The H-1B Season

The H-1B Season by Matt  Kuenning
​H-1B season is upon us again.  Now is a good time to take a moment to explain very generally what H-1B visas are and why there is an H-1B season.
 
An H-1B is long term but temporary permission to work in the U.S. at a specific job for a specific employer.   It is limited to so-called “specialty occupations.”  Generally, specialty occupations are those that in most cases require at least a 4-year college degree in an appropriate field to enter the field.  So, for example, law and engineering are specialty occupations because entry level jobs require at least a law degree or a bachelor’s degree in an engineering or related subject.  By contrast, jobs for nurses and pilots usually do not qualify because it typically does not a 4-year degree to get an entry level job as a nurse or pilot.
 
The H-1B requires the employer to petition for the foreign worker.  The employer must file a Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the United States Department of Labor on behalf of the employee, and thereby make certain promises to the government about wages and working conditions for the H-1B worker. Once the LCA is reviewed and certified by DOL, prospective employer may then file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, with the appropriate USCIS Service Center.
 
Current law limits the number of H-1B visas that can be granted each fiscal year to 85,000.  Of these 20,000 are reserved for foreign nationals holding a U.S. master’s or higher degree. This limited number of available visas does, in most years, require a lottery selection process to select from hundreds of thousands of petitions those that will be reviewed and possibly granted.  In most years, to get its petition into the lottery the employer must file the I-129 no earlier than April 1 and no later than the 5th business day after April 1.  Hence we have the H-1B season as employers, foreign workers, and their attorneys work to make sure H-1B petitions are ready and get filed in that narrow window.