Improving Your Chances of Getting an H-1B Visa

U.S. immigration law allows American employers to recruit and employ noncitizens, and on the other hand, noncitizens can apply for non-immigrant (temporary) or permanent work visas (green cards), typically if they have an American employer willing to sponsor them. A popular nonimmigrant work visa is H1B. At Kriezelman Burton & Associates, we have experienced H1B work visa immigration attorneys who help clients in the Chicago area to navigate the complex immigration system and obtain H1B visas. We are based in Chicago, but we also handle cases in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Qualification for U.S. H1B Visa

To be approved for an H1B visa, you must first have an offer of temporary employment from a U.S. employer. To qualify, the job offered must be in a “specialty occupation.” This is a technical requirement that is simply a job that requires the application of highly specialized knowledge and one that requires possession of at least a bachelor’s degree or higher for one to qualify for the job.

To satisfy regulations that the job offered qualifies as a specialty occupation, USCIS considers four criteria, and these are:

• A bachelor’s or higher academic degree or its equivalent is typically the minimum entry requirement for the offered position.
• The degree requirement for the job offered is common in the industry where employment is sought among similar employers, or the job is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by a person with a degree.
• It is normal for the employer to require a degree or its equivalent for the position.
• The nature of the specific duties and responsibilities to be carried out is so complex and specialized that the knowledge required to perform the duties is typically associated with the attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree.

There are certain jobs where it is relatively easy to make the case that they are specialty occupations, and these include jobs in the medical, research, scientific, or engineering professions. However, jobs in all other categories are harder to prove as specialty occupations, which means one seeking an H1B visa under those job categories furnish substantial evidence to show that the job qualifies as a specialty occupation. This is true even if the job is in a field such as IT, where one almost certainly assumes a job in that field is a specialty occupation.

Finding a U.S. Employer to Sponsor H1B Visa

The best way to find an American employer to sponsor you for an H1B visa is to simply do some homework, find an employer who has positions that match your academic degree, and ask the employer if they will be willing to sponsor you. Although many employers are unwilling or reluctant to sponsor a noncitizen for H1B, some are the opposite and would readily sponsor an H1B visa for a noncitizen, especially if they are having difficulty finding someone authorized to work to take the job.

If you are an American employer or noncitizen who seeks an H1B visa, contact us today and schedule an appointment to discuss your situation with one of our experienced H1B immigration lawyers.