Cancellation of Removal for Non-LPR | Permanent Residence | H VISAS (H1 H2) | L VISAS | O VISAS | Political Asylum | F-1 Visa (Student Visa)
H VISA
H-1B VISA: for aliens in specialty occupations
H-1C VISA: for professional nurses in the health professional shortage areas
H-2 VISA: for a temporary worker to fill a temporary job
H-3 VISA: for an alien to obtain a training program.
H-1B VISA:
What is an H-1B visa & am I eligible?
This category of visa is issued with limitation each year on a first come first served bases. Thus, if the annual supply of H-1B visas is exhausted before the end of the fiscal year, employers and H-1B beneficiaries must wait until the following October to obtain H-1B status.
REQUIREMENTS
1)degree required for the occupation
2)any required state license to practice in the occupation ( the license must be obtained prior to approval of the H-1B petition) OR
3)The equivalent of a bachelor`s degree through the combination of education, training and progressively responsible experience in the specialty occupation.
Businesses are allowed to determine what the minimum requirements are for the job and whether an alien meets them.
H-1B VISA DUAL INTENT
Dual intent is when an alien can apply for a non immigrant visa and at the same time have the intention to immigrate to the U.S. in the future. Dual intent can be recognized if the employer establishes that it will employ the alien only for the length of stay permitted by the CIS and if the alien establishes that he or she will abide by the terms and conditions of the H-1B petition and will remain in the United States only as long as permitted by the CIS. H-1 aliens may maintain their nonimmigrant statue while their application for adjustment of statue is pending. These applicants and their dependent family members no longer have to obtain advance parole authorization prior to travel outside of the United States.
SINGAPORE AND CHILE CITIZENS
1) These individuals are required to meet the definition of “specialty occupation” set forth in their individual country`s foreign affairs manual or submit proof of alternative credentials as set forth in the respective foreign affairs manual;
2) A job offer letter from the employer;
3) Proof of labor attestation
4) Proof of payment of any special fee, if applicable
5) Payment of the machine-readable visa fee.
The employment of an H-1B1 professional is not required to submit a petition to the DHS as a prerequisite for classification or visa issuance, but the applicant is required to submit evidence of eligibility for H-1B1 classification directly to the consular officer at the time of visa application.
Similar to the H-1B visa employers of H-1B1 professionals must file a labor attestation, using form ETA 9035 or 9035E and an LCA clearly showing the employer as “H-1B1 Chile” or “H-1B1 Singapore”. The validity of the visas should not exceed the validity period of the LCA. For more information, Call 1 888 MADALON
H-1C VISA
(PROFESSIONAL NURSES IN HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE AREAS)
The requirements for this category are the same as the requirements for the H-1A program with the following addition. The employer is required to show that it is a hospital in a shortage area. This simply means that the number of H-1C nurses will not exceed one –third of the total number of nurses employed and that the H-1C nurse may not be transferred out of the shortage area.
H2B VISA (TEMPORARY VISA FOR A TEMPORARY JOB):
What is an H-2B visa & am I eligible?
The H2B visa has its annual numerical limitation, however it very useful. This category of visa is used by the U.S. companies temporarily to employ foreign nationals that are skilled or non skilled in nonagricultural positions for which the employer has a temporary need and for which qualified U.S workers are unavailable. The initial period of stay granted to the alien admitted to the U.S. in H-2B status is governed by the period of time that his or her temporary services are needed.This period must be reasonable in terms of the duties to be performed and cannot extend beyond an initial period of one year. Extensions of stay in increments of one year are possible, but the alien employee cannot be continuously employed in the U.S. for more than three years.
Any extension of the alien`s stay must be made at the company`s request. Understand that an alien who has spent three years in the U.S. in the H-2B category cannot seek an extension of stay, change of status, or be readmitted under the H or L nonimmigrant category unless the alien resides and is physically present outside of the U.S. for the immediately preceding six months.
Application Process
I)The U.S. employer must file a request for the labor certification with the state employment service office with jurisdiction over the location of the proposed employment. The request can cover one alien, or a number of aliens filling the same position who will be working in the same location.
2)The approved labor certification or a DOL notice denying certification must be filed as a part of the second step- a nonimmigrant visa petition filed by the employer with the USCIS. The petition may be filed for the multiple aliens, and the beneficiaries will be performing the same service for the same period of time and in the same location. Under a rule finalized over twelve years ago, aliens are not required to seek their visas at the same consulate in order to be included in the same petition.
3)After the approval of the petition, the foreign national or nationals must take the petition approval notice to a U.S. consulate to apply for H-2B visas permitting their admission to the United States.
Special conditions of H-2B visas
Aliens admitted to the U.S. in the H-2B category is a temporary worker hired to fill a position for which the employer has a temporary need. Thus, it may be difficult to adjust to permanent resident status while filling the same position for the same employer, because the employer has already affirmed the temporary need for the worker`s skills. This means that the USCIS will deny an H-2B petition or petition extension when the employer has previously filed a labor certification application or an immigrant visa petition for the alien, even if the alien will fill a different job with the same employer. * Graduates of foreign medical schools coming to the United States to perform services as members of the medical profession are precluded from using the H-2B category.
Special rules for the H-2B petitions apply to aliens who will be employed in the Virgin Islands and Guam. Also, agricultural workers for whom employers have a temporary need are now included in a separate non-immigrant category, the H-2A with its own sophisticated rules.
Alien entertainers and athletes who are not considered to have `extraordinary` ability or international recognition as `outstanding` are usually required to use the H-2B category rather than the O and P categories.
The alien employee`s family members may enter the U.S. in the H-4 visa category. Family members, however, cannot accept employment in the U.S. unless they independently qualify in an appropriate visa category. They may engage in the H-4 category.
H-2B Requirements:
1) A recurring seasonal need
2) An intermittent need
3) A peak load need
4) A need based or one time occurrence
Process for Obtaining H-2B Status
There are 4 components of the paper that must be prepared to obtain H-2B classification for the temporary employee:
1)The application for DOL certification
2)A company letter and other pertinent documentation supporting the labor certification application
3)Form I-129 and H supplement to file duplicate of the H-2B petition
4)A company letter supporting the H-2B petition
After the labor certification procedures have been completed at the DOL, the following documents must be submitted to the USCIS service center having jurisdiction over the area of proposed employment:
1)the DOL labor certification or denial
2)the H-2B petition with the appropriate dialing fee
3)the company`s letter supporting the petition
4)any rebuttal evidence, in the case of a DOL denial of the labor certification
5)Documentation of each alien`s qualifications to meet the minimum requirements set for the job in the labor certification.
Once the company obtains the petition approval notice (Form I-797), it must forward the notice to the alien or group of aliens. They then may take the notice to a U.S. consulate and obtain visas. If the group of aliens is involved, they must all apply for a visa at the same consulate. Because the USCIS also forwards notice of the approved petition to the consulate, the aliens can make their visa applications at different times once the petition arrives.
