US Immigration Working Visa FAQs
Questions & Answers on H1B Visa and L1 Visa
1.
What kinds of working visas are there?
2. What is an L-1 visa?
3. Can an individual with an L-1 visa transfer or change jobs?
4. Similar to H1 cap, is there any restriction on the number of L-1 visas available in a year?
5. How do I apply for a L1/L2 revalidation?
6. As an employer, can I move L1 workers to different jobsites across the country?
7. As an employer, am I needed to pay 'Prevailing Wage' to the L1 workers?
8. I am a professional with a Bachelor degree or equivalent, and I'd like to come to the U.S. to work. How do I get started? Are there some pitfalls I should watch out for?
9. I would like to come to the U.S. to work on an H-1B visa. My occupation is in Information Technology, but I have not completed my college studies and do not have a degree. Instead, I have worked in the industry for several years. Is there hope for an H-1B visa?
10. Since my degree major is in one particular area (let's say, finance, for the sake of examples), must I get a finance company to sponsor my H-1B visa?
11. I'm on an H-1B visa. I would like to change employers but I've been told the process is too difficult. Should I just stay where I am?
12. What exactly does "out of status" mean? My H-1B visa stamp and I-94 card are still valid. I'm looking for a new employer but I'm not working currently. Am I "out of status"?
1. What kinds of working visas are there?
There are several US visas that permit working in the United States. The major
working visas are H-1B Visa and L-1 Visa. One can also work with an L-2, F-1,
M-1, J-1, J-2, I, A or G type visa. For more information on visa categories,
visit our Visa Type page or contact us.
2. What is an L-1 visa?
L1 visa program (also L-1 Intra Company Business Visa) is a temporary visa
(non-immigrant visa) that permits businesses operating both in the US and abroad
to transfer certain classes of worker from its foreign operations to its USA
operations for up to 7 years. There are two types of workers who may be
sponsored for L-1 temporary visas, namely, Managers or Executives, and
Specialized Knowledge Staff. L1 visa holder can do part time jobs. (For more
information, visit our L-1 Intra Company page)
3. Can an individual with an L-1 visa transfer or change jobs?
Yes. The USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) must be notified of any
change in one's job status
4. Similar to H1 cap, is there any restriction on the number of L-1 visas
available in a year?
Currently, there is no restriction on the number of L1 visas available in a
year.
5. How do I apply for a L1/L2 revalidation?
Since July 2004, L1/L2 visa revalidation has ended in USA. Since then, drop box
facility has also ended at the consulates. The applicant must make an
appointment as usual for L-1 stamping.
6. As an employer, can I move L1 workers to different jobsites across the
country?
Yes. You can shift L1 workers to different work sites as long as they are under
your control and management.
7. As an employer, am I needed to pay 'Prevailing Wage' to the L1 workers?
While strictly not needed, if you pay considerably lower wages, you may get into
the trouble with USCIS or US DOL (US Department of Labor.)
8. I am a professional with a Bachelor degree/equivalent, and I'd like to
come to the U.S. to work. How do I get started? Are there some pitfalls I should
watch out for?
Steps to employment in the U.S.:
1. First, you need to find an employer willing to sponsor your H-1B visa.
(to find out if you qualify for an H-1B visa, visit
H-1B visa page).
And DO NOT BE IN A HURRY!!!
2. You may see newspaper ads from U.S. companies seeking foreign talent;
you may contact them by mail or by e-mail.
3. Or many times there will be professional recruiting companies in your
country who specialize in finding foreign talent for U.S. companies. Using a
professional recruiter is usually a bit more convenient and makes the process
easier, but it is not required. If you do go through a local recruiting company,
be careful to check them out to make sure they are reputable! And you should
also make sure you understand the cost involved, if any...many U.S. companies
pay a recruiting fee to these companies to find talent, so the cost to you may
be minimal.
4. There may be job fairs held at your university or in your city that
will expose you to many U.S. companies interested in hiring foreign talent. Be
particular, compare benefits, ask around for references on the company, and most
of all do not be fooled by a "package" that just seems too good to be true. Also
realize that the highest paying employer may not be the best!
