H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa

The H-1B nonimmigrant visa category was established by the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT 90) that allows US employers to increase the existing labor force with highly skilled temporary workers. H-1B workers are admitted to the United States for an initial period of three years, which may be extended for an additional three years and, in some cases, beyond six years, if an an Application for Alien Labor Certification, I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker or an I-485 Application for Adjustment for Status is pending.

With the exception of certain fashin models, an H-1B nonimmigrant must have a bachelor's degree or higher (or its equivalent) in the specific specialty. The H-1B visa program is used by some U.S. employers to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in a specialized field and a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. Typical H-1B occupations include architects, engineers, computer programmers, accountants, doctors and college professors. The H-1B visa program also includes certain fashion models of distinguished merit and ability and up to 100 persons who will perform services of an exceptional nature in connection with Department of Defense (DOD) research and development projects or coproduction projects.  The current annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000.   Not all H-1B nonimmigrants are subject to this annual cap.

H-1B Cap Exemptions

H-1B nonimmigrants who are employed, or who have received an offer of employment, by institutions of higher education or a related or affiliated nonprofit entity, as well as those employed, or who will be employed, by a nonprofit research organization or a governmental research organization are exempt from the cap.

Under the H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004, which took effect on May 5, 2005, 20,000 additional H-1B visas are available for foreign workers with a Master’s or higher level degree from a U.S. academic institution. Such persons are statutorily exempted from the annual cap.

H-1B1

An H-1B1is available to a national of Chile or Singapore coming to the Unites States to work temporarily in a specialty occupation. The law defines an H-1B1 specialty occupation as a position that requires theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge. The beneficiary must have a bachelor’s degree or higher (or equivalent) in the specific speciality. The combined statutory limit is 6,800 per year. 1,400 visas are set aside annually for nationals of Chile, and 5,400 for nationals of Singapore