H1B Specialty Occupation Visa provides the opportunity for foreign workers in specialty occupations to legally live and work in the US for a total of 6 consecutive years, and entitles their spouse and children (under the age of 21) to accompany them and legally live in the USA on an H-4 visa.

Occupations that qualify for H-1B visas typically require highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor including, but not limited to: IT, Architecture, Engineering, Mathematics, Physical Scientific Research, Social Science, Biotechnology, HealthCare/Medicine, Education, Law, Accounting, Business, Theology, Arts, Computing, Finance, Accounting, Banking, Marketing, Sales, Recruiting, and Telecommunication. The foreign worker must possess a bachelor’s or higher degree in the specific specialty.

Aside from the requirement that the position be a specialty occupation, the employer must first file a Labor Condition Application (LCA), Form ETA 9035 or Form ETA 9035E, with the Department of Labor (DOL). An employer filed LCA attests that the H1B visa worker is being paid the prevailing wage for the work being performed, and that employment of the foreign worker will not adversely affect the working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

The H-1B visa program also includes workers performing services related to a Department of Defense (DOD) cooperative research and development project or coproduction project, and services of distinguished merit and ability in the field of fashion modeling.

The number of aliens who may be issued initial H-1B visas is currently capped at 65,000 per year by Congress. Congress has also provided for various exemptions from the annual numerical allocations, including an exemption for 20,000 aliens who have earned a master’s or higher degree from a United States institution of higher education. Additionally, Congress has exempted from the annual numerical allocations H-1B workers who are or will be employed at a nonprofit or public institution of higher education or a related or affiliated nonprofit entity, a nonprofit research organization, or a governmental research organization.

L-1 Intracompany Transferee Visas are for persons who want to enter the US for employment lasting a fixed period of time. An L-1 is an alien coming temporarily to perform services in a managerial or executive capacity for the same corporation or firm, or for the branch, subsidiary, or affiliate of the employer who employed him abroad for one continuous year within the three-year period, immediately preceding the filing of the petition, in an executive, managerial, or specialized knowledge capacity.

Executive capacity generally refers to the employee’s ability to make decisions of wide latitude without much oversight. Managerial capacity generally refers to the ability of the employee to supervise and control the work of professional employees and to manage the organization, or a department without direct supervision of others. Specialized knowledge is special knowledge of the employer’s product or its application in international markets or an advanced level of the knowledge of the employer’s processes and procedures.

R-1 Religious Visa is for a foreign national who is coming to the US temporarily to work as a minister or in a religious vocation or occupation in a non-profit religious organization. The foreign national must have been a member of a religious denomination having a bona fide non-profit religious organization in the US for at least 2 years immediately before the filing of the petition.

The foreign national can receive salaried or non-salaried compensation, including specific monetary or in-kind compensation. The religious worker can be self-supporting.

If the religious worker will be working as a minister, he needs to provide a copy of the certificate of ordination, documents showing acceptance of the religious worker’s qualification as a minister in the religious denomination, as well as evidence that he completed any course of prescribed theological education at an accredited theological institution normally required or recognized by that religious denomination.

To decide which visa is better for you and your family members, we advise you to consult us so that we can help you and your employer to understand better each visa requirements and receive visa approval.