An H-1B is a temporary work visa for highly skilled individuals sponsored by US companies to work in “specialty occupations.” To qualify for H-1B status, both the applicant and the job itself have to meet specific criteria
Concerning the job, it must be one for which a bachelor’s degree (a 4-year university degree) is normally required, and the employer has to pay you either the “prevailing wage” or the same wage paid to other employees in the same position, whichever is greater. The prevailing wage is a government-determined average salary for similar work being done in the city and state where you’ll be working.
Concerning your qualifications, you need to have at least a bachelor’s degree (or its foreign equivalent) in a field related to the position being offered. If you do not have the necessary university diploma, you still may be able to qualify for H-1B status based on a combination of your university studies, professional training, and/or on-the-job experience.
There’s an annual quota (or cap) of 65,000 H-1B visas. The quota is based on the US fiscal year (FY), which runs from October 1 through September 30. On April 1, 2008, the USCIS will accept H-1B applications for FY 2009, which begins on October 1, 2008.
In theory, H-1B applications can be submitted 6 months in advance of your starting date, but the cap has wreaked havoc on the timing for filing of applications for the past several years.
In 2007, for the FY 2008 cap (covering the period October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008), the USCIS received 150,000 H-1B cap-subject applications on April 2, 2007 (the very first day of filing – April 1 was a Sunday). That meant that the FY 2008 cap was filled in 1 day and that it hasn’t been possible to file cap-subject applications since then.
For the FY 2009 cap (covering the period October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009), applications will need to be submitted by overnight mail on March 31, 2008 so that they arrive at the USCIS on April 1. They cannot arrive a day earlier. Presuming that the same scenario plays out this year, cap-subject applications received on April 2 will be too late and will be automatically returned.
Because of the cap, if you were to apply for an H-1B visa after your J-1 visa next year, you most likely will be faced with a 5-month gap.
For more information on H-1B visas and the application process, contact our office to request a copy of our H-1B FY 2009 FAQs – they’ll soon be available on our website, but in the interim we can e-mail you a copy.
If you’d like me to further discuss your H-1B eligibility and other visa options with me, feel free free to contact me directly to schedule a telephone consultation.
Attorney Edward Weiner
E-mail : E.Weiner@immigration-aux-usa.com
Phone : + 1 (617) 889-0215
Internet Site :
http://www.immigration-aux-usa.com
