USA Immigration Visa FAQ
What is an H-1B Visa?
An H-1B visa is available for a period not to exceed a total of six years; to a foreign employee A. who will be incumbent in a temporary position and will perform services in a specialty occupation on behalf the employer has obtained an approved Labor Condition Application
Is there any special requirement to get H-1B?
Yes. You must have the U.S. equivalent of a Bachelor's degree in a specialized subject (such as computer science, economics etc.) and the job must require such specialization. There are many other requirements, but this is where you begin.
What are the different types of H-1 visas?
An H-1B is temporary visa for three years, extendable for another three. There are various sub categories of H-1 Visa which is as follows :
H-1A Registered Nurse
H-1B1 Specialty Occupation (Professionals)
H-1B2 U.S. Department of Defense special visas
H-1B3 Artists, entertainers or fashion models of national or international acclaim
H-1B4 Artists or Entertainers in unique or traditional art form
H-1B5 Athletes H-1BS Essential support personnel for
H-1B entertainer or athlete.
What is L1 Visa
The United States L1 visa is a non-immigrant visa which allows companies operating both in the US and abroad to transfer certain classes of employee from its foreign operations to the US operations for up to seven years. The employee must have worked for a subsidiary, parent, affiliate or branch office of your US company outside of the US for at least one year out of the last three years.
Companies operating in the US for at least one year, may apply to the relevant INS service center for an L1 visa to transfer someone to the US from their overseas operations. Employees in this category will, initially, be granted an L1 visa for up to three years.
Can my company make L1 visa applications?
Any organization which is 'doing business' (i.e. has more than simply an agent or representative presence) in the United States can sponsor an L1 visa, provided that the candidate qualifies in either L1A or L1B category, and that the sponsoring organization continues to carries on doing business outside the United States for the duration of the worker's L1 status. There is no restriction on the types of business that can sponsor an L1 visa - corporations, partnerships, government-owned entities and non-profit organizations are all eligible. Nor is it a requirement that the sponsoring organization be United States-owned or incorporated. It is, however, a requirement that there is some equity or ownership link between the transferor organization and the transferee organization in the United States.