Frequently Asked Questions About H-1B Status

To be eligible for H-1B status, you must have: 1) a minimum of a Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a specialty field (or higher degree if job requires); and 2) an offer of a professional level specialty job. 

Persons who have held J-1 or J-2 status and are subject to the two-year home country residency requirement are not eligible for H-1B status until the two-year requirement is either fulfilled or waived.

It is the responsibility of the employer to complete all required paperwork and file the petition for the prospective employee. You will be asked to supply copies of your relevant diploma(s), Curriculum Vitae, and passport. 

• If you are in the U.S. with a valid immigration status, your employer will ask for your current immigration documents, and they may petition for a change of status to H-1B.
• If you are out of the U.S., after the H-1B petition is approved, your employer will send you the I-797 Approval Notice, which you will use to apply for the H-1B visa at a U.S. consulate prior to your arrival in the U.S.

The H-1B visa has an annual numerical limit "cap" of 65,000 visas each fiscal year for jobs in the private sector. The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a master‘s degree or higher are exempt from the cap, for a total of 85,000 H-1B visas annually. Extensions of H-1B status, if counted toward the cap in a previous year, are not subject to the cap. The H-1B filing period opens around April 1 each year, which is 6 months before the U.S. government fiscal year begins on October 1. New visa numbers become available at the start of each fiscal year.

H-1B workers who are employed at institutions of higher education (colleges and universities) and certain nonprofit or government research organizations are not subject to this numerical cap, which means they can apply for H-1B status at any time. 

H-1B is a common status for non-immigrants with a Bachelor's degree or higher to accept temporary employment, but there are other non-immigrant statuses that permit professionals to work in the U.S. See the Visa Options for Employment Eligibility.

No. The petition for H-1B status is filed by your prospective employer for a specific job, and authorization is specific to that employer/job It is possible to have multiple (concurrent) H-1B employers, if each employer files an H-1B petition on your behalf.

To be employed in H-1B status, you must have both an approved petition for that particular job and valid H-1B status. You may not begin working until both of these have been approved, unless you have another status that permits employment. For this reason, F-1 students often choose to apply for practical training (OPT) after graduation in order to begin working sooner. The application for OPT is simpler and usually faster than an H-1B application. In addition, you do not need a job offer in order to apply for OPT. If your employer chooses to file an H-1B petition for you, please note that it must be filed AND APPROVED prior to the expiration of your OPT work authorization in order for you to continue working.

Your employer will tell USCIS how long they intend to employ you or how long they are requesting the H-1B status. USCIS will normally grant H-1B status for this period of time, but no longer than three years at a time with a cumulative maximum period of six years.

Your date-specific Form I-94 (from the CBP website – this is updated each time you travel internationally), along with your I-797 Approval Notice, dictate the length of time that you are allowed to remain in the U.S. Once you are in H-1B status, be sure to check the “Admit Until” date on your Form I-94 each time you travel outside the U.S.

If your job ends before the end date on your H-1B  approval notice, you may be eligible for a grace period of up to 60 days or until the last day of your H-1B petition end date  (whichever comes first). See the USCIS website for options following termination of H-1B employment  If your employer terminates your job sooner than the end date on your I-797 Approval Notice and you decide to leave the U.S., the employer must pay the expenses of your return travel to your home country.

If there are any substantial changes in your job such as a new job title, changes in required qualifications, significant change in job duties or salary, new location, etc., then your employer may  need to file an H-1B amendment petition.

If you wish to “transfer” to a job with a new employer (also known as portability), that employer must file an entirely new H-1B petition. This must be done prior to the expiration of the first H-1B Approval Notice, or within 60 days of terminating your current employment, whichever comes first. In most cases, having one H-1B petition approved will not make it any easier to get a second approval. According to immigration law, when transferring from one employer to another, you may begin working on the requested start date if your new employer files the H-1B petition with USCIS. You do not need to wait for the petition to be approved.

It varies depending on employer and USCIS processing times, and whether premium processing is requested. The entire H-1B petition process usually takes two to eight months if the application is completed correctly.

