- with Senior Company Executives, HR and Finance and Tax Executives
- with readers working within the Banking & Credit, Securities & Investment and Law Firm industries
Understanding the H-1B Visa
For decades, businesses in the United States with workforce challenges have been able to hire workers internationally through the H-1B visa program.
Designed to bring highly skilled professionals into "specialty occupations," the program is now under fire and is changing significantly, something businesses need to watch closely.
For instance, in September, the federal government issued new rules for H-1B visas, requiring a $100,000 payment for all new H-1B visa applications made after September 21, 2025.
You can read more about that here, but this may eliminate many small businesses looking for specialized employees from using this option.
The attorneys at The Orlando Law Group specialize in helping businesses with employment and immigration issues in Orlando, Sanford, Winter Garden and Kissimmee. They are here to help business owners continue to be successful.
In 1990, Congress developed these types of visas in its immigration reform package. The goal was to help U.S. employers fill positions that require specialized knowledge — often in fields such as technology, engineering, medicine and finance — when qualified candidates are scarce in the United States.
Every spring, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) opens a limited application window. Employers register prospective H-1B candidates, and selections are made via a lottery when applications exceed the statutory cap (currently 85,000 new visas per year, including 20,000 reserved for holders of U.S. master's degrees or higher).
One of the biggest changes will most likely be the administration's adherence to the statutory cap of visas awarded. For instance, in 2022, the Biden administration granted nearly 500,000 H-1B visas, well above the statutory cap.
We'll talk more about the lottery system in future articles, but understand that once an H-1B visa is approved, the employee can stay with the business for three years and may be renewed up to six.
In theory, it's a mutually beneficial arrangement: American companies gain access to global expertise, and foreign professionals gain a chance to work in the United States.
For employers, particularly in the tech and healthcare sectors, the H-1B program has been vital to filling specialized roles amid ongoing labor shortages.
For the professionals who obtain it, the visa offers stability, income growth, and a foothold in the American market.
For many businesses, the H-1B visa can be a great solution, but understand that what was once easier to accomplish will be much more difficult and unreliable in the future.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
