We characterize the higher order Riesz transforms on the Heisenberg group and also show that they satisfy dimension-free bounds under some assumptions on the multipliers. We also prove the boundedness of the higher order Riesz transforms associated to the Hermite operator. Using transference theorems, we deduce boundedness theorems for Riesz transforms on the reduced Heisenberg group and hence also for the Riesz transforms associated to special Hermite and Laguerre expansions.