H-1B Temporary Worker Visa
The H-1B category is often the only nonimmigrant visa category available to a U.S. company to employ a foreign national. The company must be seeking to fill a “specialty occupation” with a qualified foreign national. A specialty occupation is one which, by prevailing practice in the U.S., generally requires the possession of a baccalaureate degree or higher or its equivalent, as a minimum, entry-level credential.
A qualified foreign national is one who possesses the minimum credentials necessary to practice the specialty occupation, i.e., the appropriate academic degree or the equivalent of a degree. Where U.S. state licensure is a requirement to practice the occupation without restriction, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (”USCIS”) will require the foreign national to possess the license before H-1B status will be approved. Please click here to learn more about required credentials.
The H-1B petition may be approved for a maximum initial period of three (3) years and may be extended for an additional three (3) years longer under certain circumstances. Petition approval authorizes the foreign national’s employment in the position and location stated on the petition. There is a statutory cap that limits approval of new H-1B petitions in a fiscal year and the cap is currently set at 65,000.
There is a $320 fee to file an H-1B petition with the USCIS. There is also a Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee of $500 to be paid by petitioners seeking a beneficiary’s initial H-1B nonimmigrant visa classification or by petitioners seeking to change a beneficiary’s authorized employer. For cap subject employers, there is an additional ACWIA fee of $1500 ($750 for employers with no more than twenty-five (25) employees) that must be paid for an initial H-1B petition and for the first extension.