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  3. Republic of San Marino vs United States of America

🇸🇲 Republic of San Marino vs 🇺🇸 United States of America

A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.

Last reviewed: 27 June 2026

Source basis

This comparison combines Republic of San Marino and United States of America government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.

Reviewed 27 June 2026

Primary sources

  • Stay permits, residence and citizenship

    Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of San Marino - verified 27 June 2026

  • USCIS — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - verified 18 April 2026

  • USCIS — H-1B Specialty Occupations

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - verified 1 June 2026

🇸🇲

Republic of San Marino

San Marino does not issue ordinary entry visas; foreign nationals who need to regularise a stay of more than 30 days use stay permits, while longer-term moves use residence permits. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs public guidance identifies work, family reunification, education and other stay-permit grounds, and registered, elective, atypical-tax and pensioner residence types for longer-term residence planning.

Official portal
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of San Marino
Languages
Italian
Currency
Euro

🇺🇸

United States of America

The US issues nonimmigrant visas (H-1B, L-1, O-1, F-1, J-1) and immigrant visas (employment-based EB-1 through EB-5, family-based, diversity). Policy touchpoints span USCIS, DOS consulates, DOL (for PERM/LCA), and executive-branch proclamations that can shift overnight.

Official portal
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Languages
English (de facto)
Currency
United States dollar

How Republic of San Marino and United States of America differ

Dimension🇸🇲 Republic of San Marino🇺🇸 United States of America
Total routes covered714
Routes without employer sponsor55
Routes leading to permanent residence46
Typical full settlement timeline—Arrival on H-1B (3 years) → PERM + I-140 (1-2 years) → I-485 / Green Card (current for most categories, 7-15+ years for India EB-2) → citizenship at PR+5 years.
Dominant skilled visaWork Stay PermitH-1B Specialty Occupation
Skilled visa salary minimum—US$62,000/year
Skilled visa processing time—H-1B I-129 petitions commonly take 2–8 months at USCIS service centers; Premium Processing ($2,965) resolves within 15 business days.
Skilled visa government fees—A single initial H-1B petition costs around $3,600 in USCIS filing fees for a standard employer, excluding premium processing and the separate consular visa fee.
Official languagesItalianEnglish (de facto)
CurrencyEuroUnited States dollar
Primary regulatorTRSMState bars
Policy changes (last 12 months)01

Skilled-route head-to-head

Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.

🇸🇲 Republic of San Marino

Work Stay Permit

Salary minimum
—
Government fees
—
Processing time
—
Sponsor required
Yes
Leads to settlement
No

🇺🇸 United States of America

H-1B Specialty Occupation

Salary minimum
US$62,000/year
Government fees
A single initial H-1B petition costs around $3,600 in USCIS filing fees for a standard employer, excluding premium processing and the separate consular visa fee.
Processing time
H-1B I-129 petitions commonly take 2–8 months at USCIS service centers; Premium Processing ($2,965) resolves within 15 business days.
Sponsor required
Yes
Leads to settlement
No

Routes unique to Republic of San Marino

  • Registered Residence Permit

    residence-general

  • Atypical Residence under Facilitated Tax Regime

    residence-general

  • Pensioners' Atypical Residence

    residence-general

Routes unique to United States of America

  • L-1A Intracompany Transferee (Executive or Manager)

    intra-company

  • L-1B Intracompany Transferee (Specialised Knowledge)

    intra-company

  • EB-1A Extraordinary Ability (Immigrant)

    skilled-migration

  • EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW)

    skilled-migration

  • EB-3 Skilled, Professional, and Other Workers

    skilled-migration

Visa routes side by side

Republic of San Marino (7)

  • Work Stay Permit

    Sponsor · Non-settlement · Temporary stay permit for 3 months to 1 year; maximum validity 12 months, renewable at the holder's request.

  • Family Reunification Stay Permit

    Sponsor · Non-settlement · Temporary stay permit for 3 months to 1 year; maximum validity 12 months, renewable at the holder's request.

  • Special Stay Permit for Education

    No sponsor · Non-settlement · Temporary stay permit for 3 months to 1 year; maximum validity 12 months, renewable at the holder's request.

  • Registered Residence Permit

    No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Long-term residence route. The public English guidance does not state a single fixed validity period for registered residence permits.

  • Elective Residence Permit

    No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Long-term residence route; after 10 years, elective residence changes into registered residence with relevant rights.

  • Atypical Residence under Facilitated Tax Regime

    No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Long-term residence route; after 10 years, holders are entitled to registered residence and related rights.

  • Pensioners' Atypical Residence

    No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Long-term residence route; after 10 years, holders are entitled to registered residence and related rights.

United States of America (14)

  • H-1B Specialty Occupation

    Sponsor · Non-settlement · Initial 3 years; extendable to 6 years (longer with approved I-140).

  • L-1A Intracompany Transferee (Executive or Manager)

    Sponsor · Non-settlement · Initial 3 years (1 year for new-office L-1A); extendable to 7 years total.

  • L-1B Intracompany Transferee (Specialised Knowledge)

    Sponsor · Non-settlement · Initial 3 years (1 year for new-office L-1B); extendable to 5 years total.

  • O-1 Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement

    Sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 3 years initially; 1-year extensions available indefinitely.

  • EB-1A Extraordinary Ability (Immigrant)

    No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence (green card).

  • EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW)

    No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.

  • EB-3 Skilled, Professional, and Other Workers

    Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.

  • EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

    No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Conditional 2-year residence leading to unconditional permanent residence.

  • E-2 Treaty Investor

    No sponsor · Non-settlement · Initial up to 2 years at port of entry (5-year visa stamp for many nationalities); renewable indefinitely.

  • F-1 Student Visa (with OPT and STEM OPT)

    No sponsor · Non-settlement · Duration of study (D/S); OPT up to 12 months; STEM OPT extension up to 24 additional months.

  • J-1 Exchange Visitor

    Sponsor · Non-settlement · Program-dependent: from weeks (intern) to up to 5 years (research scholar).

  • TN USMCA Professionals (Canada & Mexico)

    Sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 3 years; renewable indefinitely while activity continues.

  • K-1 Fiancé(e) of US Citizen

    Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Single-entry 6 months; must marry within 90 days of entry.

  • Spouse of US Citizen or Green Card Holder (IR1/CR1 & F2A)

    Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence (conditional 2-year CR1 converts to 10-year card via I-751).

Frequently asked questions

Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, Republic of San Marino or United States of America?+−

Republic of San Marino’s Work Stay Permit is the dominant skilled route; United States of America’s H-1B Specialty Occupation requires US$62,000/year. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.

Cite or reuse this dataset

This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.

Suggested citation

Visa Atlas, "Republic of San Marino vs United States of America immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/san-marino/vs/us. Last verified 27 June 2026.

Page
https://visaatlas.org/compare/san-marino/vs/us
JSON endpoint
https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons

Underlying comparison sources (3)

  • Stay permits, residence and citizenship - San Marino Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • USCIS — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
  • USCIS — H-1B Specialty Occupations

This is not legal advice

We publish neutral, sourced information about immigration routes. Rules and thresholds change often — always verify details on the official government source linked on this page and consult a regulated immigration advisor before applying.