Q Cultural Exchange Visa

Are you seeking to participate in an international cultural exchange program designated by the USCIS that is intended to share the culture, traditions, history of your home country or to provide practical training and employment? If so, the Q visa may be for you.

How to become eligible for the Q visa?

Because the nonimmigrant Q visa is to promote the sharing of international cultures, the Q visa petition can only be filed by a U.S. employer who provides cultural exchange programs. The prospective Q visa holder must be at least 18 years old.

How to apply for a Q visa?

It is the U.S. employer who files the petition along with proof that the employer has an established international cultural exchange program (brochures, catalogs) which aims to provide an overall perspective of the tradition, culture, history, customs of the participant’s home country.

Are there any other requirements?

The U.S. employer must show that it has the financial means to pay for the prospective Q visa holder during his or her temporary stay in the United States and will provide working conditions that are similar to that offered to U.S. workers.

How long for a Q visa is valid?

The Q visa will be issued for up to 15 months. Once the program is completed, the participant has 30 days to depart the United States.

If the participant is seeking to enter a new cultural exchange program, he or she must wait one year outside the United States before he or she can re-apply.

Can the participant bring dependents along?

Unfortunately, the Q nonimmigrant visa does not allow for the Q visa holder to bring his or her dependents (spouse or children) to the United States during the validity period of the Q visa.

For more information, please see https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/q-cultural-exchange

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