H-1B Visa For Specialty Occupations

Immigration Attorney - Chicago, Illinois

USA Jobs Visas - H1B Visa Cap

The H-1B is known as the specialty occupation visa for professional workers who hold a minimum of a bachelor's degree in the field of intended employement. Often these workers are professionals in the field of technology who are nationals of India or China, although our attorneys work with employees from many other countries. Some of these specialized occupations include (but is not limited to):

    - Doctors
    - Physical Therapist
    - Nursing Directors, Nurse Practitioners with advanced degrees
    - Lawyers
    - Teachers
    - Engineers
    - Accountants and Auditors
    - Commercial Credit Analyst
    - Computer Engineers, Analysts and Programmers
    - Database Administrator, Network Engineer
    - Marketing Analyst and Business Operations Analyst
    - Horse Farm Operations Manager
    - Environmental Health Specialty - Sanitarian/Pest Control
    - Bilingual Public Relations and Communications Specialist
    - Senior Fragrance Evaluators
    - Food Scientist and other Researchers

At the Badia-Tavas Law Group, Ltd., in Chicago, Illinois, our lawyer who specializes in H-1B visas has 12 years of experience helping businesses and corporations get the foreign employees they need to fill their job vacancies in the U.S. These companies cannot locate sufficient US workers with the qualifications or in the numbers required.

This area is regulated by the U.S. Department of Labor in terms of prevailing wage requirements, displacement of U.S. workers and annual numerical limits on the issuance of H-1B visas. It is critical to contact our immigration law firm to navigate the legal documentation to be certain all the legal and regulatory procedures are followed.

We Can Help You Face the Regulatory Challenges

Employers face many requirements before they are allowed to hire workers on H-1B visas .  Because our immigration law firm has extensive experience in this area, our knowledgeable immigration attorney can help you anticipate problems such as:

    - Proving that a particular occupation requires a bachelor's degree in a specific specialty based on four regulatory criteria
    - Dealing with various USCIS Service Center jurisdictions that have various differing standards
    - Showing wage surveys that accurately depict the average salary for that job in the geographic area of intended employment
    - Showing that the foreign degree of the foreign national is on a par or equivalent to with a comparable U.S. degree
    - Compliance with the minimum prevailing wage requirement for the occupation in the area of intended employment even though   private wages often differ from government wages

Others Options to the H-1B Visa

In addition to the H-1B visa, foreign nationals may qualify for other visa options such as the TN NAFTA Visa for citizens of Mexico and Canada, the H1-B1 for citizens of Singapore and Chile, the E-3 Visa for Australian citizens or the J-1 or H-3 Trainee Visa. Eligibility and requirements are determined on a case by case basis.

Students Need to Be Aware of Falling "Out of Status"

If you are a student or exchange visitor who is studying in the United States under a F-1 student visa or J-1 Exchange visa, it is important that you do not fall "out of status." If you fail to maintain your legal status by staying too long or dropping out of school, you risk detention or even deportation. Most importantly, you will not be able to change status to another visa classification such as an H-1B visa.

Students on the optional practical training portion of their F-1 visa should also be aware of the annual visa limitation on H-1B visa issuance also known as the "H-1B cap" issue so as not to be excluded and ineligible to change status to H-1B because the annual limitation on the number of H-1B visas. This limitation is currently at 65,000 annually with some exemptions such as 20,000 visas for beneficiaries with advanced degrees from U.S. institutions.

Contact our H-1B Attorney for Advice on the H-1B Visa Classification

If you have questions about acquiring H1-B visas for future employees or meeting labor condition application requirements, contact the visa transfer law firm of the Badia-Tavas Law Group, Ltd., in Chicago, Illinois. Our law office is conveniently located in downtown Chicago, near the "L" brown line. We charge a reasonable rate of $100 per hour for initial consultations, and utilize innovative approaches for helping clients get the skilled workers they need.

All of our clients get access to an online case management service, where they can check on the status of their case at all times as they occur. Se Habla Español.