Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 101(a)(15)
- Ambassadors, ministers, diplomats, consular officials, accredited foreign government employees and personal servants.
- Business visitor or visitor for pleasure – Alien having a foreign residence which he has no intention of abandoning and who is visiting the U.S. temporarily.
- Alien in immediate and continuous transit through the U.S.
- Alien crewman.
- Treaty trader or investor – Solely to carry on substantial trade between U.S. and his country or to develop and direct operations of enterprise in which he has invested or is actively in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital.
- Student – Alien having a foreign residence which he has no intention of abandoning and attending an accredited school.
- Member of international organization or de jure government official.
- Specialty Occupation – Requiring theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge and attainment of a Bachelor’s or higher degree or its equivalent or a fashion model; labor certified temporary worker and industrial trainee having a foreign residence which he has no intention of abandoning.
- Member of foreign press, radio, or information media.
- Exchange student, scholar, trainee, teacher coming to teach lecture or study – alien having a foreign residence that he has no intention of abandoning.
- Fiancé or fiancée of U.S. Citizen; spouses of U.S. citizens married outside of the United States waiting approval of their immigrant visa petitions.
- Intra-company transferee – Alien who within 3 years preceding the application has been employed by a firm or corporation or other legal entity at least one year continuously and will be coming to the U.S. temporarily to work for the same employer or a subsidiary or affiliate in a managerial, executive, or position of specialized knowledge.
- Vocational or non-academic student – Alien having a foreign residence which he has no intention of abandoning and accepted to attend accredited school.
- Parents and children of certain special immigrants.
- Alien with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim, or demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in movies or television or accompanists and assistants as integral part of actual performance with critical skills and experience not of a general nature with a foreign residence with no intention of abandoning.
- Alien with foreign residence with no intention of abandoning who is an athlete, individually or part of a team at an internationally recognized performance and with a sustained and substantial relationship with the group for one year entering U.S. temporarily and solely for the purpose of performing as artist or entertainer.
- Alien with foreign residence with no intention of abandoning coming temporarily as part of an international cultural exchange program to provide practical training, employment and the sharing of history, culture and traditions of one’s home country and employed under the same wages and working conditions as domestic workers.
- Alien who for two years immediately preceding application has been a member of a religious denomination having a bona fide non- profit, religious organization in the United States entering for a period not to exceed five years as a minister of a religious denomination.
- Alien who possesses certain reliable information critical to a federal or a state government investigation and/or prosecution of an individual in a criminal organization or enterprise OR an alien who possesses critical information sought by certain federal authorities and who might be placed in danger for supplying such information and who is eligible for the “terrorism information” (reward).
- Victims of international trafficking in persons
- Victims of spousal or child abuse
- Spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents who have been waiting more than three years for
permanent resident to enter the United States and be granted work authorization.