H1-B Professionals or Specialty Occupations Visa

The H-1B visa authorizes employment of a worker in a professional or specialty occupation. The visa can be extended for a total of 6 years.

Visa Requirements

The H-1B requires (1) a professional or specialty occupation position that requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree; (2) the employee has that degree or its educational/employment equivalent; (3) a salary which meets the prevailing wage determination; and (4) a Labor Condition Application (LCA) annotated by the Department of Labor (DOL).

The employer must agree to pay return transportation expenses to the employee’s home country if the employee is dismissed before the end of the authorized period of stay. The employee can sign a statement agreeing not to request such expenses. The employer is not responsible for such expenses if the employee voluntarily ends employment or the authorized period of stay expires.

The H-1B Visa Petition

Prevailing Wage Determination: The Company must pay the beneficiary a salary within 5% of the wage of similarly situated employees. Our firm obtains a Prevailing Wage Determination from the Workforce Commission for the beneficiary’s position for that geographic area or any other state.

Labor Condition Application: The INS requires the U.S. employer to file a Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the Department of Labor (DOL). Our firm prepares the LCA for review by the company. We file the LCA with the DOL which processes the application within 7 days or online within 2-3 days.

The LCA requires the company to agree to specific terms for the benefit of U.S. workers. First, the company will pay the beneficiary the same salary as other similar employees. Second, the company affirms that the employment of the beneficiary will not adversely affect the working condition of other similar employees within the company, and that there is no strike, lockout, or work stoppage as part of labor dispute within the company. Third, prior to filing the LCA, two notices were posted in conspicuous places at the company. The notices contain specific job information including the job title and salary of the position. If there is a bargaining representative for such employees, notice to that representative is required rather than the posted notices.

Within a day of filing the LCA, supporting documents must be available for review at the place of employment. The INS and the DOL may review such documents.

H-1B Petition and Supporting Documents. The H-1B petition includes several INS forms; a support letter on company letterhead with details of the company, the position and qualifications of the employee; company documentation; and evidence of the qualification of the employee.

Premium Processing

The INS has a business service called Premium Processing where the INS responds within 15 working days from the date of the receipt of the application. There is $1,000 INS filing fee for the service. This fee is an addition to other applicable filing fees that the applicant must pay.

Approval of the H-1B Visa

The INS issues an approval notice as evidence of the employee’s H-1B status. The H-1B visa allows the employee to work for the petitioning company only. The employee’s dependents are issued approval notices as evidence of their H-4 status.

The employee must have an H-1B visa stamp in the employee’s passport for travel out of and return of the U.S. This process of getting the visa is referred to as visa consular processing. Our firm assists clients and their families in applying for their visas at the U.S. Consulates as an additional legal service. Please complete our free case evaluation form or contact our office at (702) 444-4444 for detailed information.

H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Document List

The employee benefiting from the H-1B visa must submit photocopies of the following documentation.

Current passport (identity pages and all pages with any U.S., visa, stamp or notation)
I-94 Card (front and back)
Previous INS approval notices (H-1B; F-1; I-20; IAP-66; Employment Authorization Card)
Educational documents (Diplomas, certificate, transcripts, and educational evaluations)
If the documents are not in English, an exact English translation is required (which we can assist you with).
Passports and I-94 cards of all accompanying family members

The employer applying for the H-1B visa must submit the following information.