Types of US Work Visas Compared: H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, E-3 and OPT in One Table, With What Changed in 2026
Six work options, one table. See who files, how long each lasts, whether there is a lottery, and which 2026 rules are in effect versus only proposed.
If you are on F-1 or OPT and trying to figure out which US work visa could keep you in the country, the short answer is this: the main types of work visa for USA are the H-1B (specialty occupations, lottery-based for most employers), the L-1 (transfer within one multinational company), the O-1 (extraordinary ability), the TN (Canadian and Mexican citizens), the E-3 (Australian citizens), and OPT, which is not a visa at all but work authorization attached to your F-1 status. Which one is open to you depends on your citizenship, your employer, your degree and your track record.
The table below puts all six side by side, followed by what changed in 2026, labelled in effect, proposed or blocked.
Status line, as of 2026-10-14. In effect: the 9-11 Response and Biometric fee on certain H-1B and L-1 extensions (since 2026-09-09), wage-weighted H-1B selection, expanded online-presence screening for TN and TD visa applicants (since 2026-10-01), and the final rule ending automatic EAD extensions (2026-10-14). Blocked: the $100,000 H-1B fee, by two court orders. Proposed only: eliminating the 60-day worker grace period, removing deference to prior approvals, the $103,265 cap-subject H-1B fee, and new OPT fees. Not announced: FY2028 H-1B registration dates.
Types of work visa for USA: the comparison table (as of October 2026)
| H-1B | L-1 (A / B) | O-1 | TN | E-3 | OPT / STEM OPT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Specialty occupation needing at least a bachelor's or equivalent in a related field | Managers/executives (L-1A) or specialized-knowledge staff (L-1B) moving within one company | People with extraordinary ability and sustained acclaim in their field | Canadian and Mexican citizens in a USMCA-listed profession | Australian citizens in a specialty occupation | F-1 students and recent graduates working in their field of study |
| Citizenship limit | None | None | None | Canada or Mexico only | Australia only | None (must hold F-1) |
| Who files | Employer: LCA with DOL, then Form I-129 with USCIS | Employer: Form I-129 (or a blanket L petition) | US employer or US agent: Form I-129 plus an advisory opinion | Canadians usually at a port of entry or preclearance; Mexicans apply for a visa at a consulate; or the employer files I-129 | Employer LCA, then a consular visa application or an I-129 inside the US | You file Form I-765 after your DSO recommends OPT in SEVIS |
| Lottery / cap | Yes for cap-subject employers (65,000 + 20,000 master's); cap-exempt employers skip it | No | No | No | Has its own annual numerical limit | No |
| Prior employment needed | No | Yes, one continuous year abroad with the related company in the last three years | No, but evidence of acclaim | No | No | No |
| How long it lasts | Up to 3 years per approval, generally 6 years total | L-1A up to 7 years total; L-1B up to 5 | Up to 3 years initially, then 1-year extensions | Up to 3 years per admission, renewable | Up to 2 years per grant, renewable | 12 months, plus a 24-month STEM extension if eligible |
| Unemployment allowance | 60-day worker grace period (proposed for elimination) | Same | Same | Same | Same | 90 days on OPT; 150 days total with STEM OPT |
| Green card intent allowed | Yes (dual intent) | Yes (dual intent) | Pursuing a green card is not by itself a reason to deny | No, must show temporary intent | No, must show temporary intent | No, F-1 requires nonimmigrant intent |
| Spouse can work | Only with an H-4 EAD, in limited situations | Yes, incident to L-2 status | No | No (TD) | Yes, incident to E-3 dependent status | No (F-2) |
Durations are general maximums; your I-94 and your own approval notice govern over anything published here. "Dual intent" matters if you hope to move from an American work visa to a green card: an H-1B or L-1 holder can be the subject of a PERM case without undermining status, while TN and E-3 holders face a temporary-intent requirement, so timing is a question for an attorney. Our dual-intent comparison covers that in more depth. If you are Canadian or Mexican, our TN versus H-1B comparison walks through that trade-off in detail.
What changed in 2026, visa by visa
Many us work visa guides predate September 2026. This is the state of play as of 2026-10-14.
H-1B
- $100,000 entry restriction: extended on paper, blocked in practice. Proclamation 11069 (signed 2026-09-18) extends the restriction to 2027-09-21. The fee is not being collected because two courts blocked it: California v. Mullin (2026-06-08) and Global Nurse Force v. Trump (2026-09-30). Both are on appeal. The USCIS H-1B page says DHS will comply with the Massachusetts order and still plans to collect the payment if that order is later lifted. Our Proclamation 11069 explainer tracks the litigation.
