Engineers work visas
Usually, Engineers enter the United States on a non-immigrant employment visa rather than an immigrant visa (green card) because non-immigrant visas are faster to obtain. While on a non-immigrant status, engineers may simultaneously start the immigration process by filing an Application for Alien Labor Certification.
The most common temporary work visa is the H1-b temporary work visa, the professional working visa. In order to qualify for the H1-b visa, the engineer must be a graduate of a four-year University and will be employed in a job related to the engineer’s field of study. For example, an alien with a four- year degree in a Engineering is eligible for a professional H1-b work visa if he or she will be employed as an engineer or in a related field.
For Example: Because many of a mechanical engineer’s degree requirements coincide with that of a civil engineer’s or a mathematics major’s, or a physics major’s, there may be many fields for which an engineer can apply to obtain an H-1B visa outside of Engineering, such as a computer programmer, etc….
While the H-b requires the completion of a four-year college or university program, the INS, nonetheless, recognizes that experience is as capable a teacher as a university classroom. For working engineers who have less than a four year university education, the INS will allow him/ her to qualify for a H1-b visa by substituting three years of progressive work experience for each year of college the engineer is missing from that of a four year degree.
The H1-b visa is generally valid for three years and can be renewed for an additional three years giving the engineer a total of 6 years of temporary employment in the United States. During the temporary six years of employment, the sponsoring company can sponsor the engineer for a green card, which is discussed below.
Another non-immigrant visa possibly available to computer professionals is the O visa. O visas are the "extraordinary ability visas", available to engineers in their field who have demonstrated sustained national or international acclaim. For this category, extraordinary ability refers to engineers who have risen to "a level of expertise indicating that the engineer is one of the small percentage who … (are) in the very top of the field of endeavor." Evidence of eligibility for an O include patents, awards, publications and other scholarly work, peer reviews, speaking engagements, etc. Non-Immigrant O visas are approved for one to three year increments and can be renewed indefinitely. Further if the engineer can qualify for an O visa because of his/her achievement in computer research and development, then he or she should be able to qualify to self petition himself or herself as a member of the First Preference Employment-based Immigration Category for a green card.