There are a number of visas available to non immigrant workers.
Temporary workers can work in the U.S. after a petition is submitted by the future employer in the United States and is approved by the USCIS. H-1B Visas (Specialty Occupations Workers) are the most widely used and are issued to college-educated professionals (e.g. software programmers). On this visa, they can work for a total of six years in the U.S. H-1C Visas are for Registered Nurses, H-2A are for Agricultural Workers and H-2B for Non Agricultural Workers, H-3 for Trainees.
The L Visa is for Intra-Company Transferees who are executives or managers of foreign-based companies having an office in the U.S. Other visas providing for a right to work are E (Treaty Trader/Investor), Q (Cultural Exchange Workers), P (Athletes, Entertainment Groups, Artists), O (Aliens with Extraordinary Ability), and TN (Mexican and Canadian Professionals under NAFTA Agreement). For your convenience, there is a separate page for each type of work visa with its detailed description on our website.