There are more ways to come to the United States as a non-immigrant (temporary stay) than there are letters in the alphabet. However, even if you potentially qualify under one of these categories, you still have to prove non-immigrant intent; meaning that when you interview at the closest U.S. consulate or when you approach a Customs and Border Patrol Officer at the port of entry, you have to prove to them that you ultimately have the intent to return to your country of origin after your stay in the United States is over. Proof of non-immigrant intent may consist of producing pay stubs from your job, deeds from property that you own and other proof that ultimately your intent is to return back to your home country.

Assuming you can prove non-immigrant intent, consider the following visas available for travel to the United States:

• A Visa - Foreign Government Officials
• B Visa - Temporary Visitors 
• B-1 - Visitor for business
• B-2 - Visitor for pleasure – tourism, sightseeing, visiting relative​
• C Visa - Foreign Nationals in Transit
• D Visa - Crewmen (D1 and D2)
• E Visa - Treaty Traders and Investors
• F Visa - Academic Students
• F-1 - Student
• F-2 - Spouse or child of F1 student
• G Visa - Foreign Government Officials to International Organizations (G1- 5)
• H Visa - Temporary Workers
• H-1B - Engineers, scientists, specialty occupations, models, etc.
• H-1C - Nurses working in health professional shortage areas
• H-2A -Agricultural worker
• H-2B -Temporary worker, skilled and unskilled
• H-3 - Trainee
• H-4 - Spouse or child of H-1, H-2 or H-3
• I Visa - Foreign Media Representatives
• J Visa - Exchange Visitors
• J-1 - Exchange visitor
• J-2 - Spouse or child of J-1
• K Visa - Spouse or Fiance(e) of U.S. Citizen
• K-1 - Fiance(e)
• K-2 - Minor child of K-1
• K-3 - Spouse of U.S. citizen
• K-4 - Child of K-3
• L Visa - Intracompany Transferee
• L-1A - Executives, managers
• L-1B - Specialized knowledge
• L-2 - Spouse or child of L-1
• M Visa - Non-Academic Students
• M-1 - Vocational, language, or other non-academic student
• M-2 - Spouse or child of M-1
• N Visa - Special Immigrants
• NAFTA Visa – North American Free Trade Agreement
• NATO Visa – North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• O Visa - Workers with Extraordinary Abilities
• O-1 - Extraordinary ability in science, arts, education, business or athletics
• O-2 - Alien accompanying O-1
• O-3 - Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2
• P Visa - Athletes and Entertainers
• Q Visa - International Cultural Exchange Visitors
• R Visa - Religious Workers
• S Visa - Witness or Informant
• T Visa - Victims of Severe Form of Trafficking in Persons
• TN Visa - Trade visas for Canadians and Mexicans
• TD Visa - Spouse or child of TN
• TPS Visa - Temporary Protected Status
• TWOV Visa - Transit Without Visa (Passenger or Crew)
• U Visa - Victims of Certain Crimes