H-1B Visas

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. The position must require a bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience, and the individual filling the position must possess the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree that is related to the position being offered.

There are five requirements for H1-B visa:

• You must have an employer-employee relationship with the petitioning U.S. employer
• Your job must qualify as a specialty occupation
• Your job must be in a specialty occupation related to your field of study
• You must be paid at least the actual or prevailing wage for your occupation, whichever is higher
• An H-1B visa number must be available at the time of filing the petition, unless the petition is exempt from numerical limits

H1-B Visa Cap

There is a cap of 85,000 visas a year, of which, 20,000 are reserved for graduates of U.S. master’s programs. There are also special H-1B numbers set aside for nationals of Chile and Singapore. With more applicants than slots available, the USCIS uses a lottery system for this visa. The USCIS received 199,000 H1-B petitions for the lottery conducted on April 11, 2017, which means fifty-eight percent of the applicants were initially not accepted and have to find other means to legally remain in or work in the U.S.