By: Shah Peerally Esq.
The H1B Visa is a type of visa that many foreign nationals who want to work in the US apply for. This is a dual intent visa and a person can apply for green card, while on this visa too. There are of course certain considerations that need to be met in order to qualify for the H1B visa. Let’s check out what is necessary to be able to apply for H1B Visa.
A foreign national may be applicable for an H1B visa if they are looking at jobs that require a Bachelor’s degree in special occupations. The alien must remember that they cannot apply for the Visa themselves; the employer has to apply on their behalf. The US employer has to file a Labor Condition Application with the Department of Labor(DOL). For this the employer has to prove that their employing a foreign national does not in any way undermine the working conditions the benefits, or even the wages of US citizens, who might have been able to do the same job.
The following steps have to be taken by the US Employer while applying for an H1B visa, a foreign national who will be eligible for an H1B visa-
– The employer has to file to the USCIS the said petition on behalf of the foreign national for the H1B visa. This includes filing the Form I-129, Petition for a foreign worker along with the H supplements for this form.
– The Employer has to keep in mind the prevailing salary for the position that is offered. This means that the average wage paid to an employee in a similar occupation in the same area is to be paid to the employee who will be working on the said job. This is done by comparing the pay scale of workers similarly employed in the particular area of employment.
– The employer needs to file a Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the Department of Labor it can be submitted up to six months before the intended date of joining of the employee.
Steps that the employee needs to take for applying for an H1B visa-
– If you are staying outside the United States, then once the I-129 petition is approved, you will have to submit an application of own application for the H1B visa to a US consulate.
– Once the petition filed by the US employer is approved by the USCIS, you will be sent a Form I-797B. This enables you to apply for a visa at the US consulate, in your own country.
A- s a prospective employee, you would have to fill in the Form DS- 160. You can do this online and e-file the form before your scheduled visa appointment.
– A fee is levied as a part of the application process of H1B visa. So once you have completed the application, you need to pay the Machine Readable visa application fee. You will be informed about this by the Consulate and also details on how the payment is to be made. Keep the proof of payment safe, because you will need the receipt on the day of your interview.
– As a part of the H1b visa processing, you will have to attend a consular interview where an official will review the paperwork submitted by you and take a call on granting you the visa.
For any consultation regarding the processing of H1b visa you might consider consulting the experienced lawyers from the Shah Peerally Law Group, feel free to contact us by email – [email protected] or call us at 510-742-5887.
