Did Masters from US university .. Need information on H1B ..

[ahmadka]

Hi guys ... My first post here so please be gentle

Well I'm looking to work in the US, so I'm in need of a H1B Visa ...

I'm a previous Fulbright Scholar, and did my Masters from Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, USA, via this Fulbright Scholarship, between 2009 and 2011 .. During this time bracket, I was on J-1 visa, because of which I could not work in the US ... I'm now back in my home country (Pakistan), and want to go back to the US and work there .. Currently I'm working as a Senior Software Developer in a top IT firm .. My targeted industry is Software Development ..

I also have experience in living in the UK for about 4.5 years (between 1995 ~ 2000) .. I also currently hold a B1/B2 US Visa, which is valid for another 5 years (approx.) ...

I now have some questions regarding H1B:

1) Given my academic background, how hard will it be for me to find a sponsor in the US ?

2) What is the difference between the 65,000 and 20,000 General and Advanced H1B application caps ? .. From what I understand, 20k is additional room for people who did Masters from the US, and this 20,000 cap starts after the 65,000 cap has been reached ?

3) I also understand that April 2nd is when the date opens for H1B applications, but these applications can be applied for 6 months in advance ?

4) What is the full approximate fee for the entire H1B application process ? And would be sponsor company be paying all of this ?

Thanks in advance for your help guys

[shervin143]

1) Given my academic background, how hard will it be for me to find a sponsor in the US ?
>>> It is hard to answer that question without knowing anything about you. A job in H1B is not just based on your education. It also required relavant experience. With a combination of both, it is not too hard. You can look for H1B sponsors using the below links.

http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63346&page=2

dice.com
monster.com

2) What is the difference between the 65,000 and 20,000 General and Advanced H1B application caps ? .. From what I understand, 20k is additional room for people who did Masters from the US, and this 20,000 cap starts after the 65,000 cap has been reached ?
>>> They go in parallel. If you have done your masters in U.S, then you are eligible to file the H1B under the masters quota. Here is the current status of the CAP limit.

Cap Type : H-1B Regular Cap
CAP Amount : 65,000
Petitions filed : 55,600
Date of Last Count : 06/012012

Cap Type : H-1B Master’s Degree Exemption
CAP Amount : 20,000
Petitions filed : 18,700
Date of Last Count : 06/01/2012

3) I also understand that April 2nd is when the date opens for H1B applications, but these applications can be applied for 6 months in advance ?
>>> The petition can be filed only when the CAP opens. It is usually on April 1st, unless April 1st is a weekend or a national holiday. The effective date of the petition can be requested to be 6 months in the future. So if you file the petition on June 1st, you can request the petition to be effective on Dec 1st.

4) What is the full approximate fee for the entire H1B application process ?
>>> It differs from one employer to another. There are lot of factors that determine the H1B fees like size of the company, number of H1B employees etc. Search and read the instruction to file form I-129 in uscis.gov.

And would be sponsor company be paying all of this ?
>>> H1B filing fee should be taken care by the employer. It is illegal for the employee to pay this fee. However, the employee can pay the premium processing fee (if you want the decision in 15 days) and lawyer fees). A good H1B sponsor will not take any money from the employee.

[ahmadka]

Thanks shervin for your answers ..

They go in parallel. If you have done your masters in U.S, then you are eligible to file the H1B under the masters quota. Here is the current status of the CAP limit.

Won't that be an automatic thing from USCIS's point of view ? .. Like suppose I send in my application (or rather my employer), and then USCIS sees I have done MS from US, so they first consider me there, and if not, then they consider me for the general 65k cap ?

The petition can be filed only when the CAP opens. It is usually on April 1st, unless April 1st is a weekend or a national holiday. The effective date of the petition can be requested to be 6 months in the future. So if you file the petition on June 1st, you can request the petition to be effective on Dec 1st.

I don't understand this. How can an application be filled on 1st December, when the cap opens on 1st April ? ... Sorry, its just a little confusing ..

Also, how did you find out the current application's status ?

Regarding the fees, lets assume my employer is Microsoft (not gonna happen, just speaking very ideally), and they decide to pay all my dues ... So in this case, no fees, and no form filling at all will be required from my end ?

Also, what is the best and most efficient way to find companies which are willing to sponsor international job hunters these days ? The link you pointed out mentions dice.com, but I just see a normal job searching site with no obvious details about H1B ..

Lastly, there is a site named h1base.com, which claims to assist you in the whole H-1B application process, and they claim to send your resumes to HR managers in companies they know are sponsoring H-1B visas ... They also claim to have been acknowledged by a number of sites, businesses and universities in the US, but I'm still not sure if its a scam or not .. Any ideas?

[shervin143]

Won't that be an automatic thing from USCIS's point of view ? .. Like suppose I send in my application (or rather my employer), and then USCIS sees I have done MS from US, so they first consider me there, and if not, then they consider me for the general 65k cap ?
>>> First of all you cannot file your own H1B petition. It has to be filed by your employer or the employer's lawyer. And it is not automatic. If you are filing it under the 20,000 masters quota, it has to be mentioned while filing the petition. The lawyers would know how exactly to proceed. Filing form I-129 is not an easy thing and it should be done by an experienced attorney.

I don't understand this. How can an application be filled on 1st December, when the cap opens on 1st April ? ... Sorry, its just a little confusing ..
>>> Did you read my previous reply properly? What I said is, when you file the H1B petition, you can request the effective date to be 6 months in the future. If you file it on June 1st, then you can request the H1B effective date to be Dec 1st (6 months). Unless a future effective date is requested, the H1B petition will become effective as of Oct 1st (new petitions filed under 2013 quota). And of couse you can file the petition in December even if the CAP opens in April as long as the CAP remains open until that time. If the H1B filing rate is less, then the CAP will remain open until the 65000 limit is reached. Last year, the CAP got closed only in November.

Also, how did you find out the current application's status ?
>>> I gave you the link to uscis.gov. Did you check that? USCIS is the one that approves any petitions filed. All the information about the current count of petition filed is updated there.

Regarding the fees, lets assume my employer is Microsoft (not gonna happen, just speaking very ideally), and they decide to pay all my dues ... So in this case, no fees, and no form filling at all will be required from my end ?
>>> The employer will pay all the fee and there will be nothing from your end when you go through employers like Microsoft. The documents for the H1B will be filed by the employer. You will have to work with the employer to send the documents that they need from your end (Experience letters, educational documents etc).

Also, what is the best and most efficient way to find companies which are willing to sponsor international job hunters these days ? The link you pointed out mentions dice.com, but I just see a normal job searching site with no obvious details about H1B ..
>>> Looking into the sites that I gave you or trying through your friends in U.S or searching the fourms for H1B sponsors are the options.

Lastly, there is a site named h1base.com, which claims to assist you in the whole H-1B application process, and they claim to send your resumes to HR managers in companies they know are sponsoring H-1B visas ... They also claim to have been acknowledged by a number of sites, businesses and universities in the US, but I'm still not sure if its a scam or not .. Any ideas?
>>> No idea.