Since we are approaching H-1B season, this article discusses what you (a foreign national) or your employer need to know!
H-1B is a temporary (nonimmigrant) visa. This visa category applies to people who wish to perform services in a specialty occupation (those with STEM backgrounds — science, technology and IT, engineering, and math), services of exceptional merit and ability relating to a Department of Defense (DOD) cooperative research and development project, or services as a fashion model of distinguished merit or ability.
If you intend to hire a resident of another country for a temporary position in your company, you must make sure that this person obtains the right visa with the right to work in the United States. As an employer, you can help sponsor a potential candidate to legally work for your company.
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H-1B visa applicants must possess qualifications required for a specific job or the expertise or special abilities of a particular person.
For employers, it is important to understand that the process of obtaining an H-1B visa can be tricky. You can avoid many issues and pitfalls associated with obtaining an H-1B visa for your foreign employee if you turn to an experienced Houston immigration attorney.
The Rahgozar Law Firm is here to represent you every step of the way in helping your foreign employee secure a visa to stay in the United States. Ms. Pegah Rahgozar is a Houston immigration lawyer who can assist you with issues relating to ensuring your foreign employee obtain a visa, stay and work in the United States. Ms. Pegah Rahgozar and her team will find the best solution that works for you, your company and your foreign employee.
From initial determination of you and your company’s best options through obtaining your foreign employee’s visa, Pegah Rahgozar will assist you and your company and be the advocate you need by your side.
Pegah Rahgozar represents individuals and companies in Houston, and surrounding areas, as well as across the great state of Texas. If your company is outside of Texas or anywhere in the United States, Pegah Rahgozar can represent you too! We have taken cases and represented companies and foreign nationals from all over the United States and across the world.
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H-1B — Specialty Occupations
The job must meet one of the following criteria to qualify as a specialty occupation:
- Bachelor’s or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum entry requirement for the position
- The degree requirement for the job is common to the industry or the job is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by an individual with a degree
- The employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position
- The nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that the knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree.
For you to qualify to accept a job offer in a specialty occupation you must meet one of the following criteria:
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Have completed a U.S. bachelor’s or higher degree required by the specific specialty occupation from an accredited college or university
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Hold a foreign degree that is the equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s or higher degree in the specialty occupation
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Hold an unrestricted state license, registration, or certification which authorizes you to fully practice the specialty occupation and be engaged in that specialty in the state of intended employment
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Have education, training, or progressively responsible experience in the specialty that is equivalent to the completion of such a degree, and have recognition of expertise in the specialty through progressively responsible positions directly related to the specialty.
The prospective employer must file an approved Form ETA-9035, Labor Condition Application (LCA), with the Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. You can learn more by visiting the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification.
If you have any issues with the paperwork for obtaining a Labor Condition Application or an H-1B visa for your employees, feel free to call Houston Immigration Pegah Rahgozar at (832) 792-3636 and make an appointment.
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H-1B2 — DOD Researcher and Development Project Worker
The job must meet both of the following criteria to qualify as a DOD cooperative research and development project:
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The cooperative research and development project or a co-production project is provided for under a government-to-government agreement administered by the U.S. Department of Defense
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A bachelor’s or higher degree, or its equivalent is required to perform duties.
To be eligible for this visa category you must meet one of the following criteria:
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Have completed a U.S. bachelor’s or higher degree required by the specific specialty occupation from an accredited college or university
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Hold a foreign degree that is the equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s or higher degree in the specialty occupation
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Hold an unrestricted State license, registration, or certification which authorizes you to fully practice the specialty occupation and be engaged in that specialty in the state of intended employment
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Have education, training, or progressively responsible experience in the specialty that is equivalent to the completion of such a degree, and have recognition of expertise in the specialty through progressively responsible positions directly related to the specialty.
The prospective employer does not need to file a Labor Condition Application (LCA) for this visa category.
H-1B3 — Fashion Models
The position/services must require a fashion model of prominence. To be eligible for this visa category you must be a fashion model of distinguished merit and ability.
