Most Nepalis start as F-1 students. Registered nurses can be sponsored straight for a green card, with their family. H-1B work visas are a lottery, and the DV lottery isn't open right now.
Why Nepalis go: The world's biggest economy, top universities, and high salaries in fields like IT, engineering, nursing and healthcare.
The catch: There is no points-based PR system. Most people need an employer or family to sponsor them, H-1B is a lottery, and US rules changed a lot in 2025–2026.
Most common route: F-1 student → OPT work (1–3 years) → H-1B (lottery) → employer green card. Nurses: NCLEX-RN → employer sponsors a green card directly.
F-1 student visa
You get admitted to a US college, receive an I-20 form, and get a visa interview in Kathmandu. After graduating you can work for 1 year (3 years for STEM degrees) on OPT.
Who it's for: Students admitted to a SEVP-certified US school who can show they can pay.
Cost: Visa fees ≈ US$535 (≈ Rs 75,000). Tuition ranges from about US$10,000 (community college) to US$60,000+ a year.
Time: Depends on interview wait times in Kathmandu — book early.
Stay: As long as you study full-time and keep your status.
Family: Spouse and children can come on F-2 but cannot work.
Leads to permanent residence: Not directly. F-1 → OPT → H-1B → green card is the usual chain.
Nurses: direct green card (EB-3, 'Schedule A')
The US is short of registered nurses, so a hospital or nursing home can sponsor a qualified nurse straight for a green card (permanent residence) — no lottery and no H-1B needed. Your husband/wife and children under 21 get green cards at the same time.
Who it's for: Nurses with a Nepal Nursing Council licence (BSc Nursing or PCL Nursing) and work experience who can pass the US nursing exam (NCLEX-RN) and an English test.
Cost: The employer pays the green card petition. You usually pay for NCLEX (about US$350 including the international testing fee, plus travel to India), the English test, CGFNS/VisaScreen (a few hundred dollars), the medical exam and the immigrant visa fee — roughly Rs 3–6 lakh in total.
Time: Usually 2–4 years in total. Most of it is waiting for your turn in the Visa Bulletin: in October 2026 the EB-3 'rest of world' date (which includes Nepal) was 15 May 2024.
Stay: Permanent — you arrive as a green card holder.
Family: Yes — husband/wife and unmarried children under 21 get green cards with you, and your spouse can work.
Leads to permanent residence: This is permanent residence from the day you land. You can apply for US citizenship after 5 years.
H-1B specialty work visa
A US employer sponsors you for a job that needs a bachelor's degree. Because demand is huge, there is a yearly lottery.
Who it's for: Degree holders with a US job offer — most often people already in the US on OPT.
Cost: The employer pays the main fees. See the US temporary visas tab for the US$100,000 fee rule.
Time: Lottery in March; work starts 1 October if selected.
Stay: 3 years, extendable to 6 (longer if a green card is in process).
Family: Spouse and children on H-4.
Leads to permanent residence: Yes — H-1B allows you to pursue a green card at the same time.
Employer green card (EB-2 / EB-3)
A US employer sponsors you for permanent residence. Nepal is in the 'rest of world' queue, so waits are shorter than for India but still years.
Who it's for: Professionals, skilled workers and some 'other workers' with a permanent US job offer.
Cost: Mostly employer-paid; your immigrant visa and medical costs are a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
Time: Often 2–6+ years (EB-3 'other workers' around 4–6+ years).
Stay: Permanent.
Family: Spouse and unmarried children under 21.
Leads to permanent residence: This is PR (green card). Citizenship after 5 years.
Diversity Visa (DV) lottery
A free yearly lottery for a US green card. Nepal is usually eligible, and thousands of Nepalis have won in past years.
Who it's for: Anyone from an eligible country with at least a high school (+2) education or 2 years of qualifying work experience.
Cost: Entry is FREE. Only winners pay a visa fee later.
Time: Entries usually open in October for about a month; results the next May.
Stay: Permanent.
Family: Spouse and unmarried children under 21.
Leads to permanent residence: Yes — it's a green card.
Temporary work & exchange visas (J-1, H-2B, O-1 and more)
Many short visas let you work or train in the US for a few months or years and then go home. See the US temporary visas tab for every option, explained simply.
Who it's for: Students, trainees, teachers, au pairs, researchers, artists and more.
Cost: Varies.
Time: Varies.
Stay: A few months to several years.
Family: Varies.
Leads to permanent residence: Usually not — most require you to go home.
Scams to avoid
Never try the illegal 'dunki' route through South and Central America and Mexico. Nepalis have died in the jungle and at the border, and many are jailed and deported.
Nepal is not on the H-2A/H-2B eligible countries list we could verify. Anyone selling H-2B 'farm' or 'hotel' jobs to Nepalis is very likely a scam.
The only real DV lottery site is dvprogram.state.gov, and entry is free.
Since January 2026 Nepal is on the US visitor-visa bond list (made permanent in August 2026): some B1/B2 applicants may be asked for a refundable bond, usually US$15,000. A tourist visa never allows work.