• Application costs: H-1B fees include the Form I-129 filing fee plus certain additional USCIS fees, depending on circumstances. These fees must be paid by the employer. Consult the USCIS website for up to date fee information
• Lawyer’s fees: If the employer does not have an internal lawyer or Human Resources professional who handles H-1B petitions, a lawyer will need to be hired by the employer and/or employee. Fees can range from $2,500 to $5,000.
• Premium processing: USCIS offers an expedited "premium processing" service for H-1B petitions, which guarantees a response within 15 business days. Payment of the Form I-907 filing fee is required.

If you have been granted H-1B status, your spouse and children (under age 21) may be eligible for H-4 status. If you and your dependents are in legal status in the U.S. and if your employer requests that your status be changed to H-1B, your dependents may apply for a change to H-4 status.

Your spouse and child should complete and sign Form I-539 (and, if there is more than one dependent, the form I-539A) and submit it with the employer's petition. If your dependents are outside the U.S., the employer does not need to include any information about them in the H-1B petition. After the petition has been approved, they may apply for H-4 visas at a U.S. consulate. In addition to copies of the primary H-1B documents, they should present a marriage certificate (for spouse) or birth certificate (for children) to obtain the visa and enter the U.S. Except in certain circumstances, persons with H-4 status may not be employed in the U.S., but they are allowed to attend school/university.

H-1B Status: 

Yes. If you have H-1B status, employment should be your primary purpose for being in the U.S. However, you may still register for courses as long as they are incidental to the primary purpose of employment.

H-4 Status: 

H-4 dependents are allowed to attend school/university.  They may not be employed in the U.S. except in certain circumstances, which may limit opportunities for internships, graduate assistantships and other employment opportunities that complement the academic experience.

Tuition and Cost of Attendance: 

The university cost of attendance for tuition rates is determined based on your residency. If there is uncertainty about whether you are considered a Minnesota resident, review the Residency, Reciprocity, and Tuition Exemption handbook. The handbook contains the University's official policy and an application for resident evaluation.

Registration Hold: ISSS Visa Holds: 

On occasion, an AI hold (or "Determine Current Visa Status" hold) may prevent H-1B and H-4 visa holders from registering for courses. In most cases, this is an error and you should contact ISSS to have the hold lifted from your account. Please email [email protected] regarding this issue. 

If the position is clearly a professional, specialty occupation and the employee has a degree in the specialty field, the chances are good that the petition will be approved, although there are sometimes delays if USCIS has questions. Potential problems include:

• If the salary offered to the employee does not meet USCIS wage requirements, the employer may not file the Labor Condition Application and thus may not file an H-1B petition.
• If USCIS believes that the position does not meet the definition of a specialty occupation, or that the employee does not have a degree that matches the specialty, the petition may be denied.
• If the annual H-1B cap has been reached, no further H-1B petitions will be approved until the following fiscal year. In the last few years, this cap has been reached early in the fiscal year. Higher education institutions (colleges and universities) as well as certain nonprofit or government organizations are exempt from the annual cap. Individuals who transfer from a cap-exempt institution to a non-exempt employer will become subject to the cap.
• If you are currently out of status, you may not change to H-1B status in the U.S. and you will be required to return to your home country to apply for a visa after the H-1B petition is approved.

F-1 OPT/STEM OPT Advantages:

• Students initiate the application for the OPT employment authorization benefits, no job offer is required at the time of submitting an application
• Ability to change jobs or accept multiple forms of employment is much more flexible
• The I-765 application fee and related premium processing (if desired) is significantly lower than the H-1B petition fees
• There is a great number of days of unemployment if a job is terminated 
• Students with a valid F-1 visa can continue to travel internationally with that visa 

H-1B Status Advantages:

• The dual intent provision allows an individual to be in a nonimmigrant status even though steps have been taken to obtaining permanent residence.
• In most cases, the employer financially sponsors the H-1B petition costs
• The employer is responsible to provide the cost of return transportation to the employee if their position is terminated