As of today there are so many options that are open for those who wish to work temporarily in the United States on a H1B extension. There are many work categories that include intra-company transfer visa (L-1 visa), B-1 visa, H-2B visa, H-3 visa, O-1 visa, O-2 visa, P-3 visa, and more. Apart from the above mentioned visas(temporary) you also have the option of a H1 B specialty occupation visa, that is issued by the US Consulate/Embassy that would allow you work temporarily in the US. The issuance of the H1 B extension visa is associated with the employer. This implies that you would require a sponsoring employer in order to apply for the visa.
Ideally the H1 B visa is ideally suited for:
- Professional who possess high degree of specialized knowledge like consultants, journalists, analysts related to research.
- Professional nurses who have entered the US for supervising nursing operations.
- Employers who are required to bring in qualified professional for jobs that entail specialized skills.
Receiving an extension of stay on the H1 visa:
H1B extension:
Initially the H1B extension was issued for a period of 3 years. It is now possible to extend the visa by another 3 years. A person with an H1B extension is permitted to extend beyond 6 years under special circumstances. Per the 21st Century Act of 2000, a H1 B visa holder can file for an incremental one-year extension annually after the completion of six years on H1B status. This visa can be extended beyond 6 years only if:
- You are a beneficiary of an employment based immigrant petition (I-140) or an application for Adjustment of Status.
- Your labor certification application is pending for more than 365 days.
Until a final decision is made on the H1 B extension of the non-immigrant’s green card, the applicants belonging to the above mentioned scenario can get an extension for 1 year at time.
For the visa status to be extended in increments of 3 years you
- must possess an employment based green card petition filed on your behalf in an either EB1, EB2 or EB3 categories.
- you are not eligible to file an Adjustment of Status application for the only reason because you are from a country for which the priority date is not current. This is usually the case with applicants who are from India or China.
Required Documents:
The following documents are required to be submitted to the US State Department for the purpose of renewal/extension of your H1B work visa.
- A valid passport for the applicant and each of the family members.
- An original of the form I-94 that was issued to the applicant by the USCIS.
- USCIS Form I-797 which would include the information on the applicant’s present employer.
- The employer’s letter of support containing details of the applicant’s nature of work, position.
- A fully typed non-immigrant visa application form, OF-156 added with one official passport-size photograph for each applicant, regardless of the age.
- A non-refundable visa fee payable to the U.S. Department of State.
- A self-addressed postage-paid envelope for return of the documents.
Any foreign national who seeks to enter the United States must obtain a visa. The United States visas are classified into Immigrant and Non-immigrant visas. The immigrant visas are used by people who wish to travel to live permanently in US and non-immigrant visas are used by people who travel to US on a temporary basis for business or pleasure.
People who wish to enter United States for employment purpose must obtain a US working visa in order to be eligible to work in the United States. United States offers working visas such as H1B and H2B visas . The H1B working visa falls under the non-immigrant visa category. This visa allows a foreign national to be sponsored by a US Company for a period of six years and may lead to sponsor for Green Card. This H1B visa is mainly designed to be used for people who come under the Specialty Occupations category.
People who seek to enter United States using the H1B visa must be offered a job in the United States and must be sponsored by the employer of that company/organization. Also it is the duty of the US sponsor or the employer to prove that the position requires a skilled person from a specialty occupation and the intended employee has the required skills. The Specialty Occupations require a high degree of specialized knowledge (usually this requirement can be met by having a 3 year degree or 3 years’ equivalent post-graduate experience), such as mathematics, architecture, engineering, and other occupations
List of documents needed for H1B visa
There are certain eligibility requirements to be met by both the US employer and the applicant when applying for the H1B visa. The U.S. employer must agree to pay the H-1B employee at least the prevailing wage earned by similarly employed workers in the area of employment and must make other attestations as required by the Department of Labor. The applicant must hold a bachelor’s degree, possess specialized skill, and must speak and read English.
The applicant must ensure he/she provides the required supporting documents to be eligible for H1B visa. Below listed is the basic documents that the applicant must provide.
- A letter from the Current Employer
- Offer letter form the company in United States
- Sample company projects documents and some documents describing what the company does
- Approval Notice (form I 797) of the original petition
- Employment Verification letter
After the application for H1B visa has been submitted by the US employer, USCIS will review the application for completeness with inclusion of the supporting documents. If USCIS finds the application is incomplete or if any required document is not submitted, the application might be rejected. On approval of the application, USCIS will send an approval notice to the US employer. If the petition visa is approved, an Approval Notice will be sent. Using the Approval Notice, the applicant may obtain the H1B visa from the US Consulate. If the application is denied, USCIS will notify applicant in writing the reason for rejection.
Every foreign national who wishes to enter United States must obtain a visa. The United States visas are classified into Immigrant and Non-immigrant visas. Immigrant visas are used by people who wish to travel to live permanently in US. Non-immigrant visas are issued for people who wish to travel to US on a temporary basis for business or pleasure.
People who seek to enter United States based on employment must obtain a working visa in order to be eligible to work in the United States. There are many working visas available and one such visa is H1B visa. The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa. This visa allows a foreign national to be sponsored by a US Company for a period of six years and may lead to sponsor for Green Card.
H1B requirements
The H1B visa allows business professionals to work in the United States for a specific amount of time. The H1 visa is allowed to US employers to sponsor foreign employees to work in their concern or institution when a US Citizen or a permanent resident is not available for that occupation.
In order to be eligible for the H1 visa, both the US employer and the foreign employee must satisfy the eligibility requirements.
- The United States job offer must be in a Specialty Occupation. Specialty Occupations require a high degree of specialized knowledge (usually this requirement can be met by having a 3 year degree or 3 years’ equivalent post-graduate experience) .such as mathematics, architecture, engineering, and other occupations.
- During the time of job offer, no U.S. citizen or permanent resident must be available for the job.
- The U.S. employer must agree to pay the H-1B employee at least the prevailing wage earned by similarly employed workers in the area of employment and must make other attestations as required by the Department of Labor.
In addition to the above mentioned requirements the foreign employee must,
- have a bachelor’s degree. If the applicant has a foreign degree, then that degree must be determined to be equivalent to that of a U.S. bachelor’s degree. If applicants do not hold a Bachelor’s degree, they may claim to be Graduate Equivalent if only they posses 12 years or more work experience in the same occupation.
- possess specialized skill, and
- must speak and read English
Once the application for H1 visa has been submitted to USCIS by the US employer, it will be reviewed for completeness. The supporting documents will be checked along with the application. If all the requirements are met, USCIS will send an approval notice to the US employer. If the petition for H1 visa is approved, an Approval Notice will be sent . Using the Approval Notice, the applicant may obtain the H1 visa from the US Consulate. If the application is denied, the USCIS will notify in writing the reason for rejection.
