H1-B
 Specialty Occupation Professional Visas. ELIGIBILITY: An international beneficiary who is offered a skilled specialty occupation by a U.S. Employer who qualifies as a professional worker may enter the U.S. temporarily to accept employment within his or her profession. Learn more at www.onlinevisas.com or email information@velielaw.com.

1. H-1B Visas: A Webinar

2. Agenda
 Overview of the business visas
 Process
 Applicability
 Issues and strategies
 Case studies
 Similar visas and other options
 Adjustment to Permanent Residency

3. Our Firm
VELIE LAW FIRM- WHO ARE WE?
 Intro by Jon Velie
 Winner of the American Bar Association
Louis M. Brown Legal Access to Justice
Award
 Labeled innovator in the legal industry by
ABA
 Briefed 3 cases to the US Supreme Court
 Referenced in NY Times, Time Magazine,
USA Today, Washington Post, BBC, Le
Monde and featured on 60 Minutes II.
 Gold Medalist for Best Law Firm in hometown
of Norman, Oklahoma

4. H1-B
Specialty Occupation
Professional
ELIGIBILITY:
An international beneficiary who is offered a skilled
specialty occupation by a U.S. Employer who
qualifies as a professional worker may enter the
U.S. temporarily to accept employment within his or
her profession.

5. H1-B
Specialty Occupation
Professional
APPLICABILITY:
 Professional positions.
 Managers, accountants, lawyers, IT workers,
marketing personnel or similar positions.
 In plain language this is typically for college
grads in jobs that require degrees.
 Exception for those with work that equals degree
equivalency

6. H1-B Visa
Specialty Occupation
Professional
CRITERIA:
 U.S. Company is offering employment
 Minimum Prevailing Wage for county and state at
site of employment – Determined by DOL
 "Specialty Occupation”
 Labor Condition Application
 Must be professionally qualified
 A four-year Degree or equivalent
 Special category for Chileans
 Similar E-3 is available for Australians

7. H1-B Visa
Specialty Occupation Professional
DURATION:
 Three years, with the same employer in substantially the
same professional occupation as long as the underlying
business on which the visa is based remains a viable trading
entity.
The visa can be renewed for 3 more years.
Can extend beyond 6 years if Labor Cert or I-140 for
Permanent Residency is filed 365 days prior to expiration of
sixth year.

8. H1-B Visa
Specialty Occupation Professional
Issues:
 Subject to numerical cap of 65,000 per year for regular H-1b
and 20,000 Master Degree from US universities
 October 1st is the start of the fiscal year for counting against
cap.
Can apply six months prior to start of fiscal year or April 1 st.
Chile and Singapore are not subject to H-1b cap under treaty.
 Australia, Canada and Mexico have different but similar
visas for professionals
Fashion models use H-1b visas.

9. E-3 Visa
Specialty Occupation Professional
 E-3 is a treaty created version of the H-1b for professional Australians.
E-3 is not subject to the same numerical limitation of visas per year.
Spouses of E-3 can obtain work authorization.
 An E-3 visa is granted for up to two years. At the end of each two-year
period, the Australian citizen may reapply for
another E-3 visa. At present, there is no maximum
number of times that an Australian citizen may renew
his or her E-3 visa

10. PROCESSING TIME:
Depending on the backlog at the USCIS Service
center which receives your petition, the petition
should take between 120 and 180 days to process.
Expedited processing of 15 calendar days is
available for an additional fee for most temporaty
visas but not the E-3.

11. OTHER SIMILAR VISAS

12. TN-1 Visa
NAFTA Workers
ELIGIBILITY:
A Canadian or Mexican Citizen who seeks temporary
entry as a professional may be admitted to the United
States under the provisions of Appendix 1603.D.1 of
Chapter 16 of NAFTA on a TN visa. A complete list of
professionals can be found on Part 5 of this booklet .

13. TN-1 Visa
NAFTA Workers
APPLICABILITY:
Similar applicability to the H-1b or E-3 except there is
a list of qualifying jobs. Those that may have
applicability are : Accountant, Computer Systems
Analyst, Graphic Designer, Hotel Manager, Lawyer,
Management Consultant.

14. TN-1 Visa
NAFTA Workers
DURATION:
Increments of one year - Maximum
PROCESSING TIME:
A TN Visa must be petitioned for at a U.S. Port of
Entry or Airport Inspector. The Canadian or Mexican
Citizens must present all necessary documentation
on site. Approval or denial is usually same day at
site where petition was made.

15. J-1 Visa
Management Trainee
CRITERIA:
 Sufficient funds
 Educational or Employment Background
 English speaking ability
 Intent to leave the U.S. at end of stay

16. J-1 Visa
Management Trainee
DURATION:
18 months maximum
CHANGE OF STATUS:
Changes of Status to other non-immigrant
categories are not automatically granted. The
exchange visa holder must have a privately funded
J-1 Visa to be eligible to change status without first
obtaining a waiver from the two-year foreign
residency requirement . The Aspen visa
Program was designed to permit changing
status to other visas.

17. J-1 Visa
Management Trainee
PROCESSING TIME:
These visas are issued by J-1 companies who have
can generally do so in an average of 5 days.
Consular processing can also take additional time,
but most were able to obtain in approximately 1-2
weeks.

18. Adjusting to Permanent Residence
(Greencard)
If a labor certification or permanent
residency visa is submitted more than 365
days prior to expiration of the sixth year of
an H-1b, the H-1b can be extended in one
year increments until Greencard is
determined.

19. EB-3 Visa
Degreed Professionals,
Skilled Professionals & Other Workers
ELIGIBILITY:
Prospective immigrants who are members of the
professions holding advanced degrees or their
equivalent, or who possess exceptional ability in
the sciences, arts, professions, or business, and
whose services are sought by an employer in the
United States.

20. EB-3 Permanent Residency Visa
Degreed Professionals,
Skilled Professionals & Other Workers
CRITERIA:
1. Labor Certification required
 No qualified American worker is available
to fill the job; and
 The prospective immigrant shall be paid
at a minimum the prevailing wage for the
industry as set by the DOL of the State
where the services are to be rendered.

21. EB-3 Permanent Residency Visa
EB-3 visas are suffering lengthy delays. USCIS Officials
are currently processing cases with priority dates
in 2004. Priority date is the date the labor
certification was filed with DOL.

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 CONTACT INFO:
405-310-4333 O
www.OnLineVisas.com
information@velielaw.com