There are many different visas that allow foreign nationals to work in the United States. A commonly acquired visa is the H-1B, also known as the temporary worker visa. This article will discuss the H-1B visa so you can determine if you qualify, and how you may get one in order to work in the United States.
What is the H-1B Visa?
The H-1B temporary worker visa was created to give companies the ability to hire foreign nationals for a "specialty occupation" position in the United States. "Specialty occupation" defined by the U.S. Immigration Law means the position must require a bachelor's degree or equivalent (more on that in a moment). This is a non-immigrant visa, meaning the employee is only meant to work in the United States temporarily and is not petitioning to immigrate in the U.S. permanently. The visa can be issued for a maximum of six years and stipulates that employers must pay the prevailing wage for the position as recommended by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Qualifying
For a potential employee to get an H-1B visa, the company would petition on behalf of the worker to fill a specialty occupation position. Such a position requires a bachelor's degree or a four year degree from another country equal to that of a bachelor's. That degree must be related to the field of the open position. In other words, if the position is for a computer programmer, the degree required would be in Computer Science, Computer Information Science, Computer Applications, etc. However, there is a provision for those without formal education. By the U.S. Immigration Law, if the worker has enough work experience in the related field to equal a four year education, they can qualify for the H-1B visa. The law dictates that three years experience equals one year of college. In such cases, a "credentials evaluation report" must be obtained proving the experience. In rare situations, such as with fashion models, there is a special H-1B3 visa offered to hire "models of prominence" who need not have formal education.
How to get an H-1B visa
It will be the employer's responsibility to petition for an H-1B visa for the foreign national. Petitions are accepted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on a fiscal (financial) yearly basis. The first business day of April begins the submission period. What is important to know is there is a yearly quota of 65,000 visas. For the most part, they are given out on a first-come-first-serve basis. (Although 5,900 visas are reserved for Singapore and China nationals. However, if all of them are not claimed, the remaining visas open up to all countries.) There are an additional 20,000 visas available to foreign nationals who have received a Master's degree or higher from a United States university.
For more information about the H-1B visa, contact an immigration attorney. The Chugh Firm has locations across the country, and specializes in immigration law.
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