Please help: from OPT to H1
Apr 23rd 2003, 4:04 am
#1
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Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 102
Please help: from OPT to H1
I am on OPT for a year. I am working for a small company that is welling to sponsor me for an H1 visa as long as I take care of the paper work, and they will pay. Please advice on the steps I need to take to get this going (without a lawyer)?
Apr 23rd 2003, 9:04 pm
#2
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Posts: n/a
Re: Please help: from OPT to H1
On Wed, 23 Apr 2003 04:04:00 +0000, wesam wrote:
> I am on OPT for a year. I am working for a small company that is
> welling to sponsor me for an H1 visa as long as I take care of the paper
> work, and they will pay. Please advice on the steps I need to take to
> get this going (without a lawyer)?
First, hire a lawyer. Then you are no longer without a lawyer ;-)
Seriously, I would recommend that you do hire a lawyer for several
reasons.
First, there are a number of pitfalls that you may not necessarily be
aware of. For instance, you need to find the prevailing wage, and a lawyer
will already have the necessary data. If you do it yourself, you'll either
spend hours in the library, or wait for weeks for the prevailing wage
determination.
I actually did my own H-1B, and was denied twice. The third time was a
charm. In your case, a denial could also mean that you fall out of status.
And that is the second problem. When I did that, it was ten years ago, and
the fee was around $100. Today, the BCIS fee is $2130 (in most cases). If
you get denied because of a stupid mistake, you would have to spend the
fee a second time. An attorney will charge less than that! So it is just
plain cheaper to use an attorney unless you are 100% certain that you will
get the case approved.
That said, the procedure is basically as follows:
- get a prevailing wage determination. You can use any reasonable survey
but need to be able to document where you got the information. If
Department of Labor later determines that the wage was too low, your
employer would be fined. You can also get an official determination from
the State Employment Agency of your state. This will guarantee that the
wage is acceptable, and DOL cannot later go back and fine the employer,
even if they find the wage was really too low. The drawback is that such a
wage determination takes a while to get.
- file a Labor Condition Attestation. Your employer does that on the DOL
Web site at http://www.doleta.gov (I think that's the URL). The Labor
Certification asks some questions about what type of job it is (you need
to know the official job category). If you submit the application on the
Web, it is usually approved within 24 hours (actually, usually a few
minutes; this is fully automated). You can also file by fax or mail, but
why would you delay it more than necessary?
- your employer signs the LCA and posts it somewhere in the office.
- meanwhile, you get a credential evaluation and if it is not in English
also a translation for your diploma and transcript. Other documents to
gather are your birth certificate. If you are married and/or have
children, also get your spouse and children's birth certificate, and your
marriage certificate. Also make a copy of all pages of your passport(s),
including front and back cover and empty pages, and of your I-94s.
- your employer then files form I-129 with the BCIS service center. This
is the critical step. The base fee is $130. Most employers also have to
pay a $1000 "training fee". This fee is intended to pay for retraining US
workers who may lose their job. It is waived if your employer is a
university or certain non-profit organizations. On top of that, your
employer should also pay the $1000 premium processing fee. With the
premium processing fee, the H-1B is guaranteed to receive either an
approval, a denial or a Request for Evidence within three weeks. If you
don't pay the premium processing fee, the H-1B can take eight months or
more (in California). You certainly don't want to prepare your case, and
then after eight months find out that you made a stupid mistake and have
to start over! That's why I recommend both premium processing and a
lawyer.
If you are married or have children, don't forget to also apply for a
change of status for them! There will be additional government fees (but
not near as steep as the H-1B fees) for that, but a lawyer will usually do
their applications for free.
Hope this helps.
> I am on OPT for a year. I am working for a small company that is
> welling to sponsor me for an H1 visa as long as I take care of the paper
> work, and they will pay. Please advice on the steps I need to take to
> get this going (without a lawyer)?
First, hire a lawyer. Then you are no longer without a lawyer ;-)
Seriously, I would recommend that you do hire a lawyer for several
reasons.
First, there are a number of pitfalls that you may not necessarily be
aware of. For instance, you need to find the prevailing wage, and a lawyer
will already have the necessary data. If you do it yourself, you'll either
spend hours in the library, or wait for weeks for the prevailing wage
determination.
I actually did my own H-1B, and was denied twice. The third time was a
charm. In your case, a denial could also mean that you fall out of status.
And that is the second problem. When I did that, it was ten years ago, and
the fee was around $100. Today, the BCIS fee is $2130 (in most cases). If
you get denied because of a stupid mistake, you would have to spend the
fee a second time. An attorney will charge less than that! So it is just
plain cheaper to use an attorney unless you are 100% certain that you will
get the case approved.
That said, the procedure is basically as follows:
- get a prevailing wage determination. You can use any reasonable survey
but need to be able to document where you got the information. If
Department of Labor later determines that the wage was too low, your
employer would be fined. You can also get an official determination from
the State Employment Agency of your state. This will guarantee that the
wage is acceptable, and DOL cannot later go back and fine the employer,
even if they find the wage was really too low. The drawback is that such a
wage determination takes a while to get.
- file a Labor Condition Attestation. Your employer does that on the DOL
Web site at http://www.doleta.gov (I think that's the URL). The Labor
Certification asks some questions about what type of job it is (you need
to know the official job category). If you submit the application on the
Web, it is usually approved within 24 hours (actually, usually a few
minutes; this is fully automated). You can also file by fax or mail, but
why would you delay it more than necessary?
- your employer signs the LCA and posts it somewhere in the office.
- meanwhile, you get a credential evaluation and if it is not in English
also a translation for your diploma and transcript. Other documents to
gather are your birth certificate. If you are married and/or have
children, also get your spouse and children's birth certificate, and your
marriage certificate. Also make a copy of all pages of your passport(s),
including front and back cover and empty pages, and of your I-94s.
- your employer then files form I-129 with the BCIS service center. This
is the critical step. The base fee is $130. Most employers also have to
pay a $1000 "training fee". This fee is intended to pay for retraining US
workers who may lose their job. It is waived if your employer is a
university or certain non-profit organizations. On top of that, your
employer should also pay the $1000 premium processing fee. With the
premium processing fee, the H-1B is guaranteed to receive either an
approval, a denial or a Request for Evidence within three weeks. If you
don't pay the premium processing fee, the H-1B can take eight months or
more (in California). You certainly don't want to prepare your case, and
then after eight months find out that you made a stupid mistake and have
to start over! That's why I recommend both premium processing and a
lawyer.
If you are married or have children, don't forget to also apply for a
change of status for them! There will be additional government fees (but
not near as steep as the H-1B fees) for that, but a lawyer will usually do
their applications for free.
Hope this helps.
Apr 24th 2003, 2:35 am
#3
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 102
Re: Please help: from OPT to H1
thank you very much for your time
