H-1B Visas

Summary

The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows an alien to work in the U.S. for up to six years (or more, in certain circumstances) in a professional position. The H-1B visa is employer specific, meaning that the alien can work only for the petitioning employer
on the H-1B petition. An alien can work concurrently for two or more employers pursuant to H-1B petitions.

Requirements

Specialty occupation: generally, the position must require at least a bachelor’s degree in a particular field related to the position. However, there are some
exceptions to this rule where the
job duties are sufficiently complex
The alien must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in the related field.

The employer must pay at least the prevailing wage

H-1B cap

65,000 H-1B visas are available each fiscal year and 20,000 additional numbers are available for those with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution. These numbers become available on October 1st of each year. Certain employers and individuals are not subject to the visa cap:

Cap exemption institutions:
1. Institutions of higher education or related or affiliated nonprofit entities
2. Nonproft research organizations or governmental research organizations

A person who has already been counted against the cap within the past six years, unless the person would be eligible for a new six-year period of H-1B status(an H-1B
alien could be eligible for a full 6 years if he was out of the country for a year or if the work he was performing in the US was seasonal, intermittent or less than 6 months per year)
A person extending H-1B status; and
A J-1 who has obtained State 30 program waiver.

The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows an alien to work in the U.S. for up to six years (or more, in certain circumstances) in a professional position.

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