H-1B Visa

2023 H-1B Professional Visa “Cap Season” Details

Now is the Time to Get Ready!

All 2023 H-1B Cap participants must complete a Pre-Registration process for inclusion.

E&M Mayock’s Pre-Registration Program includes attorney review and filing with USCIS Citizenship & Immigration Services.  The all-inclusive fee for this first step is $500.

Please complete our H-1B Inquiry Form on this page if you would like us to move forward with H-1B Cap Pre-Registration.

In 2020, USCIS launched an innovative Pre-Registration program to allow employers to participate in the H-1B lottery – without filing expensive H-1B Visa Petitions.   We gleaned important tips from previous USCIS H-1B Pre-Registration seasons.

What We Learned:

• Pre-Registration requires tight coordination between employers and attorneys to navigate the cumbersome USCIS Pre-Registration system
• Employers need attorney assistance with the “simple” registration process, now more than ever, to avoid disqualification through errors in the Pre-Registration process

E&M Mayock’s H-1B Pre-Registration Program

E&M Mayock has now begun accepting H-1B Cap Pre-Registration cases for submission in March 2023.

Initial Attorney Review and Registration: $500

Employers and H-1B Cap Prospect Employees will fill out basic online questionnaires to provide the information required for H-1B Cap Pre-Registration.  If, after Attorney Review, there are no apparent legal issues, the case will be prepared for Pre-Registration submission.  USCIS $10 fee included.

Full H-1B Visa Petition Preparation:  $3,500 (Standard E&M Fee)

Once a candidate has been selected, the employer will have 3 months to file an H-1B visa petition with USCIS, usually by 30 June 2023.  E&M is prepared to do this for our standard fee of $3,500 [plus costs].  Most petitions will be decided by the first possible start date – 1 October 2023.  But others will languish.  PP Premium Processing [$2,500 additional and optional] may be available; USCIS has yet to announce.

Getting Started with Pre-Registration

Please complete our H-1B Inquiry Form on this page if you would like us to move forward with H-1B Cap Pre-Registration.

Once we receive this information from you we will send instructions to start the case and send a link for payment of the $500 Pre-Registration fee.

** Important Note for F-1 Foreign Student H-1B Candidates – Saving on Taxes **

Employers should avoid withholding FICA for any F-1 OPT employee without getting advice from an accountant.  Most F-1s and their employers are exempt from paying FICA.  6.5% of compensation x 2 [Employer AND Employee each avoid payment] can be significant savings.  For those on STEM OPT, 3 years of FICA savings can pay for a significant portion of both visa and green card expenses.

2023 H-1B Cap Season Details

Luck-based Selection Lottery

USCIS will randomly select the projected number of registrations needed to reach the H-1B numerical allocations. Initial selection results are usually made public before April 1^st.  No fooling!

Prospective Petitioner Employers with selected registrations will be eligible to file a cap-subject petition ONLY for the selected foreign national Candidate NAMED in the registration.

Although Petitioners can register multiple foreign nationals during a single online submission, duplicate registrations by the same Petitioner for the same Beneficiary in the same fiscal year will be discarded.

Beneficiary Candidates are permitted to have multiple registrations – as long as none of the Employers are related to each other by common ownership.

In the past few years, the annual quota of 85,000 new H-1B visas was exhausted by the end of the filing window.  During the 2022 lottery, 483,927 registrations were submitted.  More are expected for 2023.

The annual quota includes 20,000 H-1B visas set-aside for foreign workers who have completed a Masters degree [or higher] at a U.S. non-profit university.  Based on previous H-1B cap experience, we predict these graduates will have a significantly better chance of selection in the lottery.

Getting Started with Pre-Registration

Please complete our H-1B Inquiry Form on this page if you would like us to move forward with H-1B Cap Pre-Registration.

If you have any questions, please contact us immediately at 415.765.5111 or H1B@emvisa.com. Thank you! We look forward to working with you to achieve your visa goals.

The H-1B visa is for workers in specialty occupations, such as: Architecture, Engineering, Mathematics, Physical sciences, Social sciences, Medicine and health, Education, Business specialties, Accounting, Law, Theology, or The Arts.

H-1B visas are available only to workers in occupations requiring highly specialized knowledge, normally acquired through a college education, and to distinguished fashion models. Although this myriad of specialty occupations mentioned above exist to qualify under H-1B qualifications, there are some requirements to successfully obtain your visa:

• You must be coming to the U.S. to perform services in a specialty occupation and have a college degree (or its equivalent in experience, typically a minimum of twelve years in that specialty field), or be a distinguished fashion model.
• You must first have a job offer from a U.S. employer that agrees to sponsor you.

The employer must then file an “attestation” with the U.S. Department of Labor that certifies that they will pay the average or “prevailing wage” for the specific type of job in that area (or the actual wage paid to similar workers at that employer, depending on which is the higher of the two).

It is essential also that you have the correct background for the job you are offered. Therefore, if your academic and professional credentials are strong, yet do not match the job, you are not eligible for an H-1B visa in that specific specialty occupation.

The job you are entering must also meet one of the following criteria:

• A bachelor’s degree of higher degree (or equivalent) is the minimum requirement for entry into the position;
• The degree requirement is common to the industry, or the duties of the position are so complex that it can be performed only by a person with a degree;
• The employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position; or
• The specific duties are so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with a bachelor’s degree.

• You can legally work in the U.S. for your sponsor.
• H-1B visas are typically issued quickly (6 weeks to 3 months).
• You may travel in and out of the U.S. as long as your visa stamp and status are valid.
• Visas are available for immediate family members (spouse and/or unmarried children under 21 years of age).

• You may work only for the employer that sponsored you. If you change jobs, you must obtain new H-1B status.
• Employers must have an attestation on file with the U.S. Department of Labor before they can sponsor you for H-1B status.
• The maximum length of stay in the U.S. under H-1B status is six years. After that time, you must return to your home country (unless you are eligible to apply for another nonimmigrant visa status or plan to apply for permanent residence).
• Immediate family members may stay in the U.S. with you, but cannot work (unless they are applying for a work visa independently of you).

Successful H-1B applicants may initially stay in the U.S. for up to three years, and may opt to extend their status for another three years, for a maximum stay of six years.