H-1B Overview for VT Hosts
Purpose
The H-1B program applies to employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant foreign nationals as workers in specialty occupations. A specialty occupation, as defined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, is one that requires the application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and requires the attainment of at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
The intent of the H-1B program is to help employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce by authorizing the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States.
FAQs
H-1B status is employer specific. This means that a foreign national in H-1B status may only work for an employer that has filed an H-1B petition for him or her. If a foreign national in H-1B status is currently working for another employer, he or she cannot work for VT until GSS has filed an H-1B petition for this individual.
H-1B status is available to individuals coming to the US to fill a "specialty occupation." A "specialty occupation" for H-1B purposes is an occupation that requires "[the] theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge; and [the] attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree in the specific specialty (or its equivalent) as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States."
If a position does not require at least a bachelor's degree in a specific field, H-1B status is not an option, even if the foreign national holds a bachelor's degree or higher.
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Individuals can hold H-1B status in increments of (up to) three years for a total of six years. Once someone has exhausted his or her H-1B status, the individual must leave the US for a period of one year before being able to restart a new H-1B period. Under certain, limited circumstances it is possible to extend someone's H-1B status beyond the standard maximum of six years.
GSS recommends that departments request H-1B status in multi-year increments. While a department will be liable to pay for the return transportation if the employment of a foreign national is terminated before the expiration date of the individual's H-1B status, the cost to the department to extend an individual's H-1B status is $1160 (which includes the $460 USCIS filing fee and the $700 GSS internal processing fee).
Individuals who hold H-1B status through VT must be employees of VT. They must be paid at a rate that is equal to or exceeds the prevailing wage or actual wage rate—whichever is higher. To determine the prevailing wage and actual wage rates for a position, GSS will need to receive the Wage Analysis Worksheet. They must also receive the same benefits as other individuals in the same job classification. The Wage Analysis Worksheet is submitted as part of the H-1B initiation process.
Note: the required wage for immigration purposes may be higher than the wage HR advises is typical for the position.
Protections for U.S. workers
The law establishes certain standards in order to protect similarly employed U.S. workers from being adversely affected by the employment of the nonimmigrant workers, as well as to protect the H-1B nonimmigrant workers. Employers must attest to the Department of Labor that they will pay wages to the H-1B nonimmigrant workers that are at least equal to the actual wage paid by the employer to other workers with similar experience and qualifications for the job in question, or the prevailing wage for the occupation in the area of intended employment – whichever is greater.