Common Visa Types

There are dozens of U.S. visa categories. The following are the most commonly found at UT Dallas among the student population.

For information about international faculty and researchers contact the Human Resources department.

Category	Description	Degree Study Allowed	Campus Work Allowed	Proof of Work Authorization
B-1/B-2	Tourist or business traveler	No	No	N/A
E-1/E-2	Investor dependent	Yes	Yes	USCIS Employment Authorization Document (EAD)
F-1	Student	Yes	Yes	F-1 status (valid I-20)
F-1 OPT	Student	No	Yes	USCIS Employment Authorization Document (EAD)
F-2	Dependent	No	No	N/A
H-1B	Skilled employee	Yes	No	N/A, unless H-1B obtained through UTD to work at UTD.
H-4	Dependent	Yes	No	None. Common for students to change to F-1. Cannot be employed until change of status is approved.
J-1	Exchange visitor	Yes	Yes	Written permission from ISSO
J-2	Dependent	Yes	Yes	USCIS Employment Authorization Document (EAD)
L-1	Company transfer	Yes	No	N/A
L-2	Dependent	Yes	Yes	USCIS Employment Authorization Document (EAD)
TN	NAFTA employee	Yes	No	Status contingent on outside employment
TD	NAFTA dependent	Yes	No	N/A