What Everyone Ought to Know About H-1B Visas

What are they and why do you need them?
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa to employ temporary foreign workers in the United States in specialty occupations. The United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) define a “specialty occupation” as an occupation that requires both a theoretical and practical application of specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the area of specialization. Engineers, scientists, teachers, accountants and marketing analyst are examples of occupations under the H1-B Visa. An employer must sponsor the foreign worker in order to legally work in the United States. Under the tenure of the H-1B visa, if the foreign worker quits or is dismissed from the sponsoring employer, they have the option to find another employer, change their status to ‘non-immigrant’ or leave the US.

Why are they such a hot topic right now?
H1-B visas have always been in high demand by U.S. employers to bring skilled workers into their businesses. Per fiscal year, the visa quotas or “caps” are set to a maximum of 65,000 for foreign workers with a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree not earned in the U.S. and 20,000 for foreign workers with a master’s degree or higher earned in the U.S. Last year, both the 65,000 H1-B quota for the Bachelor’s degree holders and the 20,000 H1-B quota for master’s degree holders were exhausted within a few days.
However, because of the current economic climate, the demand for H1-B visas has decreased thereby increasing the chance of selection for the remaining applicants.

What can you do right now if you need or want one?
So it’s sorted. You know what an H1-B visa is, why they are in such demand and why it’s the perfect time to get one. It’s kind of like social media right now. You are at the ‘sign me up now’ process. Petitions opened for H1-B visas opened on April 1, 2009 for the 2010 fiscal year. As of August 14th, roughly 45,000 of cap-subject petitions and 20,000 petitions for the advanced degree cap have been filed. The USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject and advanced degree petitions until the H1-B visas have reached their statutory limits. Start gathering the necessary information, documents and other items to prepare and file the petition. Increase your chances of an H1-B visa by petitioning now. Need ‘how do I’ advice to start your petition, visit http://www.uscis.gov/.

Added bonus!
If you work at higher education institutions, nonprofit affiliated entities, nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations, petitions for new H1-B visas as exempt.