Definition

The H-1Bis an employment-based non-immigrant status which allows aninternational tocome to the U.S. and temporarilyperform services in a specialty occupation. A specialty occupation is one which requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge to perform the occupation.

H-1B employment is site specific according to federal law. Therefore, H-1B professionals may only be employed by the UNCW department that submitted the H-1B petition. No other employment, on or off campus, is permitted without separate approval by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).

Qualifications

The position mustrequire a Bachelor's degree or higher and must be a professionalposition.  The H-1B beneficiarymust be a professional or otherwise possess highly specialized theoretical and practical knowledge which relates to theposition offered. This individual must have the U.S. equivalent to a Bachelor's degree or higher and the degree must directly pertain to the position.

Employer Responsibilities

• The employer must file a Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the Department of Labor (DOL) following the regulations set by DOL.
• The employer must pay the H-1B beneficiary the actual wage level paid to all other individuals with similar experience and qualifications for the specific positionor the prevailing wage determined by the DOL for the occupation in the area of employment, whichever is higher.
• The employer attests on the LCA that the employment of the H-1B beneficiary will not adversely affect the working conditions of workers similarly employed in the area of intended employment and that at the time of filing the LCA there are no strikes, lockouts or work stoppages in the place of employment.
• The employer must provide notice of the filing of the LCA to employees at the work site and to the H-1B non-immigrant.
• In order to obtain the H-1B visa for the employee, the employer must document the appropriateness of the wages paid, the duties and responsibilities of the position to be filled and the qualifications of the employee who will fill the position.
• If employment is terminated by UNCW prior to the expiration of the authorized period to stay, the department is obligated to pay the H-1B beneficiary the monetary equivalent for the beneficiary's returntrip home.
• Regulations require that documentation filed in support of an H-1B petition must be available for public inspection. The documents to be maintained include the H-1B petition,DOL certified LCA, LCAposting notices, and the prevailing wage and actual wage information obtained, respectively, from the DOL and the employingdepartment.

In summary there are three major steps in the H-1B petition process:

• Requesting thePrevailing Wage fromthe Employment Security Commission of NC in Raleigh
• Filing the LCA with the DOL
• Filing the Form I-129, certified LCA, and beneficiary's supporting documentationwith USCIS at the USCIS Service Center

Estimated time to complete allsteps is approximately 4-6 months for the filing of a new H-1B petition via regular processing and 6-8 weeks for the filing of H-1B using Premium Processing. Please note that ISSS cannot predict USCIS processing and cannot guarantee an exact start date. Please make sure you plan accordingly and allow adequate time for processing.

Additional Information

H-1Bstatus is granted for no longer than three years at once.  The limit one can hold H-1 status is six years. There are a few possible exceptions to the six year rule—those in the permanent residence process, recapturing H time spent outside the US, etc.—check with ISSS to determine whether this applies to your case.

The H-1B is "job-site specific", meaning that each H-1B is "specific" to one particular job description, time frame, location, department and institution. If any of these change, a new or amended H-1B petition must be filed. ISSS should be notified at least 6-8 weeks PRIOR to any change taking place to allow for a USCIS receipt notice to be received.