I have found that there is a great deal of bad information floating around the web and people’s work places about H-1 visas. Hopefully this will help. What are the requirements for H-1B?
There are four criteria that must be met to qualify for H-1B status:
A. Employer must show that he has a legitimate need, in the context of his business, to fill a given position;
B. Position must be professional (require at least a bachelor’s degree at entry level). USCIS uses the Occupational Outlook Handbook to determine if a position is professional, it is online at http://www.bls.gov/search/ooh.htm, it is updated annually;
C. Employee must prove that, by virtue of formal education and/or related and extensive experience, he/she currently possesses the qualifications for the job;
D. Employer must certify that he is paying the prevailing wage for the position in the geographic area where the work is to be performed. Wage information is provided by a published salary survey, which I will supply.
The requirements are pretty straight forward and set up to encourage highly qualified foreign workers to contribute to US business growth, to prevent employers from shutting out US workers by importing cheap foreign labor to fill professional positions and to prevent foreign workers from being exploited by unscrupulous US employers.
It doesn’t always work so perfectly though which is why you should contact a qualified attorney to help you navigate the complex immigration arena.
Ashley D. Dworsky , Esq. is Of Counsel with BoltNagi PC and handles all areas of immigration law, with an emphasis on business and family immigration and visa law. BoltNagi PC is a full service business law firm located on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.