U.S. Visas for the Tech Industry

Share:

Listens: 0

OnlineVisas.com: The Immigration Show

Miscellaneous


There are four distinct categories of visas for the tech industry: 1) H1B for temporary or non-immigrant professional workers with specialized/technical knowledge. Jobs that suit the H1B visa typically require a university degree or equivalent (three years of work experience for each year that would normally be spent at university). H1B approvals have declined over the past several years and the number of Requests for Evidence has doubled. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is committed to enacting more regulation to limit H1B visa qualifiers. There are two types of Green Cards that the H1B can lead to: EB2 for advanced degree professionals, people with more than five years experience and those that are internationally recognized as exceptional. EB3 can be for either skilled or unskilled workers. Simply having a bachelor's degree is enough to qualify for this category. Both the EB2 and EB3 require that the American company recruiting the individual go through the Labor Certification Process 2) O1 is for Extraordinary Ability and reserved for people who have risen to the top of their profession, whether that be in the arts, sport, business, education, or the sciences. EB1-1 visas are the Green Card equivalent of the O1 visa but with higher standards that must be sustained for some time. The EB1 visas typically have a faster turn around time than the EB2 or EB3 green cards. It is a challenge to show that an individual has become one of the best in the industry, especially if they are brand new to the industry. Press, publications and patents among other things can be used to demonstrate extraordinary ability and even define an industry. 3) L1 is an intra-company transfer work visa that allows a U.S. company to transfer executives, managers and specialized employees from one of its offices abroad into the United States. EB1-3 is the Green Card that the L1 will lead to. It is for multinational executives or managers who have entered or want to transfer to the United States in order to continue working for the organization or business in a managerial or executive capacity. In reviewing L1 and EB1-3 petitions, USCIS takes into consideration such crucial elements as the relationship between companies, the size of the company, the job level of the transferring employee and the number of employees. Unless the L1 employer is already well-known (e.g. Coca-Cola), it is often necessary to provide in-depth documentation about the company to meet standards and requirements such as the number of employees and a credible business plan. 4) Investor Visas E2 Treaty Investor Visa is part of the family of U.S. visas that are available to citizens or national of one of 30+ countries that have trade treaties with the United States. that can invest in a US company. A $100,000 investment into a US company, 50% ownership and a credible business plan will qualify the individual for an EB2 visa. EB5 Investor Visa requires an investment of $1 million or more (or at least $500,000 in certain rural areas or regions with high unemployment). The company also has to employ at least ten full-time positions for either American citizens or legal permanent residents. What is the Labor Certification Process? The Labor Certification Process shows that the hiring company has tried diligently to hire an American first. There are specific ways that the job(s) need to be advertised. The want ads cannot be specifically tailored to an individual it needs to be similar to typical industry requirements. Looking at want ads for other companies is useful in this process Next, there is the Specific Vocational Preparation or SVP. The SVP is the "amount of lapsed time required by a typical worker to learn the techniques, acquire the information, and develop the facility needed for average performance in a specific job-worker situation.” O*NET OnLine Help: Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP). (2019). Retrieved from https://www.onetonline.org/help/online/svp