Inc.com Article: How to Obtain an H1-B Visa

 

A good overview article on Inc.com on the H1-B.

How to Obtain an H1-B Visa

The employer-centric article hits hits the main points of an H1-B.  As noted before, the numbers for the H1-B visa this year is down as it was last two years, so as of June 2011, there are plenty of H1-B visa slots.  As to employers hiring, that’s a different issue . . .

 

 

E-2 visa helps many non-U.S. citizens start small firms

E-2 visa helps many non-U.S. citizens start small firms.

Los Angeles Times article revisits an old standby, the E-2 visa, aimed at small business entrepreneurs.

A few things to keep in mind about the article:

1) It discusses a $50,000 minimum investment, but that number was plucked from a now unpublished guidance memo.  The minimum varies from consular office to consular office and the business being proposed, but oftentimes it is much higher than the $50,000.

2)  The E-2 only works if the foreign national’s country has an E-2 treaty in place.  Check this list from the US  State Department to make sure you qualify:

Official List of E-2 Treaty Countries

Wall Street Journal : H1-Bs Lose Cachet

As a follow up to an earlier post about the plummeting H1-B applications, the Wall Street Journal discusses some of the issues plaguing the H1-B visas:

Wall Street Journal:  Long-Prized Tech Visas Lose Cachet

H1-B numbers: Canary in the Mine?

There used to be a time when there was an actual lottery for the 65,000 H1-B slots.  A few years ago, USCIS would get 120,000 application on the second day of accepting applications (April 2nd) and then shut down accepting any more applications.  A lottery would ensue — giving one a rough 2 to 1 chance to even get _accepted_.

For fiscal year 2011, when applications were accepted on April 1, 2010 to begin work on Oct. 1, 2010 — the cap was not reached until January of 2011.

This year, as of May 15, 2011, only 10,000+ applications have been received.

I would imagine that an increase in H1-B numbers, if it happens, will be a good indicator of a true economic recovery in the US.

Visa Bulletin

 

For the latest Visa Bulletin from the State Department:
http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_4587.html

 

 

Visa Bulletin December 2009

 

The December 2009 visa bulletin is available.

Click here to get the full report.

H1-B Cap Count Update for FY 2010

As of August 7, 2009, only 44,900 H1-B applications have been received.  The number of applications has not changed from the update in July.

H1-B visas are still available.