Other Work Categories
Most foreign employees at Carnegie Mellon are employed as either J-1 researchers/professors, H-1B employees or as other visitors. However, other non-immigrant categories allow for employment or formal visits. These categories include B, J-2 employment, O and TN status.
OIE offers orientation, information and assistance to these employees even when OIE is not directly involved in helping you obtain such work status.
Inviting Visitors - B vs J status
Professional visitors coming to the CMU campus in Pittsburgh who are not citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. will most likely enter the U.S. in B Visitor or J scholar status, depending on the nature, duration and purpose of their visit to the Pittsburgh campus.
B Visitors & Visa Waiver Program
The B non-immigrant category permits temporary entry to the U.S. for business (B-1 visa) or pleasure (B-2 visa). As a general rule, the B visitor category is not intended for employment. There are, however, some allowances for reimbursement of "reasonable" expenses and for honorarium paid to individuals who will be at an academic institution for nine days or less and have not been paid by more than five institutions in the previous six-month period. Individuals may discuss this option with the sponsoring department.
J-2 Employment
J-2 dependents are able to apply for and receive work authorization in the U.S. Most spouses and working-age children of non-immigrants in the U.S. are not allowed to work.
O-1 Worker of Extraordinary Ability
The O-1 nonimmigrant category is for the employment of individuals who have achieved and sustained national or international acclaim for extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, athletics and other fields. Like an H-1B petition, the employer (not the individual) is the petitioner. The application is "employer-specific" in that the worker must be authorized explicitly for each employer for the specific period of time requested in the USCIS application.
TN Professionals Under NAFTA
The TN category was developed as a part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), to facilitate the entry of Canadian and Mexican citizens to the U.S. to engage in certain professional business activities on a temporary basis. While the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has replaced NAFTA, the TN status remains available under the terms of the new agreement.
E-3 for Australians
The E-3 Australian Specialty Occupation Workers category resulted from the Australian-United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) to facilitate the entry of Australian citizens to work in the U.S. in "specialty occupations."