H-1B visas are non-immigrant visas, meant for foreign workers with special skills and these visas are valid for six years and the US employers who seek to hire foreign workers with distinguished ability for specialty occupations may file H-1B petitions, for the employees who they wish to hire. According to the US immigration laws, US employers can hire non-immigrants but the non-immigrants cannot work in America if their non-immigrant visas do not permit them to work in the country. Hence, US employers who seek to hire foreign workers must file H-1B visa applications for the employees and these visas are temporary work visas, that will permit the foreign nationals to work in the country for a six year period.
USCIS does not accept H-1B visa applications throughout the year and this year USCIS will start accepting applications from 1st April, 2013. Nevertheless, foreign nationals who seek to work in America must remember that they cannot file H-1B petitions for themselves and the petitions must be filed by the sponsoring US employers. Beneficiaries can work with the H-1B visas for the employers who sponsored them and filed petitions for them and their new employers must file new petitions for them, if they lose their jobs or if they change locations. Similarly, eligible dependents of the H-1B visa holders also may obtain H-4B visas and enter into the United States with them. Hence, if you wish to work in America, a US employer must offer you a job, sponsor you and file a H-1B visa petition for you.
The sponsoring employers must provide all the required information about the jobs and the exact duties of the position, information about the supervisors and the co-workers of the beneficiaries. The US employers must file Form I-129, Petition for a Non-immigrant Worker, with the USCIS along with the Labor Condition Applications (LCA). LCA will contain information about the sponsoring employers or the companies and the companies and the employers must assure that they will offer the H-1B beneficiaries the same benefits that they offer the other workers. The US Department of Labor will return certified copies of the LCA to the sponsoring companies after approving their applications and the employers can file H-1B visa petitions for foreign workers only after the approval of the LCA. H-1B visa petitions must be filed with the required supporting documents, form filing fees, training certificates, employment agreements and Form I-129.
After the approval of the petitions, employers must notify the beneficiaries about the processing times and about the application receipt notices. After the approval of the H-1B petitions, USCIS will mail Form I-797, Notice of Action, to the petitioners and the expiration date of the H-1B visas will be printed on those notices. After that, the H-1B beneficiaries can apply for personal visas and H-4B visas for their eligible dependents. After getting their passports stamped the H-1B beneficiaries along with their H-4 dependents, can enter into the United States.