VISA2US Blog

Foreign nationals who enter the US via the temporary visa route, like a work or student visa, often decide to stay permanently. They must apply for lawful permanent residency and obtain a green card to do this. Not all visas permit this path, but the H-1B category, also called a dual-intent visa, does, all without needing to leave the country. You just need to file an Adjustment of Status (AOS) and go through the green card process, and we’ll explain how to do that here.

The H-1B visa system is a popular avenue used by skilled foreign workers to expand their professional skills across borders and into the United States. While there are numerous benefits that come with this visa category, the downside to an H-1B is the need to wait for strict filing dates and hope that your registration is chosen in the random lottery, where a cap of 65,000 regular and 20,000 advanced registrants are selected to move forward and file a petition. But there’s a way around this limitation if you can find a cap-exempt employer, and those in the scholarly field often meet the conditions to do this quite naturally. Read on to find out if a scholar you know (or you yourself) can skip the lottery process and obtain an H-1B more easily.

Receiving an H-1B visa is an impressive accomplishment when you’re a foreign worker with the goal of working in the United States. Not everyone who pursues this path is able to navigate it successfully, but you did. However, once it’s in your hands (and in the USCIS system), that doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. There are certain situations in which the government can revoke an approved request, petition, or application. Called a NOIR (Notice of Intent to Revoke), this action isn’t something you want to happen to your visa. Keep reading to understand how to prevent or learn how to handle the steps after receiving a NOIR.

The backlog of H-1B visas and green cards for foreign workers trying to get into the United States is no secret. However, some places are current with their petitions because of the limit on per-country visas, while others, like India, are over ten years behind. As the wait time continues to increase, government officials recognize that something must be done, and they’ve provided a temporary Indian-American work visa rule that could solve this problem.

Occasionally in the immigration visa world, there is more demand from a particular country than the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services expected. When that happens, a retrogression may occur. In those circumstances, the State Department pushes back the final action dates for the EB-2, moving them backward instead of the typical forward momentum. This retrogression was recently announced in the USCIS May 2023 Visa bulletin as necessary to keep the number of immigrant visas under the FY 2023 limit.

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.

Residents of the United States have visibly seen the impact of India’s nonimmigrant and immigrant population. The country’s visa holders make a substantial economic indent, filling highly skilled positions, owning businesses, and getting educated in the US. The demand for visas in India is so high that the past few years have seen massive wait times, and the government is stepping in to make cutting these delays a priority for Indians.

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.

You came to the US for work and found love alongside your job. What an excellent problem to have! But now you need to transfer your H-1B visa to a marriage green card, and that can be challenging. We have the tips here to help make the process easier, so you can focus on this new chapter of your life instead of complex paperwork.

Getting the notice from USCIS that your H-1B visa petition was approved is exciting! All that hard work and stress has paid off, and you’re almost on your way to your new career in the United States. But there’s one more important hurdle to get through before you’re officially a US nonimmigrant working and living in the country: the visa stamping process. What does this process involve, and how have the changes in 2023 affected it? Read on to find out!