To qualify for an H-1B visa, you must first have a job offer from a U.S. employer for duties to be performed in the United States. In addition, the requirements for getting an H-1B visa include that:

  • You are coming to the U.S. to perform services in a specialty occupation with a college degree or its equivalent in work experience, or to be a distinguished fashion model.
  • You must have a job offer from a qualified U.S. employer for work to be performed in the U.S., and you must be offered at least the prevailing wage that is paid in the same geographic area for that type of job.
  • You must have the correct background to qualify for the job you have been offered.
  • Your employer must have filed an attestation (LCA) with the Department of Labor (DOL).
  • Your job itself must also meet certain criteria, at least one of the following:
    • A bachelor’s degree or higher degree is the minimum requirement for entry into the position.
    •  The degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations, or the duties of the position are so complex that it can be performed only by a person with a degree.
    • The employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position.
    • The nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with a bachelor’s or higher degree.

 H-1B visas are available only to workers in occupations requiring highly specialized knowledge normally acquired through a college education, and to distinguished fashion models.

To qualify for this visa, unless you are a fashion model, you need at least a bachelor’s degree or substantial on-the-job experience that is the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree. If you’re qualifying through a bachelor’s degree, it’s preferable if it’s not in a liberal arts or general business subject area, which USCIS tends to view as insufficiently specialized.

If you don’t have a bachelor’s degree but will be attempting to qualify through work experience, USCIS usually wants to see three years of specialized training and/or work experience for every year of college that you would have attended.

Fashion models need not meet the specialty occupation requirements. Instead, they must show that they are nationally or internationally recognized for their achievements, and will be employed in a position requiring someone of distinguished merit and ability. They must be renowned, leading, or well known.

These are the basics to qualify for H-1B visa. If you have any questions, please contact our law office at (615) 497-7563 or visit our website at www.tnimmigration.com