United States
ChileVerified against official sources
Which visa do I need?
The answer depends entirely on your situation and on what you need to do: work, travel for tourism or business, invest, or move for good. Take this quick test and we will tell you which category to start with.
Every US visa category works differently, and the answer that fits an H-1B rarely fits an E-2. These are 107 questions grouped by category, each answered on its own page with the figure, the source and the date it was checked.
- categories
- 15
- answers
- 107
- sourced
- 100%
Work
Take a job with a US employer, or settle permanently through one.
H-1B1 Visa
The only category with an allocation reserved for Chile: 1,400 visas a year under the free trade agreement, processed at the consulate with no lottery and no prior USCIS petition.
Dedicated pageH-1B Visa
The H-1B is the US work visa for specialty occupations. It carries an annual cap of 65,000 visas plus 20,000 reserved for holders of a US master's degree or higher, and access is decided through a registration with USCIS each March. A Chilean professional should almost always evaluate the H-1B1 first, which does not compete in that selection.
14 questionsL-1 Visa
The L-1 lets a multinational company transfer an executive, manager or specialised-knowledge employee from an office outside the United States to one inside it. It requires at least one continuous year of employment with that company within the preceding three years. There is no annual cap and no selection process.
8 questionsO-1 Visa
The O-1 is the visa for individuals of extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, athletics or the arts. It has no annual cap and no lottery, requires no university degree, and renews indefinitely in one-year increments. Eligibility is shown by meeting at least three of eight evidentiary criteria, or by a major international award.
8 questionsH-2A Visa
The H-2A lets a US employer hire foreign workers for temporary or seasonal agricultural work. It has no annual cap, requires no university degree, and obliges the employer to pay a regulated wage floor as well as cover housing and transport. In exchange, the job must be genuinely temporary: a permanent vacancy does not qualify.
8 questionsH-2B Visa
The H-2B covers temporary work that is not agricultural: hospitality, tourism, landscaping, construction, food processing and amusement parks, among others. It requires no university degree, but it does carry an annual cap of 66,000 visas and a prior Department of Labor certification. The employer must prove its need is temporary, not that the role is hard to fill.
8 questionsPermanent residence
Settling permanently: the five EB categories, from extraordinary ability to investment.
EB Green Card
The EB categories are the employment-based routes to permanent residence. They run from EB-1, for extraordinary ability and multinational managers, to EB-5, requiring an US$800,000 investment in a targeted employment area. Chile's structural advantage is that it does not carry the priority-date backlogs affecting high-demand countries.
8 questionsEB-1 Green Card
The EB-1 is the first preference for employment-based residence and covers three distinct routes: extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers, and multinational managers. None of the three requires PERM labour certification — the stage that lengthens the other categories most — and only the EB-1A lets you apply without an employer.
6 questionsEB-2 Green Card
The EB-2 is for professionals with an advanced degree or exceptional ability. In its standard form it requires a job offer and PERM certification, but the National Interest Waiver removes both where the work has substantial merit and national importance. That exception is why many researchers and founders choose this category.
6 questionsEB-3 Green Card
The EB-3 covers three subgroups: professionals with a bachelor's degree, skilled workers with at least two years of training or experience, and other workers for roles requiring less than two years. All require a job offer and PERM certification. It is the widest entry point to employment-based residence, and also the most in demand.
6 questionsEB-4 Green Card
The EB-4 covers so-called special immigrants: religious workers, certain international-organisation employees, some physicians, translators who served the US armed forces, and minors under special immigrant juvenile status, among others. It is the most heterogeneous category in the system and is filed on form I-360 rather than the I-140.
5 questionsEB-5 Green Card
The EB-5 grants permanent residence in exchange for an investment that creates US jobs. The amount is US$800,000 in a targeted employment area or infrastructure project, and US$1,050,000 otherwise. The investment must create or preserve at least ten full-time jobs, and the amounts adjust for inflation.
6 questionsBusiness
Invest in, buy or run your own company in the United States.
Tourism and travel
Travel for tourism, meetings, trade shows or interviews.
ESTA / Visa Waiver
Chile has been the only Latin American country in the Visa Waiver Program since 2014. ESTA is an electronic travel authorisation, not a visa: it costs US$40.27 as of 1 January 2026, is valid for two years or until the passport expires, and allows stays of up to 90 days that cannot be extended.
8 questionsB-1/B-2 Visa
The B-1/B-2 is the temporary visitor visa: B-1 for business and B-2 for tourism, medical treatment or family visits. Neither authorises work in the United States. The MRV consular fee is US$185 and the process starts with the DS-160 form and a consular interview.
8 questionsInitial consultation free
We offer you a free consultation to evaluate your eligibility, without commitment or additional costs.
Alliances and Memberships
Our alliances allow us to accompany you from the first step to your arrival in USA.