IMMIGRATION: Q Visas - Cultural Exchange Visitors

Cultural Exchange Visas

Q Visas are for participants in an international cultural exchange program designed to provide practical training, employment and sharing of the participant’s native culture.

The training/employment must be approved in advance by the office United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the United States on the basis of an approved petition filed on form I-129Q, filed by a U.S. sponsor. A new petition must be filed each time a qualified employer wants to bring additional persons into the United States in Q status.

Before a petition may be filed with the USCIS, the following criteria must be met:

The cultural exchange program:

1. The culture-sharing must take place in a school, museum, business or other establishment where the public is exposed to aspects of a foreign culture as part of a structured program; the cultural component must be an essential and integral part of the participant’s employment and training, and must be designed to exhibit the attitude, customs, history, heritage, philosophy and/or tradition of the alien’s country of nationality; and the alien’s employment and training may not be independent of the cultural component.

2. The organization must demonstrate that it has the ability to conduct a responsible international cultural exchange program and has the financial ability to remunerate the participant and offer him/her wages and working conditions comparable to those accorded local domestic workers similarly employed.

3. The applicant must be at least 18 years of age, qualified to perform the stated service or labor or receive the specified type of training and have the ability to communicate effectively about his/her culture.

3. A Q visa petition is approved for the length of the program, or for fifteen months, whichever is shorter.

4. The holder of a Q visa who has spent fifteen months in the United States may not be issued a visa or be readmitted under the Q visa classification unless he/she has resided and been physically present outside the United States for one year.

What happens once the petition has been approved by the USCIS?

Once a Q petition isapproved, the applicant is required to apply for a visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate before traveling to the United States. The Notice of Action, form I-797A or B, is not valid for travel unless accompanied by the appropriate visa.

Spouses, Children & Partners:

There is no derivative visa category for spouses and children of the beneficiary of a Q petition. Spouses and/or children who wish to accompany the Q visa holder to the United States are required to qualify for visas in their own right, either visitor, employment authorized or student visas.

Reminder: No assurances regarding the issuance of visas can be can be given in advance. Therefore, final travel plans or the purchase of nonrefundable tickets should not be made until a visa has been issued.

Please see our Contact Page for our email address.

CLICK THE GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
TO RETURN TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE