H-1B Employees

The H-1B visa category is for international employees being hired with a professional degree in specialty occupations that require the theoretical or practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge.

Eligibility

To be eligible for H-1B status the following conditions for the position and the employee must be met:

• Must be an unclassified position.
• Must require "theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree in the specific specialty or its equivalent."
• The employee be eligible for H-1B nonimmigrant status (e.g.  not subject to the two-year home residency requirement from a prior J-1 program, nor have used all 6 years of H-1B eligibility on prior H-1B employment).
• Candidate/employee must possess "highly specialized knowledge and attain[ed] a bachelor's or higher degree in the specific specialty" of the position.
  
  

Length of H-1B

Employers may petition for a maximum of three years of H-1B status at a time.

H-1B visa regulations allow a worker to hold H-1B status for a maximum of six years.

Time that an employee has spent in H-1B status at another employer and time spent in H-4 status deducts from their 6 years of eligibility.