What is H-1B? Meaning & Type Explained

Introduction

People worldwide wish to work and live in the USA (the dreamland for many aspirants). In today’s scenario, the USA is the only place where the number of migrants is higher than any other country in the world. There may be several reasons for this, for instance, great work opportunities, competitive salary packages, and the best living conditions.

People search many ways and try their luck through different methods to reside in the USA for short-term or permanently. H-1B is one of the prime tokens that makes it possible for dreamers to settle in the USA.

If you are one of those aspirants who is looking to work and settle in the USA, H-1B may play a significant role in landing you there and finally realizing your dream.

So let’s understand what is H-1B?, what type of visa is H-1B?, what is the duration of visa type H-1B, how to apply for H-1B, when to apply for H-1B, and everything else in this blog to have a clear picture.

What is an H-1B?

H-1B is a temporary non-immigrant visa that allows skilled professionals to work in the USA. It is a work visa specially designed for those professionals who qualify for specialty occupations. A specialty occupation (which constitutes 23% of total jobs in the USA) is a category of employment in the USA that include fields like IT, finance, science, engineering, architecture, etc. If your field of work is any of these, your path to working in the USA may be easier.

Who is eligible for H-1B?

When it comes to eligibility criteria for an H-1B visa, you need some essential variables to qualify. Let’s look at them.

• You need a job offer from a US employer under a specialty occupation.
• You need at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in that field.
• The employer must be capable of showing shortage of local US labor in the related field.

How long does it last?

The validity of visa type H-1B lasts for six years in total. Once you are granted H-1B, initially, it’s valid for three years. You can further extend it up to three more years. H-1B is a viable option for foreign professionals seeking to work in the USA temporarily.

How to apply for H-1B?

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, is the governing body solely responsible for granting H-1B visas. You need to apply for an H-1B visa through USCIS. USCIS fixes a quota for visa type H-1B each year, which is 85,000 for now. If USCIS receives applications more than the fixed quota, it shortlists them through the lottery system. Last year, USCIS received 483,927 applications, which was the highest in the history of the H-1 B program.

When to apply for H-1B?

On February 28th, you can begin creating your registration account with USCIS. Generally, the application window is open from March 1st to March 18th. You can submit your registration during that time. It is important to note USCIS declares the result on March 31st so that you can know your status (selected/not selected).

OPT to H-1B

If you are studying in the USA and now thinking of working there, you can change your status from OPT to H-1B. You need to keep in mind some crucial things. You can change your status from F1 to H-1B if you are in the USA and meet certain eligibility requirements. If you are outside the USA, you must apply for H-1B at the US consulate and then enter the USA with an H-1B status.

How can Imagility help you?

Imagility is a top-notch immigration software designed to meet end-to-end individual immigration requirements. The platform enables you to build and develop a compelling H-1B story to increase the success ratio of H-1B approvals. The platform’s AI and ML capabilities assist you at each step of the immigration process, which automates workflows and makes intelligent recommendations during petition building.

The platform handles all repetitive work and leads the users through guided petition building and intelligent petition analysis, thereby improving the chances of petition success. It is a collaborative platform for all stakeholders – Beneficiaries, Petitioners and Attorneys – to work towards improving visa outcomes.

You can download the app on Google play store and App store today to embark on a successful immigration journey!