H1-B visa

[AnMig]

Obtaining a H1-B visa is not as easy as most people think. It takes a long time and your employer has to do a lot of paper work and has to pay a few fees that he cannot charge the applicant.

Most of the time the waiting period before a H1-b applicant can start working turns off an employer. The employer must also prove that the Applicant's salary is within the prevailing wage of the area. I also believe that he has to prove that he tried his best to find a local citizen for the job. This usually means he has to advertise for the jo for a couple of weeks and prove that he cannot find a suitable employee loaclly.

So with these hurdles to overcome I cannot see an employer favoring a H1-B applicant over a suitable Citizen.
Most of the jobs H1-b applicants apply to are in areas most citizens don not want to work (e.g. health shortage areas).

I myself went thru a harder route trying to obatin a J1 visa waiver----H1-B--green card (estimated time 5 years) so its not easy or rubber stamped as people may think.

The only reason an employer would favor a H1-B applicant over a citizen is that they are usually more commited to stay as ther visa is tied down to the job
I am also pretty sure H1-b applicants are less demanding specially durring contract negotiations.

peace

H1-B process takes around 2-3 months depending on the area (worst areas texas)

 

[StageLeft]

This usually means he has to advertise for the jo for a couple of weeks and prove that he cannot find a suitable employee loaclly.

We haven't gone through the labor cert route ourselves but I think you may be getting the H1B confused with a labor cert. You're definitely right that the cost and time involved for an H1B will turn a lot of employers away, and what you said about advertising and proving that no local resident is capable of it is right for a labor cert at least, but I'm not sure that there is anything like that involved for an h1B.

 

[StageLeft]

H1Bs piss you off? Have you heard about H1Cs? Any Canadian with an H1C because of the joint US-Canada employment engagement law passed early 2002 can apply for a US job and on their resume specify that since they are on an H1C the US gov't will subsidize half the pay. Thus a $40k/year job costs the employer $20k. It's soooo easy for Canadians to get jobs in the US now. I love it 🙂 Also Bush it's rumored that Congress is going to pass a bill soon that makes it so that any US company with more than 50 employees needs at least 10% of them Canadians or else they suffer tax penalties!

 

[MaxDepth]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
H1Bs piss you off? Have you heard about H1Cs? Any Canadian with an H1C because of the joint US-Canada employment engagement law passed early 2002 can apply for a US job and on their resume specify that since they are on an H1C the US gov't will subsidize half the pay. Thus a $40k/year job costs the employer $20k. It's soooo easy for Canadians to get jobs in the US now. I love it 🙂 Also Bush it's rumored that Congress is going to pass a bill soon that makes it so that any US company with more than 50 employees needs at least 10% of them Canadians or else they suffer tax penalties!

Damn those Canadians and their tank!


😀

 

[Frdm51472]

Originally posted by: phantom309

Originally posted by: Frdm51472
The United States of the Entitled....sorry saps but you arent entitled to a job just because your native murdering ancestors were rejected from their home country, and you were lucky enough to be born here instead of elsewhere. If someone from another country can come here and do your job, and is willing to accept less money, then you are expecting too much money. Its not their fault you are unemployed its yours.

Yeah. Why should a lifetime of work, paying taxes and helping to build this country entitle YOU to any sort of preferential treatment?

It shouldnt, this is a capitalist society, you are the charge of your own misfortune or fortune, you paying taxes entitles you to live here....thats about it in my book. I have a purple heart, and a bronze star from Desert Storm and Somalia and I dont feel I should have any inherant advantage over anyone else when it comes to getting a job. Your taxes being paid makes you a real american? Shrug, not in my book.

 

[Michael]

We're not considering hiring anyone that needs an H-1B. There is no labor shortage, it takes too long, and it is expensive.

2 years ago, the situation was different.

Michael

 

[DurocShark]

Also Bush it's rumored that Congress is going to pass a bill soon that makes it so that any US company with more than 50 employees needs at least 10% of them Canadians or else they suffer tax penalties!

WTF?!!??!?!

 

[Double Trouble]

SyahM, since noone appears to have given you actual good information regarding your post (lots of comments about H1-B visas and whether they are good or not, but few answers).

