- within Immigration topic(s)
- within Immigration topic(s)
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Pabian Law Clients and Friends,
I hope all is well. We wanted to reach out to remind you of the upcoming H-1B visa lottery registration process, which is expected to open in early March. Importantly, employers can only sponsor foreign nationals for H-1B visa cap-subject petitions once per year (in March).
As background, H-1B visas are the most common type of U.S. visas. They allow people to work in the U.S. on a year-round basis for an initial three-year term. To qualify, a person must have the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor's degree and be coming to the U.S. to work in a job that requires a Bachelor's degree in the foreign national's field of study. An H-1B visa petition is generally "cap-subject" if the foreign national does not already hold an H-1B visa (ex. F-1, H-2B, L-1, and J-1 visa holders and those outside the United States). Importantly, H-1B visas are completely different from H-2B visas. While they share similar names, H-1B visas are year-round visas while H-2B visas are seasonal.
This document provides an overview of the H-1B lottery registration process (linked). U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has not yet announced the exact dates that the registration period will be open. We will inform you of these dates as soon as they are announced.
If you are interested in sponsoring any employees for H-1B visas, or have any questions about the process, please reach out to us as soon as possible so that we may begin preparing the application in advance of the registration window.
Thank you,
Keith and the Pabian Law Team
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.
