apply for nonimmigrant status). Thus, a Canadian citizen who is approved for TN classification does not receive a “TN visa” but rather receives “TN status.” A Mexican citizen must obtain a TN visa from a US Embassy or Consulate before entering the United States and being admitted into TN status.
EAD's	OPT, pending I-485's, Deferred actions, etc.
H-3 Trainees	The H-3 visa is a nonimmigrant visa which allows foreign nationals to enter the U.S. temporarily to train in "any field of endeavor". This visa, however, is limited to training programs that meet certain required guidelines like:    - The training program is not a graduate program or medical training. - The training program is not available in the beneficiary's home country. - The training program must have a fixed schedule and correspond to the nature of petitioner's business. - Training program will not place the beneficiary in a position which is in the normal operation of the business, and in which citizens and resident alien workers are regularly employed. - Beneficiary will not be productively employed except as incidental to training.- - Training is necessary to advance beneficiary career outside the U.S. - The training program must not be used for purposes of hiring in the U.S.	May be paid any sum by the employer that filed H-3 petition for period of validity of that petition

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