H-1b Visa Season Is In Full Swing!

By Author: Rayford Marks
Total Articles: 185
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To many Americans, the time in January is spent putting away holiday decorations, returning to regular eating and drinking habits, and starting new exercise habits as part of New Year’s resolutions. For those in the U.S. immigration law world, January is the beginning of the ever important H-1B “season.”

H-1B’s is a common visa used by American employers to hire and retain talented foreign employees. Valid for an initial period of three-years and renewable for a maximum of six-years, the H-1B “specialty occupation” non-immigrant visa has become one of the primary means through which highly educated foreign nationals begin their path to immigrating to the United States. Since H-1B’s are considered “dual intent” visas, meaning that a foreign national who enters on an H-1B non-immigrant visa may lawfully enter the U.S. with the expectation that their employer will ultimately apply for them to obtain permanent resident status (i.e., a “green card”). American employers may sponsor foreign nationals to obtain an H-1B visa to come work in the U.S. in specialty ...
... occupations, i.e., jobs that require at least a bachelor’s degree as a minimum job requirement.

The reason why H-1B’s have a “season” is that the number of H-1B’s the government issues is limited, or “capped,” at 65,000 per fiscal year. Though employers filling vacancies with institutions of higher learning or related non-profit entities and other non-profit or governmental research organizations are not subject to the cap, most private sector employers are subject to the cap. The soonest an employer may file an H-1B visa petition is six-months prior to the start of the fiscal year that visa will be used. The U.S. government fiscal year begins October 1, thus, in order to give a potential employee the best chance of getting a visa in the first-come-first served visa processing system, the employer must ensure the application is received by immigration on April 1.

The comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Senate in 2013 (but, to date, never taken up by House of Representatives) would have raised the cap on H-1Bs to at least 115,000 and up to 180,000 based on labor market needs. But until comprehensive immigration reform becomes a reality, American employers hoping to attract the best international talent in this increasingly competitive world economy will continue to hope their H-1B petitions are selected in the April H-1B “lottery.”

If your business wants to maximize its chances of getting the visas you need for your international employees, consult with our experienced business immigration lawyers soon. H-1B season is now in full swing! Visit our website at http://www.charlottelaw.net/business-immigration for more information.