U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW

1. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW MICHAEL P. GUEVARA, P.L. 950 S. Pine Island Road, Suite A-150 Plantation, FL 33324 www.guevaraimmigration.com

2. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • YOU MUST HAVE A U.S. EMPLOYER SPONSOR YOU FOR A FULL TIME OR PART TIME PROFESSIONAL LEVEL JOB. • THE PROFESSIONAL LEVEL JOB MUST REQUIRE A BACHELOR’S DEGREE OR FOREIGN EQUIVALENT TO ENTER THE PROFESSION.

3. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • EXAMPLES OF H-1B PROFESSIONAL LEVEL JOBS INCLUDE: • SOFTWARE ENGINEERS • COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS • ACCOUNTANTS • ARCHITECTS • TEACHERS

4. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • EXAMPLES OF JOBS THAT ARE NOT H-1B PROFESSIONAL LEVEL: • COOK • TAXI DRIVER • JANITOR • FARMER • STORE CLERK

5. U.S. H-1B OVERVIEW • IN ORDER TO QUALIFY YOU MUST ALSO HAVE YOUR FOREIGN DEGREE EVALUATED BY A U.S. FOREIGN CREDENTIALS EVALUATION COMPANY. • IT MUST BE DETERMINED IF YOU HAVE THE EQUIVALENT OF A U.S. BACHELOR’S DEGREE.

6. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • IF YOUR DEGREE IS NOT EQUIVALENT TO A U.S. BACHELOR’S DEGREE THEN YOU MUST HAVE YOUR PROFESSIONAL LEVEL WORK EXPERIENCE EVALUATED. • UNDER THE 3 FOR 1 RULE, FOR EVERY YEAR YOU ARE LACKING TOWARDS A U.S. BACHELOR’S DEGREE EQUIVALENCY THEN YOU CAN UTILIZE 3 YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL LEVEL WORK EXPERIENCE.

7. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY CREDITS THEN IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE 12 YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL LEVEL WORK EXPERIENCE EVALUATED TO BE THE EQUIVALENT OF A U.S BACHELOR’S DEGREE. • IF YOUR DEGREE AND/OR PROFESSIONAL LEVEL WORK EXPERIENCE IS NOT DETERMINED TO BE AT LEAST THE EQUIVALENT OF A U.S. BACHELOR’S DEGREE THEN YOU CAN NOT APPLY FOR AN H-1B VISA.

8. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • THE U.S. EMPLOYER MUST AGREE TO PAY YOU THE PREVAILING WAGE AS DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOR THE SPONSORED POSITION. • YOU MUST WORK FOR THE SPONSORING U.S. EMPLOYER. IT IS AN EMPLOYER SPECIFIC VISA SO IT DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE AUTHORIZATION TO WORK FOR ANY OTHER U.S. EMPLOYER.

9. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • YOU ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE MORE THAN 1 H-1B VISA AT THE SAME TIME. • YOU ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE MULTIPLE PART-TIME H-1B VISAS. • YOU ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE ONLY 1 PART-TIME H-1B VISA TO WORK IN THE UNITED STATES. IT DOES NOT NEED TO BE FULL TIME.

10. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • THERE ARE 65,000 NEW H-1B VISAS AVAILABLE EACH FISCAL YEAR. • THERE ARE 20,000 ADDITIONAL H-1B VISAS AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO HAVE OBTAINED A U.S. MASTER’S DEGREE OR HIGHER. • IF YOU ARE NOT IN H-1B STATUS THEN THE EARLIEST YOU CAN FILE FOR AN H-1B VISA IS APRIL 1ST TO BEGIN WORK ON OCTOBER 1ST.

11. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • IF YOU ARE IN THE UNITED STATES IN H-1B STATUS AND WISH TO TRANSFER TO WORK FOR A DIFFERENT U.S. EMPLOYER YOU NEED TO APPLY FOR A SEPARATE H-1B PETITION. • UNDER AC-21 PORTABILITY, YOU MAY NOW BEGIN TO WORK WITH THE NEW H-1B EMPLOYER AS SOON AS THE USCIS (FORMERLY INS) HAS RECEIVED YOUR NEW H-1B PETITION.

12. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • H-1B VISA STATUS ALLOWS FOR A TOTAL OF 6 YEARS USUALLY GIVEN IN 3 YEAR INCREMENTS. • FAMILY DEPENDENTS ARE GIVEN H-4 STATUS. • H-1B STATUS ALLOWS FOR DUAL INTENT WHICH MEANS YOU CAN ALSO APPLY FOR YOUR PERMANENT RESIDENCY (GREEN CARD) AND IT WILL NOT BE HELD AGAINST YOU.

13. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • EXTENSIONS BEYOND THE 6TH YEAR IS AVAILABLE IN 1 YEAR INCREMENTS IF: • A PERM LABOR CERTIFICATION OR IMMIGRANT VISA PETITION HAS BEEN PENDING FOR AT LEAST 365 DAYS.

14. U.S. H-1B VISA OVERVIEW • EXTENSIONS BEYOND THE 6TH YEAR ARE AVAILABLE IN 3 YEAR INCREMENTS IF: • AN IMMIGRANT VISA PETITION IS APPROVED AND YOU ARE UNABLE TO ADJUST STATUS OR CONSULAR PROCESS IN YOUR PERMANENT RESIDENCY (GREEN CARD) CASE BECAUSE YOUR PRIORITY DATE IS NOT CURRENT.

15. MICHAEL P. GUEVARA, P.L. OUR LAW FIRM CAN HELP YOU OBTAIN YOUR H-1B VISA OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF BUSINESS OR FAMILY IMMIGRATION BENEFIT YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR. www.guevaraimmigration.com