VISA2US Blog

The H-1B visa is designed for skilled foreign workers to fill vacancies in the United States. When a US employer can’t find an employee with the qualifications to do the job or one willing to fill that role, the employer can reach out to foreign nationals and extend a job offer. The fees those employers pay are used in part to create training programs for Americans to prepare them for high-skilled jobs.  While foreign nationals aren’t eligible for these training sessions, understanding what goes into them can help you prepare your resume if you want to qualify for an H-1B visa in the future. 

If you’ve paid attention to the immigration climate in the United States, you’ve heard about the massive layoffs in the tech sector. Many of these workers were H-1B visa holders who rely on steady employment to keep their legal status in the country. Per the H-1B visa’s terms, workers have 60 days to find another employer willing to sponsor their visa status, or they must return to their home country. But with so many people searching for work within similar industries, this is a challenging endeavor. However, a recent workaround may keep thousands of these laid-off tech workers in the US legally while they look for employment, even after their 60-day grace period ends by changing from an H-1B to a B-1 or B-2 visa.

H-1B visas are highly sought-after work documents that allow the holder to enter the United States legally, find housing, and gain employment temporarily. It’s a dual-intent document, so once the holder is in the US, they have permission to start the steps to obtain permanent resident status through a Green Card. Because they also allow the beneficiary’s immediate dependents to move with them, it’s easy to see why this visa category is exceedingly popular with foreign workers around the world. However, recent polls show that one of the countries dominating the H-1B requests is China, and they’re willing to get into the US legally or illegally.

In each immigration visa program, there is a maximum number of documents allowed annually. Generally, more people apply for visas than the capped amount, and those who don’t receive them must wait until the next year to reapply. However, since 1992, many employment-based green cards have remained unused, with H-1B visa holders finding other ways to obtain their permanent resident status. Now, a bipartisan bill could recapture those cards and exempt them from the per-country cap, opening up more H-1B applicants to achieve their career goals in the US.

You know you want to expand your career outside of your country’s borders, and the United States has a lot to offer. All you have to do is get there! But to live and work in the US, you need a visa, with the H-1B category being the most popular. However, it’s not the only kind of work visa there is, and navigating the various types can be confusing. We’ve broken them down for you here to help you understand which one is right for you.

There are multiple visas available for foreign nonimmigrants who want to work in the US, but the H-1B is arguably the most popular. One of the main reasons this visa is so coveted is its dual-intent factor: Holders of the H-1B can apply for permanent lawful residence during their “temporary” stay. If you’re in the US on an H-1B and ready to apply for a Green Card, follow these four steps to successfully accomplish your goal.

No one wants to leave their families behind when they move to a different country, even if the move is temporary. Yet, many work visas are for the individual document holder only. That’s why the H-1B category is such a coveted visa: it allows the holder, their spouse, and any dependent children to come with them and stay for the length of the visa’s terms. But beyond that, there are other benefits to the H-1B visa that make it the “family-friendly” way to get into the US, as we’ll discuss here.

In mid-2022, foreign workers in the tech industry were hit with an unpleasant surprise. Many who had planned for their employers to sponsor a green card transfer were put on hold as mega-corporations like Google halted the process. The massive layoffs across the IT sector meant thousands of skilled American workers were actively searching for jobs, a fact that negated that part of a sponsor’s required attestation. But this green card hold created a backlog of processing with a ripple effect: the US could no longer compete with other countries for some of the top global talents. Something had to be done, and the government and IT industries were working behind the scene to fix this issue. What are the results? Here, we have the latest “Google” green card backlog updates.

It’s not a surprise to anyone that dealing with government bureaucracy and paperwork takes time. This is particularly true when it comes to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, where a thorough evaluation of each applicant’s background is an essential part of the job. Yet, due to factors like limited budget and overhead and an overabundance of petitions, the delay of some H-1B Green Card applications are taking more time than even USCIS feels is reasonable. Because of this, some petitioners may receive automatic extensions of their Green Cards.

Since their inception, the H-1B visa and Green Card programs have used certain factors, such as birthplace and workforce skills, to determine which immigrants enter the United States. Now, with the merit-based immigration legislation changes in the Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment Act, these factors have substantially shifted. How does that affect your H-1B visa search? Read on to find out.