If you are an immigrant who wants to enter the United States on an H-1B visa, it is important that you submit your paperwork right away. Application season for H-1B visas begins today. Not everyone can qualify for an H-1B visa. Make sure that you review the H-1B visa process prior to applying so that you don't waste your time. This visa is reserved for highly skilled foreign workers. It is only a temporary work permit. This means that if you apply for an H1-B, then you are requesting temporary permission to work in the United States.

The government doesn't want to issue these visas to anybody. They want proof that you already have a job lined up in the U.S. This means that you are required to prove you have an employer-employee relationship with a petitioning employer who wants you to work for his or her company. A U.S. employer must be able to hire, pay, supervise, and fire you.

You will also need to prove that you have a specialty occupation. You can do this if you can meet two requirements on your H-1B paperwork. First, your job must require a specific bachelor's degree. Normally, the government favors applicants who have degrees in highly complicated subjects like engineering or accounting.

Also, applicants must prove that they have a relevant degree. Oftentimes it is wise to get an attorney to help you with this part of the application. While proving your specialty occupation may appear to be straightforward, the reality is that it can be quite complicated to prove. Also, you may need to challenge the government's definition of specialty.

You will only qualify for an H-1B visa if your employer agrees to pay you specific wage payments. You will need to file a labor condition application with the Department of Labor to certify that your employer will pay you, the sponsored H-1B employee, the actual wage at your workplace or the prevailing wage in the industry, whatever is higher. This is to ensure that the worker will not become a financial burden on society and will be able to pay his or her own way as a temporary resident in the United States.

H-1B visas aren't easy to secure, because the U.S. government only issues 65,000 visas of this nature every year. Once the visas have been issued, individuals have to wait until April rolls around to apply against. You must have an H-1B visa number available at the time that you file.

Thankfully, the first 20,000 visas that are filed on behalf of workers with U.S. master's degrees or higher degrees are exempt from the cap. Those who are employed by an institution of higher education, a nonprofit research organization, or a government research organization may also be exempt from the cap. Still, this is the reason why it is mandatory that you file as early as possible. Waiting until the last minute to file could forfeit your ability to get a number.

You also must apply for visa admission. Once your employer's Form I-129 petition has been approved, you are required to apply with the U.S. Department of State at a U.S. embassy or consulate for the visa. If you want more information about this process, a skilled immigration attorney can help to walk you through the steps. With the right attorney on your side, you may be able to secure an H-1B visa and work in the United States in your specialty area. Don't hesitate to use our directory today to locate a skilled and helpful attorney near you!