Please help determine if H1B is even possible

I

ISRCanuck

Registered Users (C)
Hi everybody,

some background:
for the past 3 years I have been working for a US company in the field of development and construction management. they are now offering me a 2 year job in the US which I would very much like to accept. but there are difficulties.
L1 would have been the best, but for the last year I have been working for them on my own, self employed (the first 2 years I worked for them through a local company owned by the same people). as I see it, this pretty much makes an L1 impossible.
I also ruled out TN status ad my situation seems too complicated for TN.

My last hope is H1B:
for some reason I had to study Biology in which I have a B.Science.
I can see how to connect Biology and construction, especially with today's trend of environmentalism and sustainability, but I cannot see how to connect these 2 fields to match H1b requirements.
Does it look like H3 may be and option?

any advice will be truly appreciated. I am hoping to move in April.

Thank you!
 
Thanks for the reply,

This may be an interesting twist. however, I seem to remember seeing it specifically written somewhere, that I had to be working for the immediate 1 year prior to the filing of the application. also, there are more issues with L1 that I think will be a problem regardless to that.

What about the H1B? is there any hope?
or perhaps the H3? I do not intend to do this for more than 2 years.
 
Yes, I am pretty sure the company will sponsor me though we haven't talked about this too much as of yet.
as for capped or non capped, I am not sure what that means. I'll have to research this.
 
Well for an H1B there are at least 3 requirements
H-1B Requirements

Ø The company must offer employment in a specialty occupation. A specialty
occupation requires theoretical and practical application of a body of
specialized knowledge. An example of a specialty occupation would be an
engineer or a researcher. In your case it seems like they do.

Ø The foreign national possesses at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. If
the foreign national does not possess a bachelor’s degree, experience or
training may substitute. If a license is required to practice, the foreign national
must hold the appropriate license.
This seems to be an issue since your degree is not in the field you work in. I don't know if there is a way around this. Unless your company is able to offer a job that needs a biology degree or f you can convince USCIS that you qualify through your experience. I would consult an attorney on this

Ø The employer must also pay the minimum prevailing wage, as determined by
State Employment Agency rules.

As for capped or non capped: Per year there are a maximum number of H1B visa given out (approx 65000), they call this capped (there are no more for that year). Most employers would have to file for an H1B for their employees under this program. The deadline is (as far as I know) April 1 of every year with the work visa available in Oct of that year. ( No I need to correct myself here, the opening date for applications is April 1 , but: applications are considered on a first come first serve basis so everyone files that day) Every year there are at least 2x as much applications as visa granted so your chances are 50-50 at best. Also be aware that even if your get one of these capped visa you are not able to work before Oct of that year and your employer should be aware of that.

An exception to this rule is for employers who do not have to file for the capped H1B (they are called exempt). These are mainly research institutions or universities. If you work for an organization like that you 1) don't have a April 1 deadline 2) you will receive a visa if you are eligible.

My advise is to talk to your employer and also encourage them to talk to an immigration attorney if they are not familiar with the process. You need to know what your options are as soon as you can.
 
The requirement is 1 year in the last 3. Can you elaborate on the more issue you mentioned?

ISRCanuck said:
I seem to remember seeing it specifically written somewhere, that I had to be working for the immediate 1 year prior to the filing of the application. also, there are more issues with L1 that I think will be a problem regardless to that.
Click to expand...
 
First off, thank you Triple Citizen and Kariboo for the help!

L1 - if 1 year in the last 3 is enough, there may be hope. I will do some extra research on this matter and consult an attorney. here are some potential issues:
  • Local affiliated corporation - I am not 100% sure, but I think the affiliated corporation I was working for a year ago was closed and that they opened a new local corporation.
  • Pictures of work place - I work from home, before this I worked with another 2 people in a home office and I don't think I have any pictures from then.
  • Names of 2 current co workers - best case scenario I'll have one name, otherwise I pretty much work alone.
As for H3, I read about it again. doesn't seem very logical.

Would you recommend using on line immigration services such as VisaPro or Immihelp?

Thanks again,
ISRCanuck
 
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