Does my U.S. work visa prove that I am authorized to work in the U.S.?

A common misconception is that a Visa is the document that proves an individual is authorized to work in the U.S.  For people who obtained a U.S. visa that permits work in the U.S., it can be confusing to determine which documents are relevant for entering the U.S. and which are relevant for proving they are authorized to work in the U.S.

In some cases, a nonimmigrant worker will enter the U.S. and not travel for many years while others travel more frequently either for pleasure or work. For those that travel regularly, it is common to confuse their work visa validity with their work authorization validity. In some cases, the validity of the visa will match the validity of the work authorization, but not always. Many nonimmigrant workers believe that the date the work visa expires is the same date that the work authorization expires, but this is not always the case. A visa is just a travel document that allows a person to apply for entry to the U.S. Once they are admitted to the U.S., the visa status and end date on their Form I-94 will control how long they are allowed to stay in the U.S. and whether they are allowed to work.

Depending on the Visa type, the documents needed to prove work authorization can vary. Below is a breakdown of some of the most common Visa types and the documents that qualify an individual to work in the U.S.

• E-1/E-2 Visa – These petitions can be filed from within the U.S. with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) or at a US Consulate abroad. If you are already in the U.S. and the petition is filed as a change or extension of status, then after the petition is approved by USCIS you will receive a Form I-797 Approval Notice with an I-94 attached. This I-94 allows you to work and live in the U.S. If you plan to travel outside of the U.S., you will need to apply for a visa directly at a U.S. Consulate. If the US Consulate approves the visa, then you will enter the U.S. on the visa and you will receive an I-94 that shows how long you can stay in the U.S. and work.
• H-1B Visa – If you are already in the U.S. and the H1B petition was filed as a change or extension of status, then after the petition is approved by USCIS you will receive a Form I-797 Approval Notice with an I-94 attached. This I-94 allows you to work and live in the U.S. If you plan to travel outside of the U.S., you will need to apply for an H-1B visa at a U.S. Consulate or port of entry (Canadian Nationals only). If the H-1B petition was not filed as a change or extension of status then the I-797 Approval Notice will not include an I-94 record at the bottom and you will need to apply for the H1B visa at a U.S. Consulate or port of entry. Once you enter on the H1B visa, you will get a new I-94 that shows how long you can stay in the U.S. and work.
• TN Visa – Canadian and Mexican Nationals have the option to apply for TN status. Mexican nationals must apply at a U.S. Consulate and Canadians can apply at a port of entry. Mexican nationals will get a TN visa stamp in their passports and Canadian applicants will have the TN noted in their passport but will not receive a visa stamp. When they enter the U.S. using the TN visa stamp or notation in the passport, their I-94 record is the proof of their work authorization. It is also possible to apply to change to TN status or extend TN status from within the U.S. with USCIS. If the applicant applies with USCIS, they will receive a Form I-797 Approval Notice with the I-94 attached at the bottom which allows them to work.
• E-3 – Australian Nationals can apply for E-3 status through USCIS or apply for an E-3 visa at the U.S. Consulate. If the petition is submitted to USCIS, the individual will receive a Form I-797 Approval Notice with I-94 attached, which serves as proof of work authorization. E-3 applicants can also apply for a Visa at a U.S. Consulate and once they enter the U.S., they will receive a Form I-94 showing the work-authorized status. For the E-3, it is especially important to keep track of the expiration date of the Labor Condition Application (LCA) and the I-94 expiration date, as often the I-94 will have a different date and you need both the LCA and the I-94 to be valid in order to continue working in the U.S.
• L-1A/B – L-1s are not country specific like the E-1, E-2, E-3 & TN categories. Most L-1 petitions must be approved by USCIS first (there are exceptions for L-1 blanket petitions, which are not discussed in this post). Similar to the H-1B, the L-1 can be filed as a change or extension of status, meaning that after the petition is approved by USCIS you will receive a Form I-797 Approval Notice with an I-94 attached. It can also be filed using consular processing, where the applicant will apply for a visa at the US consulate after the USCIS approval. They will receive an I-94 after entering the U.S. on the L-1 visa. The I-94 is proof of work authorization.

As shown above, for many work visa categories the most important document for proving you are authorized to work in the U.S. is Form I-94. Form I-94 is either issued by USCIS as part of an approval notice, or is available online through the Customs & Border Protection website after you enter the U.S. on your work visa.

A fun fact many do not know is that while many visa types, such as H, L & O are able to apply for a visa based on their USCIS Approval Notice, others, such as the E-1, E-2 and E-3 are not able to rely on these USCIS approvals. For E visas, U.S. Consulates will not defer to an approval from USCIS and the applicant must submit a brand-new petition to the U.S. Consulate in order to obtain a visa.