The H-3 visa category is used by U.S. companies and institutions to bring foreign individuals to the US for a temporary period in order to participate in an established training program in a particular field, such as agriculture, commerce, communication, finance, government, transportation, or the professions.
Physicians coming to the U.S. for graduate medical education or training are not entitled to an H-3 visa.
What are the Requirements for Applying for an H-3 Visa?
The H-3 visa applicant must be coming to the U.S. to participate in an established training program in a particular field as organized by a U.S. company or institution. The training program must take place in a particular field such as agriculture, commerce, communication, finance, government, transportation, or the professions.
The training program may provide classroom training, or a combination of classroom and on-the-job training, which MUST BE unavailable in the alien trainee's home country. The H-3 visa category is therefore used as a means of increasing the foreign employee's knowledge and skills, thereby enhancing his or her worth to a company's foreign operations or other appropriate foreign operations.
The following requirements must met in order to qualify for an H-3 visa:
- The alien worker, or a group of alien workers, must be entering the United States to participate in an existing company training program;
- The training of the foreign workers cannot be conducted or engaged in with the intention of eventual employment in the United States;
- The alien trainees cannot be employed to engage in productive employment that is other than incidental to the training program;
- The training program must provide knowledge or experience that is unavailable in the alien's country of residence;
- The alien trainee must have need for the training and not merely seek to apply and enhance previously-acquired skills;
- The alien trainee must maintain a foreign residence which he or she has no intention of abandoning
How Long is the H-3 Visa Valid?
An H-3 visa holder is admitted to the U.S. for the period that is required to complete the training, which cannot exceed two years.