H-1B Season: Time to Act for H-1B Opportunities for Professional Employees

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" overlay_color="" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" padding_top="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" padding_right=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="no" min_height="" hover_type="none" link=""][fusion_text]The time to act is now to apply for H-1B work status! The H-1B classification is the most popular temporary work status for professional positions.  Also, for many foreign-nationals, H-1B status is their only realistic temporary status to hold if they also want to apply for a green card.  Amongst other eligibility requirements, foreign-national applicants must have:1. A U.S. job offer, and2. A relevant Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent work experience).The government accepts H-1B applications only one time a year--on April 3, 2017.  If approved, work authorization begins October 1, 2017.  To ensure timely filing of an H-1B application - and to avoid a rush service fee - be sure to engage our office by January 23, 2017.It is important to prepare these application packages thoroughly and submission timing is critical as there are a limited number of H-1B visa numbers available.  We expect the government will hold a lottery to determine which applications to pick for processing.  Last year, employers submitted over 230,000 H-1B applications for the coveted 85,000 visa numbers available. Thus, it may take more than one attempt to eventually obtain H-1B status.  Employees with a Master’s degree have better odds of winning the H-1B lottery.We also recommend that you request from the government its premium processing service, unless it is cost-prohibitive.  For an additional fee, the application is more likely to be adjudicated by a more senior officer, and a decision will be made in approximately 1 month.  Previously, a number of H-1B applications were not adjudicated by the October 1 start date (so many of these applicants ended up requesting premium processing anyway.)   Anecdotal evidence also suggests that premium processing results in a better chance of obtaining an H-1B visa number, although—officially--premium processing should not affect the lottery.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]