Facts which every International student should know about New H1B visa rules in 2021.

Introduction

Are you an International student in the United State of America? If yes then this blog is all you need to read to know every minor to major things about your H1B visa!

So, if you have given your final term exams or just landed to the country of dreams and prosperity, its important for every International student who have dream to make this country as their second home at least for half a decade to know what is the chase about H1B.

I hope you have cleared your visions about W2 and C2C and have a complete knowledge about working terms in USA as an International student. So, let’s begin with the very basic clarifications about H1B visa rules and regulations.

What is H1B?

The H1B is another name of visa status under which your employer has to apply for your H1B visa in order to keep you working with their firm. You can name this as an employment-based, Non-immigrant visa for short term employees.

Who is eligible for H1B?

Any applicant who has at least done their bachelor’s degree in the American soil and has specialty in any of his educational field is completely eligible to make their employer think about filing H1B petition for them.

What else about H1B?

Under H1B selection you can happily stay in USA for three years and can apply for extension for more three years. After that you can also apply for GC (Green Card) to seek for permanent residence.

As you get a H1B sponsorship then you can have your family onboard under dependent visa (H4) with you as long as you are allowed to stay here.

Under H1B you can have multiple employers if your every employer happily approves your I-129 petition.

You can have almost all other liabilities like having vacations, sick leaves, Insurances and other fun like a citizen except for voting and few others (list is bit long here).

What is H1B visa lottery System?

Are you still confused about how to apply for H1B visa as you are still on OPT. Let me first explain the concept of the H1B visa lottery system. As H1B visa is a license to work in the United States of America. In 2020 employers had to file a big package with all information about the H-1B Visa applicators to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). It was a laborious job as it needs to complete in 5 days. All the applications were seized and run in a system. Then they ran a random lottery system. Physical notes were to inform the candidates about the selection. In late July, candidates use to get to know about the rejection. The visa application process incurred a lot of overhead and consumed a lot of time.

The petition of reform was filed in November last year. DHS (Department of Homeland Security) published regulations in the federal register to change the lottery process. All the details were shared, seeking public comments in 30 days to complete the H-1B cap (65000+20000) selection process.

USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Joseph Edlow said,

The H1B the temporary visa program has been exploited and abused by employers primarily seeking to fill entry-level positions and reduce overall business costs. The current H-1B random selection process makes it difficult for a business to plan their hiring fails to leverage the program to compete for the best and brightest international workforce. It has predominately resulted in the annual influx of foreign labor placed in low-wage positions at the expense of US workers.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the department) is amending its regulation from a random lottery selection to wage-based selection based on the highest occupational employment statistics (OES). The logic behind this selection process is that they want to 'Buy American, Hire American.' A higher wage signifies a high skill-set. DHS wants to get the most skilled candidates.

During 30 days period, 1103 people commented. A regulation document of 184 pages consisting of 120 public comments was issued. Even after receiving comments, no changes were made. They justified all the comments.

According to the press release dated 07 January 2021,
US Citizenship and Immigration Services have announced a final rule that modifies the H-1B cap selection process amends current lottery procedures and prioritizes wages to protect the economic interest in the US.

What are the basics of Wage level selection?

Every applicant needs to have H-1B Labor Condition Application (LCA) certified by the Department of Labor (DOL). LCA has H-1B wage levels based on SOC code and location. SOC is Standard Occupation Classification with the title and description. Department of Labor set up the SOC code on the OES wage survey.

They have made four WAGE LEVELS:

1. LEVEL-1

This wage level is for junior level or say entry-level positions which occupies around 17-18 percentile of total wage system.

2. LEVEL-2

This wage level is for somewhere in mid-level or moderate level positions which occupies around 33-35 percentile of total wage system.

3. LEVEL-3

This wage level is for experienced personnel or senior-level positions which occupies all over 50 percentile of total wage system.

4. LEVEL-4

This wage level is for specialized or experts, which occupies more then 64 percentile of total wage system.

H-1B selection process 2021 says high salary candidates will get the place in LEVEL-4. They believe a higher wage means more experience and skill they have. It means the order is in descending order. They will consider LEVEL-4 first for selection.

Now the employer has to register their account on the USCIS website. Submit all the details of applicants within 20 days. The period is between 1 March -20 March with a non-refundable amount of 10$. The exact time is not specified by the USCIS for the acceptance status. Petitioners have 90 days to file their petition.

See the timeline below:

24 February 2021- Employers can create an H-1B registration account.
1 March 2021(noon) - submit all the documents.
31 march 2021 -the result (expected)
1 April 2021-accepts LCA, full information for the fiscal year 2021

Your salary will decide your H-1B visa selection. The SOC code is created considering different locations and job titles. The new rules will be effective 60 days after publication in the federal register, making it likely that they will cover H-1B applicants for the new fiscal year starting April 1.

FAQS for new H1B visa sponsorship as an International student in the USA

Here are few most asked, most searched, most relevant questions which can be helpful for you to summarize the entire new concept of H1B rules and regulations.

  • Is recent graduate eligible to use for H1B visa sponsorship?
  • • Yes, it's applicable to new grads too but after a minimum of a year of experience in specific field consistent with their majors.

  • Can I modify my employer on H1B visa?
  • • Yes, you can change your employer under H1 transfer case and begin working for a replacement employer.

  • How am I able to work for more than one employer on H1B visa?
  • • You simply got to convince your entire employer to sign the I-129 petition for you to let you for more than one employer.

  • Can I travel outside of the USA if I’m on H1B visa?
  • • Yes, you can travel anywhere within the world albeit you're on H1B visa as your H1B cannot affect it.

  • What if somebody else is sponsoring my H1B visa not my employer?
  • • That will not be a good game and you'll find yourself in prison because the process is totally illegal.

  • What are the standards to be in level -4?
  • • One should earn around $63.04 /hour - $131,123/ year.

Conclusion :

As still there's no complete picture about new h-1b visa rule, its advised to not take any step in hurry, the congress men are still fighting to require back this law and government isn't seen in any mood to try to to further reforms during this , So let’s hope for the simplest stay connected with us for more update on anything associated with job search for international students in USA.

  1. Clara Michael

    Clara Michael is a Career Counsellor and Legal advisor at United OPT. she has very good working experience with OPT, CPT and H1B candidates. She has a vast knowledge of recruitment and immigration laws. Through her experience and knowledge, she is giving her best to support the international student community in the USA. Do share the article if you like it.