A Close Look at the H-1B Visa Process for International Students

Obtaining an H-1B visa is a dream for many foreign workers who hope to someday be employed in the United States. But the process of getting an H-1B visa can be confusing, especially for international students. There are many steps involved.

The H-1B is a highly desirable visa that employs people in specialty occupations. But what is a “specialty occupation,” and how exactly does an international student go about obtaining an H-1B visa? We’ll take a close look at the elements of the H-1B process.

H-1B Visa Basics

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US workplaces to employ workers from other countries in specialty occupations.

According to the regulations of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a worker is in a “specialty occupation” when he or she has a highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor spanning accounting, architecture, biotechnology, business, education, engineering, law, mathematics, medicine and health care, physical sciences, social sciences, theology, and the arts.

To qualify for an H-1B visa, the worker must at least have a bachelor’s degree — except for fashion models, who must have “merit and ability.” Many workers who go through the H-1B process have more advanced degrees.

There is a limit to the number of H-1B visas that can be given out in a year. It is currently at 65,000, and some preference is given to workers who obtain their advanced degrees in America.

The H-1B Process

Many students who seek H-1B visas come from countries like India. There is a great deal of focus on technology and engineering at the undergraduate level in India, and students often find that the benefits of their work will reap greater rewards in the United States than in their home country.

For many Indian students, after obtaining an undergraduate degree, their next step is to attend graduate school in the US. Popular advanced degrees for Indian graduate students in America include information management, electrical engineering and telecommunications.

The students attend graduate school in the US on a F-1 student visa. F-1 visas allow students to be employed, so many students begin working in the US at least on an internship level.

Many US companies who seek to hire foreign students directly out of graduate school must file the appropriate H-1B visa paperwork for a potential employee with US Citizenship and Immigration Services at the beginning of April each year. Since all papers are filed at the very same time, USCIS becomes overworked, and many H-1B visas are not allocated in time.

If a student in the US does not obtain an H-1B visa, however, he or she doesn’t have to leave the country just yet. F-1 student visas allow students to remain in America for up to a year following their graduation date for “optional practical training,” allowing them to work in their field.

Because of recent cutbacks to the number of H-1B visas allocated every year, USCIS has extended the optional practical training period to 17 months for any students in the US who have degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This increases the chances of a student being offered an H-1B visa.

Life After the H-1B

After the H-1B process goes through and the worker obtains the visa, he or she can stay in the country for six years. The visa can be renewed.

Though the H-1B is technically a non-immigrant visa, it belongs to one of the few dual intent categories — meaning that a worker who obtains the visa can legally have the intent to stay in the US permanently and apply for a green card. Many employers of H-1B visa holders serve as the sponsors of employment-based green cards.

The H-1B process can be strenuous and expensive, but for many international students and workers, the rewards are worth it!