5. Finally, a favorite way to find a good U.S. employer, for many people,
is to ask your classmates, friends or relatives who may already be working in
the U.S. to refer you to a good, reputable company! Word about a good reputation
"gets around" (as does a bad one)! Usually once in the U.S., it doesn't take
long to "hear" about the reputation of different companies, so if you know
someone already working in the U.S., and it's someone you trust, seriously
consider their recommendations. Of course, you may not always be able to rely on
"hearsay" either, so you should weigh all the information carefully, as well as
the source(s) they come from! A wise candidate should wait to see if they hear
several different people recommend the same company before accepting a job offer
from them!
6. For most any profession, an evaluation of your educational credentials
(by professional evaluators) will be necessary before the nonimmigrant visa
petition can be submitted to USCIS. This is to make sure that your education is
equivalent to the same education offered in the U.S. Your employer will know the
procedure for the evaluation, or the immigration practitioner preparing the visa
paperwork can coordinate the evaluation with an evaluation company, whose report
is recognized and accepted by USCIS.
7. In addition to an evaluation of your educational credentials, your
profession may have particular licensure requirements before you are allowed to
practice your profession (such as most healthcare professions). If so, the
employer you sign with will know how to proceed. You may be required to provide
certain educational documents or arrange for your university to provide them.
Follow your employer's directions carefully, and proceed expeditiously.
Licensing procedures can sometimes take many months (even if everyone proceeds
expeditiously) because of different steps and agencies involved...DO NOT BE
IMPATIENT! It is not unusual for licensing procedures (depending on the
profession) to take as much as 6 - 8 months or more.
8. When the education evaluation and/or the professional license is
obtained, the non-immigrant visa can be submitted to USCIS (if your profession
requires a license for you to practice, then a license must be submitted with
the visa application or petition). The visa process can take from 6 - 10 weeks
or more before it is approved and you can go to the nearest U.S. Embassy to
obtain the visa. See U.S. Embassy &
Consulate Website Locator page to find the nearest US Consulate/Embassy.
Think about these things to avoid pitfalls:
1. DO NOT BE IN A HURRY!
2. Take time to investigate employers with regard to their reputation
with foreign workers.
a) How do they take care of their employees?
b) How does their benefit package measure up to other similar companies? c) How
do their salary ranges compare?
c) Will they be able to offer you jobs which will give you the greatest range of
experience?
d) If your goal is a Green Card, ask them if they are willing to sponsor
it...when, and who will pay for the process?
e) Most of all...do not let the fact that a company offers the most money be the
determining factor in your decision. Stop to think: Maybe their salaries
are high because they can't keep employees any other way? We've heard lots of
horror stories...sometimes a little more money is not worth the lack of care and
consideration you may be given.
3. BE PATIENT! Credentialing, licensing (if required), and the
immigration process takes a good deal of time! If you find a company who says
they can get you into the U.S. in 3 weeks is "dangling bait for you to grab".
It can't be done (unless, of course they have a brother-in-law working at each
of the Department of Labor Regional Offices and all four USCIS service centers
around the country!) Of course, if you "grab their bait" and get started in the
process, they know that you're most likely not going to pull out once you get in
the middle of it!
4. Take some time to learn what's involved in the H-1B visa process. If
you're reading this on the Internet, then do some searches using key words like:
H-1B Visa, Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Department of State,
Immigration, etc. There is a wealth of information out there! If you have a
computer and access to the Internet, there is no excuse for you to arrive in the
U.S. not understanding the system! (See our H-1B Visa Process page)
5. If you have a question...e-mail us...we will get back to you with an
answer!
9. I would like to come to the U.S. to work on an H-1B visa. My occupation is
in Information Technology, but I have not completed my college studies and do
not have a degree. Instead, I have worked in the industry for several years. Is
there hope for an H-1B visa?
There may be! USCIS requires that an H-1B worker have the equivalent of a U.S.
Bachelor's degree. If a person has some college education, but the rest of his
or her "education" comes by way of experience, a professional education
evaluation company may be able to show that the experience is equivalent to
formal education. A general rule is that three years of good experience in the
field may equal one year of formal education, if the experience can be backed up
by some good, detailed reference letters.
If you are considering coming to the U.S. to work, in the IT industry, but you
do not have a Bachelor's degree, we recommend having your education and
experience evaluated before contacting a recruiter or an employer for a job. A
completed evaluation showing the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor's degree greatly
increases your chances of H-1B visa success!
