H-3 Visas for Trainees

The H-3 visa permits the temporary admission of foreign nationals to receive training in various industries, except for graduate medical education or training, so they may pursue their profession in their home country.  An H-3 trainee visa is petition based and requires a US entity to sponsor the trainee.

Eligibility for the H-3

There are several requirements for the H-3 petition, which are the following:

• The proposed training is unavailable in the foreign national’s home country
• The foreign national must not be placed in a position that is in the normal operation of the business in which U.S. workers are normally employed
• The training must not be productive employment unless it is incidental and necessary to the training
• The training will benefit the foreign national in pursuing a career outside the U.S.
• Must not be for foreign nationals who already possess substantial training and expertise in the proposed field of training
• Must prove nonimmigrant intent

Sponsoring Organization Obligations

The US sponsoring organization must also meet several requirements in order to bring an H-3 trainee to the US successfully:

• The training should be related to the sponsoring organization’s business (It is helpful if the purpose of the training is to prepare the foreign national for work outside the U.S. that will benefit the sponsoring organization)
• The aim must not be to staff the sponsoring organization’s U.S. domestic operations or train the foreign national in a field in which the knowledge gained is unlikely to be used outside the U.S.
• The sponsoring organization must establish its ability to provide the training

Training Program

The sponsoring organization must provide a Training Manual to USCIS. It should include:

• Kind of training, structure of training, and the supervision to be given
• Proportion of time that will be productive employment
• Number of hours of classroom training and on-the-job training
• The job and duties for which the training will prepare the foreign national
• Reasons why the foreign national cannot obtain this training in home country
• Reasons why the training program benefits the sponsoring organization
• Information about whether the training is paid or includes room and board

Duration of H-3 Status

An H-3 visa is granted for two years. No extensions or changes of status are allowed unless the foreign national has resided outside the U.S. for 6 months or longer. This rule does not apply if the training is seasonal, intermittent or less than 6 months.

If you have questions or think you might want to file an H-3 visa, please contact Boulder attorney Catherine Brown at 303-322-2117.