The H1-B visa is a non-immigration visa that allows a US company to hire a foreign worker in specialty occupations, in a range of industries including but not limited to biotechnology, chemistry, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine, and health, education, law, accounting, business specialties, theology, and the arts. The H1-B is one of the few employment-based visas that provide visa holders with a clear and direct path to citizenships, and as such is a popular option for immigrant workers looking to settle in the United States.
To qualify for an H1-B Visa, applicants must meet one of three requirements:
A Bachelor’s or Masters Degree (or the foreign equivalent degree from the applicant’s country of nationality), OR
12 years of relevant work experience, OR
A combination of higher education and previous work experience
As the H1-B is a US employment-based visa program, visas to qualified applicants are also dependent on the employer meets certain conditions including:
Minimum wage requirements
The hiring is not taking place during or as a result of a strike or lock-out
An understanding that no US worker will be displaced because of an H1-B hire.
Sufficient financial stability to support the salary of the employee
With these limited requirements, the visa is a popular choice amongst US employers seeking to hire highly-skilled foreign employees, and as such, is particularly popular amongst tech and sciences industries. However, a limited cap of 85,000 visas issued per fiscal year, with 20,000 of those being exclusively reserved for foreign nationals holding a master’s or higher degree from U.S. universities adds an additional challenge for applicants, who are ultimately chosen in a lottery once the cap has been filled. Universities, who are considered cap-exempt, can employ an unlimited number of foreign workers otherwise qualifying for the H-1B.
Once approved, H1-B employees are allowed to remain in the US for a duration of 3 years, extendable to up to six years, so long as s/he continues to work for the sponsoring employer. Should an employee leave the original employer that sponsored his/her H1-B visa, they must have their new employer sponsor them.
Notably, the H1-B visa’s most attractive feature is the fact that it is an immigrant visa, meaning that H1-B visa holders can ultimately apply for a Green Card and become permanent residents of the United States. This process is also completed through the employer, who is required to sponsor the employee in order for a green card application to be processed.
At Joorney Business Plans, we have extensive knowledge of the H1-B visa application processing. Not only have we worked with our attorney partners to create business plans as supporting documentation for hundreds of H1-B petitions, but we have also successfully completed applications for H1-B employees of our own. Joorney Business Plans
We are uniquely aware of what USCIS looks for in their H1-B visa petitions, and ensure that your company’s H1-B business plan meets all H1-B Visa petition requirements including:
A detailed account of Educational background and/or work history and synthesis of previously acquired skills to be used in US position
A clear definition of the employer-employee relationship between the employee and the petitioning U.S. employer
Fully developed job descriptions that demonstrate the US position requires specialized and complex knowledge
Personnel tables that detail salaries to be paid to the employee
Financial analysis as supporting documentation of the US petitioner’s ability to support the employee’s salary for the duration of the visa.
Talk to us to learn more about how a professionally written and well-developed business plan can provide the USCIS with the information they need in a format that they understand, reducing the need for a request for evidence (RFE) and streamlining the application process.