If you decide to have your credentials evaluated, you may contact any one of the
good evaluation companies in the U.S. Or we provide a coordination of this
service for $50. The professional evaluation company we use would charge
somewhere between $350 to $500+, depending on the amount of experience to be
evaluated. For information or questions, use our E-mail address at the bottom of
this page.
To proceed with an evaluation, the worker should be prepared to provide the
following:
1. Transcripts to prove college experience;
2. Good comprehensive reference letters covering at least 3 years work
experience in the industry (for every year lacking on education). The letters
should include dates of employment, job title(s), hardware, software, languages,
etc. and the types of projects worked on/developed);
3. Copies of any professional development course certificates
4. Proof of any professional memberships he may have (Ex. persons from the U.K.
may be members of the British Computer Society).
10. Since my degree major is in one particular area (let's say, finance, for
the sake of examples), must I get a finance company to sponsor my H-1B visa?
The job you find does not have to be with a finance company (for example).
However, the job you secure must require at least a bachelor's degree or
equivalent in your area of education.
For example, if your education were in finance, you could not get a job at
McDonalds serving French fries, because McDonald's does not require that someone
has a bachelor's degree (of any kind) in order to serve French fries.
And likewise, you couldn't get a job as an occupational therapist, for example,
because a degree in finance would not meet with the requirements for the
profession of occupational therapy.
So, if you find an employer who has a job opening that would require someone
with a bachelor's degree in your area of education and experience, then you
could apply and they could hire and sponsor your H-1B visa.
11. I'm on an H-1B visa. I would like to change employers but I've been told
the process is too difficult. Should I just stay where I am?
It is always wise, whether you are a foreign worker, or a U.S. worker, not to
"job hop". However, there are many occasions that warrant a job change, and if
you are a foreign worker faced with making that decision, there are some very
important things to remember. First of all, you are in no way obligated to
remain with your current employer, provided you are not obligated to a binding
employment contract. If that is not the case, and you are free to go, there are
steps that must be taken.
DO NOT just quit your job! Your H-1B visa is dependent on you working! If you
are unemployed for more than 30 days or so, your visa is automatically invalid.
We recommend that if you are thinking about an employer change, find an employer
who is willing to sponsor your H-1B visa first. After an offer has been made to
you and accepted, the employer should proceed with the H-1B visa change of
employer process.
So, you are asking, "when can I leave my current employer?"...we recommend that
you do not give your notice to quit until the new employer receives the Receipt
Notice of Action from USCIS showing that the I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant
Worker has been received and is being processed. USCIS will state on the Receipt
Notice the anticipated time period it will take before the approval is issued
(generally around 30 days or more).
Some people are under the impression that they can go to work for the new
employer as soon as the Receipt Notice is received! NOT TRUE! Remember, you
should not start to work for the new employer before the Approval Notice of
Action has been issued (notice we said "issued"...if you find out by calling the
customer service # on the Receipt Notice, that the Approval has been issued, you
may go to work! The Approval Notice does not have to be officially received
before going to work...only issued).
If you do go to work before the Approval Notice is issued, you will be seen to
be working without authorization and that's the same as going out of status!
12. What exactly does "out of status" mean? My H-1B visa stamp and I-94 card
are still valid. I'm looking for a new employer but I'm not working currently.
Am I "out of status"?
Being out of status means that you are not complying in some way, with one or
more of the requirements set out for your particular visa category. In the case
of the H-1B category, only one of the following situations need to have been
experienced to be considered "out of status", now or in the past:
a. You have overstayed the validity date shown on your most recent I-94 card.
b. You are or have been unemployed for a period of time (when submitting a new
petition for employment, USCIS will usually accept proof of employment that is
no older than 30 days, i.e. recent paycheck stub).
c. You have worked (no matter how long) and received pay from an employer who
did not have an approved I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, showing you as
the beneficiary.
And, we often hear: "I'm not working but my visa and I-94 card are still
valid"...and they do not consider themselves "out of status". But as shown in
"b" above, the mere fact that you have or are unemployed automatically
invalidates your H-1B visa, no matter what the expiration date is! You must
maintain employment in order to maintain the requirements of the H-1B visa.
