H-1B Visa Extension
(Specialty Occupations)

This page gives you an idea about H1B Visa Extension - explains conditions for extending/renewing H1B visa as increments of 3 years or 1 year; specifies document requirements for extension/renewal of H1B visa status

• Professionals with high degree of specialized knowledge like engineers, research analysts, management consultants, programmers, journalists, accountants, and others with Bachelor's or equivalent degree.
• Professional nurses entering the U.S. to supervise nursing operations.
• Renowned fashion models.
• Employers to bring in qualified foreign professionals for jobs that require specialized skills.

H1B Extension:

Initially, H1B visa is issued for a period of 3 years. It is possible to extend the visa by another 3 years on renewal. An H-1B visa holder is permitted to extend beyond 6 yrs under special circumstances. According to the 21st Century Act of 2000 (AC21), an H1B visa holder can file incremental one-year extensions annually after the completion of six years on H1B status. An H1B visa can be extended beyond 6 years only if

• You are a beneficiary of an employment based (EB) immigrant petition (I-140) or an application for Adjustment of Status.
• Your labor certification application for employment-based green card purpose is pending for more than 365 days.

The applicants belonging to the above mentioned scenario can get extensions of H-1B non-immigrant visa status in increments of 1 year at a time, until a final decision is made on the H-1B non-immigrant's green card. For extending the visa status in increments of 3 years, you

• must have an employment based green card petition filed on your behalf in an either EB1, EB2 or EB3 categories
• are not eligible to file Adjustment of Status application only because you are from a country for which priority date is not current, which is usually the case with applicants from India or China.

Document Requirements for Extending H1B Work Visa:

The following documents need to be submitted to the US State Department for the purpose of renewal/extension of your H1B work visa.

• A valid passport for the applicant and each family member.
• Original of the form I-94 issued to the applicant by the USCIS.
• USCIS Form I-797 Notice of Receipt which includes information on the applicant’s present employer and indicates the renewal/extension dates.
• Employer’s letter of support which contains information relating to the applicant’s work position and nature of business or profession. Also it must mention the list of dependants and the explanation for why the visa is needed.
• A typed nonimmigrant visa application form, OF-156 with one official passport-size photograph for each applicant, regardless of age.
• Non-refundable visa fee. The payment must be made by bank draft, money order, or corporate check payable to the U.S. Department of State.
• A self-addressed postage-paid envelope for returning the documents.

If your extended H1B visa is returned to you with erroneous information, you can return it to the authorities for correction. No additional fees are charged for correction on visas. For correcting revalidated visa, you have to send

• Your passport with the revalidated visa.
• A letter describing what information is to be corrected.
• Supporting documents for demonstrating the correct information.
• A recently taken photograph.