The H-1B visa is a United States work visa that permits International citizens in professional career employment to settle and legally get employed in the United States for United States employers. The H-1B visa is authentic for six years, and H-1B visa holders are qualified to make applications for employment-based green cards. This article is a direction to the H-1B visa. It clarifies professional jobs and the qualification provisions for the H-1B visa. Also, it describes the H-1B visa application procedures and what occurs after making an application. You will also discover the response to some of the most usually asked questions concerning the H-1B visa in this writing.
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What is H-1B Visa?
To make an application for an H-1B visa, you may be required to enroll with USCIS, which is an agency of the Homeland Security Department. There is a yearly cap on the quantity of H-1B employees that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services may approve. Therefore, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service is required to choose you to make an application for this visa.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services provides 65,000 new H-1B visas to international employees annually. The individuals who obtain Master’s degrees from United States Universities are lucky: United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) provides an extra 20,000 H-1B visas to those with a Master’s program or higher. In total, the H-1B cap is 85,000 visas yearly. Assuming the United States-based employer sponsoring you is a higher institution, a non-profit firm associated with a higher academic institution, or an administrative study organization. In this situation, the H-1B cap will not be available to you.
The H-1B Visa Qualification Provisions
The H-1B visa is assigned to persons who satisfy specific measures according to their jobs and academic setting.
Those Eligible for an H-1B Visa
You are qualified for the H-1B plan if the following is available to you:
- Your employer can ascertain there is a depletion of eligible United States candidates for this professional position
- You possess a bachelor’s or higher program in your area of study
- You have a professional career employment offer from a United States-based employer.
Professional Jobs
The H-1B visa program is assigned to individuals who handle “Specialty Occupations.” To be eligible for a professional career, an employment is required to satisfy one of the following measures:
- The role possesses the least entry provisions of a Bachelor’s program or higher.
- The program requirement for employment is regular to the industry. Optionally, you can only execute the job if you possess certain degrees.
- The employer needs a bachelor’s program or the equivalent for this role.
- The employment obligations are professionalized and would need understanding connected with receiving a bachelor’s program or higher.
The Processes for H-1B Visa
If the H-1B cap is available to you, the first stage is for you to enroll with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services online to access their yearly lottery. You are required to develop a new online account with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to access the lottery, no matter if you already own an account.
You must pay the enrollment fee and present details concerning yourself and the firm supporting you. An immigration lawyer or other agents may as well fill out these details if you are not available. The enrollment duration for the lottery is only operated for two weeks annually. If your career is subject to the visa cap, and you did not enroll, you will not be able e to make an application for the H-1B visa class.
Having concluded your enrollment, you will obtain a status update from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) on your account online. The status will show up as one of the following:
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- Submitted: You presented an authentic registration.
- Selected: you may make an application for an H-1B nonimmigrant visa
- Not selected: you can not make an application for an H-1B visa again.
- Rejected: if you enrolled for the opportunity to make an application for an H-1B visa using the same employer so many times, USCIS will deny all your enrollments.
- Invalidated-Failed Fees: you have enrolled; however, your payment was inaccurate.
When the enrollment duration is over, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will inform you if they have nominated you. You can only make an application for the H-1B visa if chosen unless you are qualified for an exclusion.
When Your Employer Files an H-1B Visa Petition for You
If you are chosen to present an H-1B request, your employer can begin to file an H-1B visa petition on your behalf. If your profession is cap-excluded, your H-1B application procedures starts at this stage. Your United States-based employer must present a Labor Condition Application (LCA) to the United States Department of Labor (DOL) for certification. The Labor Condition Application indicates your employer will pay you the exact succeeding income and provide the same working situations as their similarly eligible United States employees in your topographic region or work location. New employers are required to identify this coverage for every H-1B temporary employee.
When the Department of Labor has authorized your employer’s Labor Condition Application, your employer is required to fill out Form I-129, which is a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. They are required to file the Labor Condition Application and Form I-129 to USCIS and make payment for any needed charges. They may also be required to offer United States Citizenship and Immigration Services additional documents, which include proof of your education, apprenticeship credentials, specialist membership records, International labor certification, curriculum vitae, a letter of employment, or a letter of sponsorship.
After USCIS Authorizes Your Form I-129
If you are in the U.S
Suppose United States Citizenship and Immigration Services authorizes your Form I-129, and you are in the United States on a varied visa that does not qualify you for work permission. In that case, you must wait until your H-1B employment status turns on before starting to work. You will not have job permission in the United States until after your H-1B status begins.
If you are outside the U.S
Suppose the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service authorizes your Form I-129, and you are not in the U.S. In that case, you must proceed with your application using consular processing. You are needed to fill out Form DS-160, which is the Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, on the Consular Electronic Application Center website. The form takes an hour and 30 minutes to conclude, and you will be required to make payment of an application fee. After presenting the form, you must book an interview at your local United States embassy or consulate. Ensure to carry along the following documents to your interview:
- A passport-size image of yourself that satisfies the requirement
- The receipts confirm that you have made payment for the applicable application charges.
- One copy of your authorized Form I-129 H-1B Petition and your Form I-797, which is a Notice of Action authorization.
- Printout of the verification page from your Form DS-160
- Your passport
You are anticipated to answer questions concerning yourself, your employment, your skills, your employer, and your travel records at your interview.
After Making an Application For The H-1B Visa
After applying for the H-1B visa, the USCIS will update your account case status online. Your United States-based employer will forward you a petition receipt notification, which consists of your petition receipt code. You are required to enter this receipt code on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service website to review the status of your case. If authorized, you will notice an authorization message on the USCIS website. United States Citizenship and Immigration Service will then forward your employer or immigration lawyer the authorization of notice. Your employer or his lawyer will forward you a copy of the authorization notice.