The prospective employer must file an approved Form ETA-9035, Labor Condition Application (LCA), with the Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.
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Labor Condition Application (LCA)
Prospective specialty occupation and distinguished fashion model employers must obtain a certification of an LCA from the DOL. This application includes certain attestations, a violation of which can result in fines, bars on sponsoring nonimmigrant or immigrant petitions, and other sanctions to the employer. The application requires the employer to attest that it will comply with the following labor requirements:
- The employer will pay the beneficiary a wage which is no less than the wage paid to similarly qualified workers or, if greater, the prevailing wage for your position in the geographic area in which you will be working.
- The employer will provide working conditions that will not adversely affect other similarly employed workers. At the time of the labor condition application there is no strike or lockout at the employer place of business. Notice of the filing of the labor condition application with the DOL has been given to the union bargaining representative or has been posted at the place of business.
If you have an employment opportunity in the US and want to discuss whether an H-1B visa is a good fit for you then please contact our office at (832) 792-3636 and make an appointment to discuss your case.
If you are an employer and wish to sponsor a foreign employee, then visa attorney Pegah Rahgozar is ready to lend a helping hand to your company. She assists employers based in the Greater Houston area such as the Energy Corridor, Greenway Plaza, The Woodlands, the Galleria Area, Clear Lake, Sugar Land, and other locations within Texas or inside of the United States.
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H-1B Visa Cap and Authorized Stay in the U.S.
Every year, U.S. employers seeking highly skilled foreign professionals submit their petitions on the first business day in April that goes into a lottery system.
The are limited visa numbers that are available which is 65,000 visa numbers for new hires, and an additional 20,000 visa numbers for foreign professionals who have a master’s degree or higher from a US university.
If your application is selected, then USCIS will issue a receipt notice on it. Then USCIS will decide whether your application is approved. If your case is approved, USCIS will issue an H-1B approval notice and typically your visa is issued and good for up to 3 years, and can be extended for a maximum 6 years.
If your application is approved the start date of your employment in H-1B status will be October 1st of the same year your application was approved.
If you are in the US, with no issues, they you can change status into the H-1B status. In many cases, the individual will have to receive the actual visa in their passport at the consulate in their home country or another designated country.
If you are granted a H-1B status then your spouse and children under 21 years of age can accompany you.
With profound knowledge of immigration law and years of experience in the field, Pegah Rahgozar is able to provide top-notch aid to a wide range of employers in the Greater Houston area. Don’t hesitate to call Pegah Rahgozar Houston immigration attorney at (832) 792-3636 and talk to the best immigration attorney for a visa.
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The Department of Homeland Security has proposed some recent changes in December 2018. The H-1B Visa Filing Process Is Set to Get a Makeover in 2019, and this is What You Need to Know Now:
- Employers would first file an online form during a registration period that would start no later than March and end at least two weeks before April 1st.
- USCIS will then randomly select the necessary number of applications to meet the 85,000 visa cap, and give 60 days to the selected employers to submit a full H-1B application.
There are also updates regarding spouses of H-1B visa holders.
As many of you are aware, certain H-1B spouses are eligible to apply for a work permit. The Trump administration is making efforts to get rid of this privilege for spouses to obtain work permits. Currently, there is a lawsuit going on challenging this in the US Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia. The Court will be hearing this case and should be deciding sometime early next year about whether H-1B spouses can continuing obtaining work permits or not. So stay tuned for those updates beginning of 2019.
If you have any questions regarding the new proposed rule for the H-1B visa or obtaining a work permit for your spouse, then please call visa attorney Pegah Rahgozar at (832) 792-3636 and make an appointment to discuss your case.
Given the current immigration climate and the constant changes in immigration laws, there is no room for mistakes; hence you should apply for highly-qualified legal assistance.
Call Pegah Rahgozar Houston immigration attorney at (832) 792-3636 and we will guide you through all the details of the immigration process, help you collect the necessary documents, prepare the H-1B petition, hold your hand through the complex and stressful process, and ensure a positive solution to your case.