A Summary of the H-1B Visa
When you live outside the US, you can enter the country legally with a visa. The H-1B is a specific category designed for foreign workers. With this visa, you have access to benefits that other kinds don’t provide, but you must meet the strict qualifications required to receive the H-1B.
Because it’s such a popular document, the USCIS developed a lottery system to choose who is able to petition for the H-1B visa. There’s a limit on how many visas are approved for capped jobs in the US. This number is frequently reached early in the registration process.
However, if you’re one of the skilled workers who can make it through to the end of the petition process and receive an H-1B visa, the benefits make it worth the hassle.
The Immediate Advantages of the H-1B Visa
For most people, the best part of the H-1B visa is that holders are allowed to bring their families with them. If you’re married and/or have dependent children, these individuals don’t have to stay behind for you to pursue a better career. Children and adults can attend school, and adults can work if they are approved for an EAD (employment authorization document).
Unlike other limited visas, the H-1B is valid for three years, with an optional three-year extension for a total of six years. And since it’s also a dual-intent visa, if you’ve opted to pursue your Green Card during that time, you can continue to remain in the country until the Green Card process is finished.
While you’re in the US, you have the right to travel in and out as long as your visa is valid and you let USCIS know where you’ll be.
Financial and Other Benefits
As if having your family with you and the other perks weren’t enough, the H-1B has even more to offer its holder.
Employers hiring foreign workers under an H-1B have substantial responsibilities to those employees. These are set in place by USCIS and the Department of Labor to ensure that foreign workers don’t adversely impact the US economy or displace American citizens. Employers must promise to pay the visa holder the prevailing wage, or one that is the same or more than other similarly qualified workers in the position receive.
Additionally, the foreign worker is entitled to the same type of benefits the employer provides to the other employees in the workplace. As an H-1B holder, you may expect to receive the opportunity to join programs like:
● Insurance plans, including health, life, and disability
● Retirement, savings, and investment plans
● Cash bonuses
● Stock options and other non-cash compensation
These conditions apply to any H-1B worker who will be employed in the US for more than 90 continuous days. Depending on your home country, these benefits can be impressive enough to make it worth starting over in an unknown place.
What’s Next?
If you’re tempted to apply for a job in the US under an H-1B visa, and you think you meet the strict qualifications, talk to an immigration attorney as soon as possible. There are multiple challenges you’ll face along the way, beginning with finding an employer to sponsor you.
At Visa2US, we’ve helped countless people like you navigate this complicated system successfully. Our experts are available all day, every day, and are ready to answer your questions and get your H-1B visa process started. Contact us 24/7 online or over the phone, and let us take the hassle out of the H-1B system.