The H1-B process is a pretty long one. While it is possible to get done in 6-8 weeks, odds are it will take longer, depending on what service center services your area. Why? Because first, the company must get a certification from the labor department that services the area where you live, to indicate that the wages the company is going to pay you are within range of the market wages (the 'prevailing wage') for that particular position. That takes a while.

Once you have that, you can actually submit a petition to the INS to get an H1-B permit. The "sponsor" (the company requesting the H1-B) has to document that there were no residents capable and available to do the job, and that they need to bring in a foreign worker to do the job. This is usually not all that difficult, depending on the field you're in, but if the company does not have an attorney with INS experience, you'll need one -- things will go a lot smoother. The other thing the company has to show is that the job *requires* someone with a university degree (for example, a company could not request H1-B visas for janitors).

If you pay the premium fee of $1000, you'll get a decision on your petition quickly.

Those who think workers with H1-B's take away "their" jobs are full of it and don't have an understanding of how the H1-B works. Yes, there's the off chance like in conjur's case where they might have picked the other guy because otherwise he'd have to leave. Then again, they can also give the job to someone else because they have 3 kids to feed and "need it more" or something like that. The H1-B requirements clearly indicate that the person to receive the H1-B has to be paid at least prevailing wages, so the company is not bringing in 'bargain basement' folks to have cheap labor. In fact, given the fact that the company has to jump through a lot of hoops and pay a lot of money to get the H1-B processed, it's probably more of a hassle and more expensive to hire H1-B's nowadays.

The real "job stealers" are the "L-1" type visas that companies (especially from India) are abusing now. The L-1 visa (intra company transfer type visa) is basically designed so that if IBM has an office in Ireland and one in Buffalo, and they want to bring one of their folks over from the Ireland office to the Buffalo one, they can do so with minimal hassle. There is a much shorter "path" to get the L-1, and the company does NOT have to show that the worker is making the "prevailing wage" -- unlike with H1-B's. So what do companies do? Well, companies like for example Wipro basically establish a company in India, then they establish one in the US, then they hire cheap (but technically skilled) labor in India, then they apply for an L-1 visa and transfer the worker to the US. Once in the US, they use the worker as a "consultant" for fortune 500 companies here, and bingo bango, you have a guy on an L-1 visa making $25,000 a year doing a job for which someone here (or even an H1-B holder) would be paid $50,000. The fact that they can effectively bypass the H1-B's requirement that the person be paid prevailing wages for the position makes this a much bigger threat to resident's jobs........

Incidentally, no, I'm not on an H1-B (or any other kind of visa for that matter), I've just had to deal with them quite a bit when during the "boom" of the late 90's my employer hired a lot of overseas workers. A lot of them are gone now, the company simply will not sponsor their petition for an H1-B extension once the 3 years are up, and it won't sponsor their green card applications.....

 

[SyahM]

thank you tagej, skoorb and everyone else.
For conjur, sorry that you lost your job over the other guy, better luck next time and hopefully you wont delay too long.
It's very long process to obtain the H1-B, most employers wont do it unless for specific reason. Plus, once you file it, you're not guaranteed to be approved.
I guess they wont hire me because of this issue, but i dont know, anything could happen.

 

[conjur]

Thanks, SyahM. I'm gainfully employed now (have been for 3 mos. now). I didn't mean to do any thread-crapping...just a sore subject with me.

I do wish you the best of luck, though!

 

[Double Trouble]

SyahM, while companies do have to jump through hoops to hire folks with an H1-B, there are also some benefits. For one thing, once you hire someone on an H1-B, that person is pretty much tied to the sponsoring company -- they can't just jump ship anytime they like. Also, the company knows that if they don't like you, they don't have to go through firing you etc, they can just not sponsor your visa extension. Anyway, it's not impossible, I know a lot of folks that hire H1-B people, provided they are the right "fit".

Good luck!

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
Hopefully they take a lot longer now to get processed. The more labor the US gives to cheaper workers, the less good jobs there are for the citizens.

Yeah, but the more efficient the economy gets.
In the end, it is a win for everyone involved except for folks who lose a job, but they can turn that into a win if they get motivated and find a better job. I know I am sure glad my family got out of farming 3 generations ago.

