Is there a visa for foreigners’ training programs in the U.S.?

While there are many immigrants who want to come to Miami and other locations throughout the United States to live and work, there are also foreign nationals who receive an invitation to take part in training programs offered in the U.S. These people are known as H-3 trainees. Some might be confused as to the legality of a situation such as this and therefore do not understand how it works. An H-3 trainee is required to have been invited by an organization, a business or an individual. The training they will receive must not be available in the home country of the person.

An H-3 trainee is not allowed to take part in productive employment while in the U.S. except in cases where the work is part of the training and does not involve jobs in which U.S. citizens and workers with a work visa and legal status are employed. The training is required to provide benefit for the person who is seeking a career outside of the U.S. The fields that a person can receive H-3 status are: industrial; agricultural; commerce; finance; communications; transportation; and government, among others.

The healthcare industry also has certain waivers to allow a foreign national to have legal status as a trainee if the foreign hospital is approved by the American Medical Association or the American Osteopathic Association. The training the H-3 person will receive is an “extern” while on vacation from medical school. Nurses can be given H-3 status if the nurse-beneficiary does not have status as H-1; if the training will benefit the nurse-beneficiary and the foreign employer; and if the petitioner shows that there is a need for the nurse-beneficiary to have the training that is not available in the foreign country. There is also an H-3 special education exchange for those who are working with special needs people who are emotionally, mentally or physically disabled.

While this is not a work visa, it is a method for a prospective immigrant to have legal status for a trainee program under US immigration law.

Source: uscis.gov, “Chapter 2 — H-3 Categories,” accessed on June 7, 2016