- $103,265 cap-subject fee: proposed. Comments closed 2026-09-24. There is no final rule.
- 9-11 Response and Biometric fee: in effect since 2026-09-09. "Covered employers" (50 or more US employees, more than half in H-1B or L-1 status) pay $4,000 on H-1B extension-of-status petitions. Most H-1B employers are not covered.
- FY2027 cap reached with no second selection (announced 2026-07-17). FY2028 registration has not been announced; watch the USCIS registration page rather than blog predictions.
- Wage-weighted selection: in effect since 2026-02-27 and used for FY2027; higher wage levels get more lottery entries.
- EO 14431: in effect as a directive. It tells agencies to take employer layoffs into account. It has no implementing guidance and creates no automatic denial.
- Online-presence review has covered H-1B and H-4 visa applicants since 2025-12-15.
- End of automatic EAD extensions: in effect 2026-10-14. H-4 EAD renewals filed on or after 2025-10-30 get no automatic extension while pending. The H-4 EAD itself is not rescinded. See our explainer on the final rule.
L-1
- The 9-11 fee applies here too: covered employers pay $4,500 on L-1 extension-of-status petitions, in effect since 2026-09-09. Amended petitions that do not seek an extension are exempt.
O-1, TN and E-3
- TN: online-presence review was expanded to TN and TD visa applicants effective 2026-10-01. Because it applies to visa applicants, it mainly reaches people who need a TN visa stamp, which generally means Mexican nationals rather than visa-exempt Canadians. F, M and J applicants have been covered since June 2025.
- All three, plus H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, E-1 and E-2, are named in the proposed rule to eliminate the 60-day worker grace period. Comments close 2026-11-10. Today's grace period still applies.
- All three are also in scope of the proposed rule removing deference to prior USCIS approvals on extensions, published 2026-10-14 with comments closing 2026-11-13. The current deference rule applies until a final rule; our deference proposal explainer has the detail.
OPT and STEM OPT
- Duration-of-Status rule: blocked. A federal court postponed it and enjoined implementation on 2026-09-14 (Presidents' Alliance v. DHS). DHS appealed on 2026-09-30; the appeal does not revive the rule. D/S admission and the 60-day F-1 grace period still apply.
- OPT fees ($70,000 initial / $30,000 subsequent): proposed. The NPRM published 2026-10-08 and comments close 2026-11-09. The school is the legal payer and may pass the cost on. OPT does not cost $70,000 today.
- Unemployment limits are unchanged: 90 days on post-completion OPT and 150 days in aggregate with the STEM extension, per SEVP guidance.
Old rule, new rule, what to do differently
| Area | Before the change | As of October 2026 | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000 H-1B fee | Proclamation 10973, a 12-month entry restriction | Extended to 2027-09-21 by Proc. 11069, but blocked by two courts | Ask the employer's counsel how they are planning for an appeal outcome; do not assume the fee is gone or back |
| H-1B and L-1 extensions | No 9-11 fee on extensions | In effect 2026-09-09 for covered employers ($4,000 H-1B, $4,500 L-1) | Mostly an employer cost; ask HR whether your employer is a covered employer |
| Worker 60-day grace period | Available to H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, E-3 and others | Still available; elimination proposed | Keep an emergency plan; read our grace-period proposal explainer |
| TN visa screening | Standard review | Online-presence review in effect 2026-10-01 | Expect social-media vetting at the consulate; university advisers report profiles must be set to public |
| OPT costs | Standard I-765 fee | Large new fees proposed only | Plan on current fees; follow your DSO's updates |
How to get a work visa for USA: the general sequence
This explains how the process works, not what you should file.
- Find a category you can actually qualify for. Citizenship rules out TN and E-3 for most readers. L-1 needs a year with the same company abroad. O-1 needs documented acclaim. That leaves H-1B (and OPT before it) as the default path for most F-1 graduates.
- Line up a sponsor. Every category in the table except OPT needs a US employer behind it (for O-1, an employer or a US agent). None of these nonimmigrant categories can be self-petitioned.
- Labor Condition Application, where required. H-1B and E-3 employers file an LCA with the Department of Labor that commits them to pay at least the prevailing wage.
- USCIS petition or direct consular application. H-1B, L-1 and O-1 generally go through Form I-129; the USCIS I-129 page lists the 09/09/26 edition, and the 02/27/26 edition is accepted only if filed before 2026-11-09. See our Form I-129 explainer. TN and E-3 applicants often apply directly to a consulate or, for Canadian TNs, at the border.
