H1b Spouse

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration & Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H). It is a major help to U.S. employers by allowing them to employ foreign guest workers skilled in specialty occupations but only when qualified U.S. citizens or residents are not available. The regulations define a "specialty occupation" as requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor including, but not limited to, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, law, accounting, business specialties, theology, and the arts, and requiring the attainment of a bachelor's degree or its equivalent as a minimum. This means that when a medical doctor or some other type of physician wishes employment there may be opportunities for them. In order to qualify for this type of visa a foreign worker must possess at least a bachelor's degree or its equivalent and state license, if required to practice in that field. H-1B work-authorization is strictly limited to employment by the sponsoring employer - except that many H-1B work for body shops who then place them with third party employers.

There is not fast track to citizenship through this process and if a person violates the code they risk removal from their job and deportation from the country, even concerning a lie about spouse immigration. The law is helpful in that an employer in NYC or Fremont, California may have specific needs for specialized workers.

The current law limits to 65,000 the number of aliens who may be issued a visa or otherwise provided H-1B status. In addition, excluded from the ceiling are all H-1B non-immigrants who work for universities and nonprofit research facilities. Free Trade Agreements allow a carve-out from the numerical limit of 1,400 for Chilean nationals and 5,400 for Singapore nationals. Laws also exempt up to 20,000 foreign nationals holding a master's or higher degree from U.S. universities from the cap on H-1B visas. The Department of Homeland Security approved about 132,000 H-1B visas in 2004 and 117,000 in 2005. Visa renewals do not count towards the annual limits. Transfers among employers only count when changing jobs from an employer exempt from the limits (academia or research) to one that is not exempt.

As you can see the details in the law are so great that a legal mind may be needed to get through all of them. If the specialized individual comes with a spouse they may need to confer with an attorney who specializes in the H1b Spouse codes.