H-3 Nonimmigrant Trainee or Special Education Exchange Visitor
Lets a US employer or organization bring a foreign national to the US to receive practical training not available in the trainee's home country, for a career to be pursued abroad, or to participate in a structured special-education exchange program working with children who have disabilities. It is explicitly not meant to provide US employment.
- Срок
- Up to 2 years for trainees; up to 18 months for special education exchange visitors.
- Продление
- Extensions are possible up to the applicable maximum (2 years for trainees, 18 months for special education exchange visitors) via Form I-129; a training program may not be used to extend practical training previously authorized for a nonimmigrant student.
- Работа
- Not general US employment; any productive work must be incidental and necessary to the training itself, not the primary purpose. Trainees may not be placed in positions within the normal operation of the business where US citizens/residents are regularly employed.
- Двойное намерение
- Нет
- Члены семьи
- Spouse and unmarried children under 21 may accompany in H-4 status; not authorized to work.
- Путь к грин-карте
- No path; H-3 is designed explicitly for training toward a career to be pursued outside the United States and carries no dual intent or immigrant-track allowance.
- Срок рассмотрения
- Standard USCIS service center processing; premium processing available for a 15-business-day decision at $2,965.
- Годовая квота и очереди
- Special education exchange visitors: capped at 50 approvals per fiscal year (reported reached for FY2026 as of the current USCIS alert, with the program now accepting FY2027 petitions with Oct. 1, 2026 start dates). Ordinary trainees: no numerical cap.
Кто подходит
- Trainee route: an individual invited to receive training (in agriculture, commerce, communications, finance, government, transportation, or another field) that is unavailable in the person's home country and that will benefit a career pursued outside the US
- Special education exchange visitor route: a person nearing completion of, or already holding, a bachelor's or higher degree in special education, or with extensive prior training/experience teaching children with disabilities
- Not for people who already possess substantial expertise in the proposed field, or whose real purpose is domestic staffing or extending prior student practical training
Требования
- Detailed training-program statement covering supervision, structure, proportion of productive-vs-classroom time, career benefit abroad, and why the training is unavailable at home
- Program cannot deal in generalities, lack a fixed schedule/objectives, be incompatible with the petitioner's business, or exist mainly to staff US operations
- Petitioner must show it has the physical plant and trained staff to actually provide the described training
- For special education exchange visitors, the facility must have professionally trained staff and a structured program, and any custodial childcare must be incidental to training
Как подать
- 1
US employer or organization prepares a detailed training-program statement meeting all regulatory criteria
- 2
Employer/organization files Form I-129 with USCIS, including the statement and supporting evidence of the facility, staff, and program structure
- 3
Once approved, the trainee applies for an H-3 visa abroad (if required) and seeks admission at a port of entry
Сборы и формы
| Form I-129 filing fee, H-3 classification | $1,015; $510 for a small employer (25 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees) or a nonprofit. One petition may cover up to 25 beneficiaries. |
| Asylum Program Fee | $600 / $300 (small entity) / $0 (nonprofit), applies to all Form I-129 classifications |
| Premium processing (Form I-907, optional) | $2,965 (effective March 1, 2026) |
| Nonimmigrant visa application fee (MRV), petition-based category | $205.00 |
| Visa Integrity Fee (Public Law 119-21 sec. 100007) | $250 statutory minimum, inflation adjusted. Enacted July 4, 2025 but absent from the State Department Schedule of Fees for Consular Services as of September 2026 (unverified whether collected at any given post). |
Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, with H Classification Supplement and required training-program statement
Что изменилось в 2025 и 2026 годах
- reported on current USCIS alert (page last updated 2026-08-28): USCIS reached the 50-person special education exchange visitor cap for FY2026 (Oct. 1, 2025-Sept. 30, 2026) and is administratively closing petitions for that period while accepting FY2027 petitions with Oct. 1, 2026 start dates
- 2025-09-02 / updated 2025-10-01: State Department's narrowed interview-waiver policy applies to H-3 applicants, generally requiring an in-person interview with no H-3-specific carve-out (unlike the one created for H-2A renewals)
Где чаще всего ошибаются
- Designing a training program that is really a disguised staffing arrangement - USCIS explicitly rejects programs meant to recruit and train workers for ultimate domestic staffing
- Petitioning for someone who already has substantial expertise in the field, which undercuts the required showing that training is genuinely needed
- Treating H-3 as a general work visa - any productive employment must be incidental to training, not the point of the placement
- Special education exchange visitor petitions are capped at only 50/year nationally, so the cap can be reached well before fiscal year end
Также в категории Temporary worker
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