H-1B: Eligibility and How to find Employer

*This post is to help people (especially from the field of Information Technology) who are interested in getting H1B visa.

Basic Criteria to become eligible for H-1B for Information Technology Jobs

1.  You should have (4 Year) Bachelor’s Degree in area of Information Technology.
2. Don’t lose your heart if you don’t have Bachelor’s Degree in area of Information Technology. Check if you satisfy any of the below criterion.

•  (4 Year) Bachelor’s Degree in any Area + min 3 year Work Experience in Information  Technology Jobs 
•  USCIS counts 3 years of Work Experience in IT job equivalent to 1 year of study in area of IT so if you don’t have Bachelor’s Degree at all but have 12 years of Work Experience in IT then you are eligible.

In addition to above the Specialty Occupation (Job Posting) against which you are going to file LCA(Labor Condition Application) and H-1B should clearly state that this position requires any (4 Year)Bachelor’s Degree with X year (min 3 years) of Work Experience.

 Applying for H-1B

 

An individual can never apply for his/her H-1B. You need a legitimate employer who will sponsor your H-1B and thus you will become beneficiary. Nothing better than if your current organization is ready to sponsor your H-1B. In this case you have to do nothing... Just follow the guidance of the in-house immigration team of your organization. The problem starts when after serving good numbers of years in IT industry your current organization still doesn’t want to do your H-1B due to various reasons. You start looking outside and in some cases become desperate. If you are one of such people then continue reading.

The first step in the journey of H-1B is to get Legitimate Employer who is willing to sponsor your H-1B. Legitimate Employer is the key word here as USCIS has tightened scrutiny while adjudicating H-1B visas.

Two very important factors related to Employer which can make or break your H-1B journey is:

1. Employer has to satisfy USICS that no matter which location (Employer’s or Client’s Place) you are working your Employer is going to assign/supervise your work all the time apart from paying you salary. This is called Employee/Employer Relationship.
2. In case your Employer is getting your H-1B for a Client then Employer has to get a letter of Employment from Client in your name apart from SOW/MSA to prove that a specialty occupation exist which is going to be filled by you.

Best place to look for Legitimate Employers is at US Government site where H-1B approved/denied result are periodically published with Companies Name.
http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/quarterlydata.cfm

If you get a job in one of the company mentioned in above list then your H-1B journey will become relatively easy.

                      In case you are unable to find a job in companies who have history of H-1B approval and approached by small or rank new firm with very limited head count to process your H-1B be prepare to say No when Employer asks money to do your H-1B. This is illegal per USCIS and USCIS keeps track of such fraudulent practices and Employers.