Requirements for an H-1B Visa

If you would like to receive an H-1B visa, there are several requirements you have to meet. This article will discuss those requirements and provide you with a deeper knowledge of how to navigate the H-1B visa application process.

The first requirement dictates that you are the employee of a United States-based employer. However, in order for such an employee-employer relationship be considered valid, it must be shown that the employer has total control over the employee’s employment. In other words, the employer has to be able to pay, hire, fire, supervise and control the H-1B worker’s employment.

The second requirement is to have your employment position be a “specialty occupation.” At a minimum, a job that qualifies as a specialty occupation will usually require a bachelor’s degree or more. The third requirement is related to the second in that your occupation has to be related to your degree. The fourth requirement says that you need to receiving the prevailing wage for your job based on U.S. Department of Labor averages for your location.

As for the fifth requirement, there needs to be an H-1B visa number available for you. The cap is currently set at 65,000 H-1B visas per year. However, the first 20,000 applicants who have masters’ degrees are immune to this cap. Similarly, applicants who work for nonprofits, universities or government research groups are immune to the cap. In order to ensure that that your application does not get stopped by the cap, be sure to file at the earliest possible date you can file — April 1 of each year.

No matter what kind of visa application is chosen, there are certain strategies that can be employed on a Florida visa applicant’s behalf to improve his or her chances of success. A detailed analysis of your current visa status, family situation, employment status and other personal information will generally reveal a suitable strategy to pursue permanent residency.

Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Understanding H-1B Requirements,” accessed May. 27, 2015