H1B Visa

Located in Fremont, California, the Law Office of Tricia Wang is a law firm specializing in immigration law. Through our efforts, we have obtained over 1,000 H1B visas for our clients, with a success rate of nearly 100 percent!

Our H1B attorney will discuss and offer advice on key H1B issues, such as proving the employer’s financial ability to pay the prevailing wage for the H1B job for start-up companies, review your proposed job descriptions and requirements for H1B petition filing to ensure the job meets the regulation provisions on “specialty occupation” as required for H1B visa.

The Law Office of Tricia Wang has extensive experience in handling H1B visas for companies of all sizes. Let our H1B visa attorney assist you with your H1B visa petition!

H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa category that allows US firms and companies to employ foreign nationals in a professional capacity for specialty occupations and fashion models of distinguished merit temporarily.

A special occupation is any occupation that requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree or the equivalent in the specific specialty including but not limited to sciences, medicine, health care, education, biotechnology, and business specialties, etc.

H1B visas are valid for a maximum for 6 years with one year or three year extensions granted under the AC21 law for individuals in the process of obtaining a green card for permanent residence. The initial duration of stay on H1B visas is three years thereafter can be easily extended for another three years.

The first step involves filing a Labor Condition Application (LCA). A certified LCA by the Department of Labor is a pre-requisite for the approval of H1B visas. The LCA includes information about the proposed H1B employment like rate of pay, period of employment, employment location, etc. The LCA also includes standard attestations that the employer must make. The employer attests to pay the greater of the prevailing or actual wages, the working conditions will not adversely affect U.S. workers, on the date of filing the application there is no strike or lockout and the notice of the filing of the LCA has been given to other employees or the bargaining representative. The employers are required to maintain relevant documentation and submit the same as proof during an audit.

H1B visas are subject to a numerical cap of 65,000 each fiscal year. An additional cap of 20,000 visas are available for foreign workers who have earned a Master’s degree from a U.S university. Up to 6,800 out for the 65,000 H1B visas are reserved for citizens of Chile and Singapore. If the total number of petitions in the combined pool exceeds 65,000 petitions, the USCIS randomly selects petitions that will qualify for the regular quota cap limit by the lottery system.

First time beneficiaries of H1B visas may begin employment on October 1st. Special rules (Cap-Gap rules) are applicable for graduates working on Optional Practical Training (OPT) that enables them to continue working for their employers during the spring and summer, and change their status automatically to H-1B on October 1st. Current H1B visa holders can transfer their visa and begin work for a new employer as soon as the new employer, i.e., the sponsor company’s H1B transfer petition is received by the USCIS. In transfer cases, the applicants do not have to wait until the transfer is approved. H1B transfer petitions are unlimited and can be filed at any time of the year as they are not counted towards the regular H1B cap.

The H-4 visa category allows family members of the H-1B worker to be admitted to the United States for the same period as the principal H1B worker. The qualifying family members include only the spouse and unmarried children under 21 years old. H-4 spouses are now eligible to work in specific situations. If the H-1B spouse has an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (one of the steps in the green card process), or, has been granted an extension under the law AC21, the H-4 spouse can apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to request permission to work.

Need to apply for H1B visa? Call us now, and we welcome any questions about your personal situation and look forward to speaking with you. Our team speaks English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Taishan Dialect and Japanese!

For consultation with an experienced H1B Attorney, call (510) 791-0232, or email us at tricia@wangslaw.com.

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