Visa and Immigration Lawyers
The H-1B visa allows companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. An H-B1 worker can live and work in the U.S. for up to six years. The employer is the sponsor. An H-1B worker can bring their spouse and children. In order to qualify for an H-B1 visa, a worker must have a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specialty occupation or equivalent experience.
Specialty Occupations
Examples of specialty occupations include:
- Medical professionals
- Teachers and professors
- Journalists
- Writers and editors
- IT professionals
- Electronic specialists
- Fashion designers
- Fashion models
- Accountants
- Architects
- Engineers
- Graphic designers
- Industrial designers
- Librarians
- Hotel managers
- Clergy
- Commercial artists
- Social workers
H-1B Visas
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa, but applicants do not have to maintain a foreign residence. Dependents are issued H-4 visas so that they can come to the U.S. with the H-1B visa holder and can go to school get a driver’s license and open a bank account. H-4 visa holders are not allowed to work in the U.S.
A U.S. employer must apply for the visa and must prove that the position qualifies. Only 65,000 H-1B visas are issued each year. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) begins accepting H-1B visa applications six months prior to the beginning of the fiscal year and quickly receives more applications than there are visas available, so employers must be prepared in advance.
H-B1 visa holders are allowed to stay in the U.S. for three years and can usually get an extension that lets them stay up to six years altogether. While it is a nonimmigrant visa, an H-B1 holder can apply for a Green Card.
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