 

[SyahM]

Originally posted by: tagej
SyahM, while companies do have to jump through hoops to hire folks with an H1-B, there are also some benefits. For one thing, once you hire someone on an H1-B, that person is pretty much tied to the sponsoring company -- they can't just jump ship anytime they like. Also, the company knows that if they don't like you, they don't have to go through firing you etc, they can just not sponsor your visa extension. Anyway, it's not impossible, I know a lot of folks that hire H1-B people, provided they are the right "fit". Good luck!

well, in my case the employer would be my alma mater. They want somebody who will work for them for years but they kinda need that person within few weeks. I'm not sure if they're willing to wait or not.
I have no problem volunteering without compensation for few weeks till the H1-B go through, but even that i have to seek approval from the school's international office. My lawyer says yes since it's non-compensation job.
H1-B or not, if i got a job with my alma mater, i will stay for long time, what to say, i like the atmosphere, environment and the place i live now.
Now i'm looking about information about form I-539. But serious, if the prevailing wages process could be expedited, that would be great..

 

[pillage2001]

All these fuss, sigh.

 

[fizmeister]

It usually depends on who's sponsoring you. My green card application has been held up for more than a year because we submitted it about 1.5 months prior to Sept. 11, 2001.

If you're waiting, you can always ask to see if you can "contract." Contracting and consulting work does not require a work visa...

 

[SyahM]

Originally posted by: fizmeister
It usually depends on who's sponsoring you. My green card application has been held up for more than a year because we submitted it about 1.5 months prior to Sept. 11, 2001. If you're waiting, you can always ask to see if you can "contract." Contracting and consulting work does not require a work visa...

What do you mean by no visa required for contract and consulting work? Never heard of that, explain please, i'm pretty sure me, and tons other ppl would like to know.

pillage, bro ... hang in there, worse come to worse i'll see you back home, maybe we can be work buddy. Keep searching bro.

 

[fizmeister]

Originally posted by: SyahM

Originally posted by: fizmeister
It usually depends on who's sponsoring you. My green card application has been held up for more than a year because we submitted it about 1.5 months prior to Sept. 11, 2001. If you're waiting, you can always ask to see if you can "contract." Contracting and consulting work does not require a work visa...

What do you mean by no visa required for contract and consulting work? Never heard of that, explain please, i'm pretty sure me, and tons other ppl would like to know.

pillage, bro ... hang in there, worse come to worse i'll see you back home, maybe we can be work buddy. Keep searching bro.

Before my family was able to attain a visa, my mom came down here and did contracting work (for a government organization, no less!) without a visa; she has a company established and canada (registered up there) and contracted through them. I did similar employment back in high school (still don't have a work visa; have been on TN/TD for a few years--and now, F-1) by "contracting" through my mother's company.

I know this is legal because I was offered a summer internship at NASA with my f-1 visa; they said this was policy because students are hired as "contracters" and not "employees." I suggest you check some documents online or contact an immigration lawyer; each case is specific, and it's not wise to take advice based off of others' experiences.

Also, a TN visa is very easy to get (i think it may depend on citizenship, though); all you need is a letter requesting your employment from the prospective employer, and you take it to the border to an immigration place, and they'll sign it and issue a visa. It's valid for one year.

 

[FrustratedUser]

By reading this thread I have come to the conclusion that I am the most hated type of person in the US! 😉
Yes I am on a H1-B visa.

It takes a long time to get one. For me it took a bit over 4 months.

The employer has to advertise the position for 6 months before hiring a person on H1-B and they have to prove the local applicants didn't fit the bill. Only after that can they take someone from abroad.

To qualify for an H1-B you HAVE to have a minimum of a BS degree. If you don't have the corresponding degree you can count the number of years you have in the profession that corresponds to the qualifications needed for the position. Which means you can not combine a foreign degree in let's say EE with 10 years of experience in economics, it has to be EE.
You also need 2 letters of Introduction / Reference (I believe that is what it is called) from people who knows your skills and have worked with you before. Your grades have to be translated and verified.
The employer is not allowed to pay you crap, it has to be a market related salary.
There is a $1000 processing fee + fees to lawyers to handle your case + a shitload of forms to file.
After all this they can file a petition for your visa application.
After these steps you wait, and wait, and wait until you (hopefully) get a paper called I-797. It says that your petition has been aproved, not the visa.

You (personally) then have to send the I-797 together with passport and the visa application to the US embassy. They can still deny your application!
If they approve it usually takes another couple of weeks before the visa arrives.

God luck!

:beer:😀