H-1B Visa Blog Entries

I encourage you to sign a petition I have drafted at the request of our community urging the Obama Administration to reinstate reissuance of nonimmigrant visas (including work visas like H-1, student visas like F-1, and family visas) within the USA, a practice that was discontinued in 2004. If the petition receives 100,000 on-line signatures by February 23, the Administration will review it, send it to the appropriate policy experts in the administration, and issue an official response. Signing the petition takes only a few minutes.

Here is a recent visa stamping experience narrated by one of our team members.
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I went for an H-1B visa stamping at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, Canada, in November 2012. This was my first H-1B visa stamping. I wanted to share my experience with you and hope that it will be helpful in providing some insight into the entire process.
Scheduling the Interview

As of 27 April 2012 count, USCIS has received 29,200 regular cap H-1 B petitions and 12,300 advanced degree H-1B petitions. These numbers are considerably higher than the ones we saw at this time in the fiscal years 2011 and 2012 (we are now in FY 2013).

I am currently on H-1. I have a series of questions for you. This topic should be of interest to many people in the community. Could you please address these:
1. Can I start my own business while on H-1?
2. Can I be employed in my own business on my company's H-1?
3. Does it help to have partners from USA?
4. Can I get green card through a company I own?
5. What if my business is in Europe, but I work on it from USA? Is that legal?
6. Can I start business when I get my EAD on 485?

USCIS estimates that as as of 9 April 2012, approximately 25,600 H-B cases had been receipted. Out of these petitions, 17,400 are for bachelor's degree and 8,200 for for people with advanced degrees. These numbers are considerable hire than the last year's at this time.

USCIS has indicated that 22,323 cap-subject H-1B petitions had been received as of April 4, 2012. Approximately one quarter (1/4) of these cases are for advanced degrees. According to USCIS, the number of filings received is almost double the number of filings received by USCIS during the same time last year. It would appear that H-1B numbers are likely to get exhausted a lot earlier than last year.

Following is a list of questions recently asked by a USCIS investigator of an H-1B employee working at a client site. If you are a member of our compliance group of employers, attend the free conference call scheduled for employers only on 7th July 2011. Membership in the group is by invitation only.

1. What is your name?
2. Can see your ID card?
3. How long you are in US?
4. Have you been visited your home country?
5. Who are you currently employed with?
6. How long have you been with your employer?
7. What is your job title?
8. What are your wages?