- Change of status or visa stamping. If you are already in the US on F-1, your employer may request a change of status. If you need a visa stamp, apply in your country of nationality or legal residence; third-country stamping ended 2025-09-06, interview waivers (the "dropbox") have not been available for H-1B, H-4, L-1, F-1 and J-1 applicants since 2025, and there is no domestic H-1B renewal program.
- Admission and your I-94. Your period of stay is set at entry or in the approval. Check the I-94 every time you travel.
Consular wait times change weekly, so use the live State Department wait-times tool instead of any number you see quoted. If you are a national of one of the 39 countries under Proclamation 10998 (in effect, unchanged since 2026-01-01), check the State Department guidance before you plan any trip.
If the H-1B lottery did not go your way
With FY2027 closed and FY2028 unannounced, the realistic moves are usually a cap-exempt employer (universities, affiliated nonprofits, and nonprofit or government research organizations), STEM OPT time, an O-1 if your record supports it, or a treaty visa if your passport allows. Our guide to alternative work visas if you were not selected in the H-1B lottery covers each path. If you are weighing extraordinary ability against another lottery attempt, see O-1 versus H-1B.
Which of these fits your facts is a question for a licensed immigration attorney; questions about your OPT, STEM OPT or SEVIS record go to your school's DSO. They are not interchangeable.
Common mistakes
- Treating OPT as a work visa. OPT is F-1 work authorization that ends with your EAD; a work visa is a separate filing.
- Repeating headlines as rules. "The $100k fee is back," "the grace period is gone" and "OPT now costs $70,000" are all false as of October 2026. The first is blocked; the other two are proposals.
- Conflating the two 60-day grace periods. The F-1 grace period after your program or OPT ends is intact; the worker grace period is the one DHS proposes to eliminate.
- Traveling while an OPT or STEM OPT I-765 is pending. Do not plan international travel in that window without speaking to your DSO first.
- Assuming TN or E-3 work like H-1B for green cards. Both require temporary intent; get legal advice before starting an immigrant petition.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main types of work visa for the USA?
For most international students the realistic options are the H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN (Canadians and Mexicans), E-3 (Australians) and OPT, which is F-1 work authorization rather than a visa. Each has its own eligibility rules, filer and maximum stay.
How long do work visas last in the US?
H-1B: up to three years per approval, generally six in total. L-1A: seven years; L-1B: five. O-1, TN and E-3 can be extended repeatedly while you keep qualifying. Post-completion OPT is 12 months, plus 24 months for eligible STEM graduates. Your I-94, not the visa stamp, shows how long you may stay.
Is the $100,000 H-1B fee being charged in 2026?
No. Proclamation 11069 extends the entry restriction to 2027-09-21, but the fee is blocked by California v. Mullin (2026-06-08) and Global Nurse Force v. Trump (2026-09-30), both on appeal. USCIS says DHS still plans to collect it if the court order is lifted.
Did the 60-day grace period for H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN and E-3 workers end?
No. DHS has only proposed eliminating it; comments close 2026-11-10, and the current grace period applies until a final rule. The separate F-1 60-day grace period also remains in place.
Picking the category is half the battle; the other half is finding an employer willing to file for it. If you want help building a search around sponsoring employers while your OPT clock runs, talk to F1Jobs.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main types of work visa for the USA
For most international students and early-career professionals the realistic options are the H-1B specialty-occupation visa, the L-1 intracompany transfer, the O-1 for extraordinary ability, the TN for Canadian and Mexican citizens, the E-3 for Australian citizens, and OPT, which is work authorization tied to F-1 student status rather than a separate visa. Each has different eligibility rules, a different filer and a different maximum stay.
How long do work visas last in the US
It depends on the category. H-1B status is granted in periods of up to three years with a general six-year maximum, L-1A tops out at seven years and L-1B at five, while O-1, TN and E-3 can be extended repeatedly as long as you keep qualifying. Post-completion OPT lasts 12 months, and eligible STEM graduates can add a 24-month extension. Your I-94 record, not the visa stamp, shows how long you may actually stay.
Is the $100,000 H-1B fee being charged in 2026
No. Proclamation 11069, signed on 2026-09-18, extends the entry restriction to 2027-09-21, but the fee is blocked by two federal court orders, California v. Mullin from 2026-06-08 and Global Nurse Force v. Trump from 2026-09-30. Both are on appeal, and USCIS says DHS still plans to collect the payment if the court order is lifted, so check the USCIS H-1B page before relying on any answer.
Did the 60-day grace period for H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN and E-3 workers end
No. DHS has only proposed eliminating the discretionary 60-day worker grace period, and comments close on 2026-11-10. Until a final rule is published, the current grace period still applies. This proposal is separate from the F-1 60-day grace period after a program or OPT ends, which is also still in place.