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Costs
- Petition - $460
- Fraud Prevention and Protection Fee - $500
- Additional fees - For employers with more than 50 employees, where 50% of them are on H1B or L visas, there is an additional fee of $2,250y
- Visa - $190
- Visa issuance fee - varies by country
Processing Times
- Labor Condition (LCA) - 6-9 months
- About 12-15 months for the petition unless you select premium processing, which can be as fast as 15 days
- The Visa time varies but can be 5-12 months or more
H-1B Visa
This nonimmigrant classification applies to people who wish to perform services in:
- A specialty occupation (Requires Labor Condition Application)
- Services of exceptional merit and ability relating to a Department of Defense (DOD) cooperative research and development project (does NOT require Labor Condition Application)
- Services as a fashion model of distinguished merit or ability (Requires Labor Condition Application)
The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant work visa that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with specialized skills to work in the United States for a specific period of time. Typically, the roles require a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. Occupations that qualify for the H-1B visa are typically in fields such as technology, finance, engineering, architecture, or more.
H-1B Visa Eligibility
In order to be eligible for the H1B visa, you will need:
- A valid job offer from a U.S. employer for a role that requires specialty knowledge. This job must be related to your degree and/or experience
- Proof of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in that field
- Your employer must show that there is a lack of qualified U.S. applicants for the role
The H-1B Visa Cap
Because there is a lot of demand for this visa, there is a limited number of visas that can be issued each year. In 2023, the cap is at 65,000 visas per fiscal year. However, if you have a master’s degree from a U.S. institution, there are an extra 20,000 visas available. This quota is also not subject to the general cap and could be an option if you have master's degree.
Cap Exemptions
If the employer sponsoring you is:
a) Institution of higher education
b) Non-profit entity which are related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education
c) Non-profit research organization
d) Government research organization
Then the visa cap does not apply.
Step 1 - Employer Registration
The registration period only runs for 14 days each year. If the employer doesn’t register, they will not be able to apply for the H-1B visa (unless the employer is exempt from the cap).
If your employer is subject to the cap, then they will need to register with USCIS electronically to enter a lottery.
We will start an USCIS account for you
We will pay the registration fee and fill in basic information about the sponsoring company as well as a few details about yourself.
For instance, if the employer registers by February and is selected in March, they can apply for the employee on or after April 1 and he can start working on October 1 or later.
Step 2 - Decision
Once the registration period has finished, USCIS will let you know if you have been selected. Your registration must be selected if you want to apply for an H-1B visa, unless you are eligible for an exemption. If you are not selected, USCIS will let you know and you will have to wait for the next fiscal year 14-day window to try again. The unknown quantity with this is that the process can theoretically go on indefinitely, with no guarantee of selection.
Step 3 - Labour Market Testing (if applicable)
This is the time to start the process of Labour Market testing, which comes in 2 stages:
Step 3.1 - Prevailing Wage. Proving that the salary being paid does not undercut US workers.
Step 3.2 - Labour Condition (LCA). Showing details of the job and the prospective employee. LCAs are reviewed within seven (7) working days. LCAs must not be submitted more than 6 months before the beginning date of the period of employment. So, if the job starts in November, you cannot submit the LCA until May.
Step 4 - Petition
This is where you are cleared to apply for the petition and finally offer the job to your selected applicant. This normally takes a 9-10 months but can be reduced to 45 days by paying an USCIS $2805 premium processing fee.
Step 5 - Visa
When your petition is approved, then there are two options for you, depending on whether you are in the United States already or not.
If you are within the United States on a different visa category, you must wait until your H-1B visa status becomes active in order for you to start working.
If you are outside the United States, you will apply for consular processing.