Anyone who has thought of staying in the US after graduation may have heard or looked into the H-1B visa, which allows foreigners to work legally in the US for three years, extendable to six years. To give you a rough idea of how difficult the process can actually be, consider this: last year, the US government received 236,000 H-1B petitions during the single month of February alone, and only granted 65,000 years over the course of the year. Lottery is conducted to decide who is to stay, and this worries many people as it is unpredictable [Investopedia].
However, thanks to the H-1B workshop at Clark, I found out that there are some tips that can help you get a better chance in the lottery. For example, an additional 20,000 visas are granted to employees with master’s degrees from American universities, so Clarkies can do a fifth year Master to be in a better position. However, as Anashua indicated in her article on the H-1B Reform Bill, if it gets passed, this priority may not apply.
Moreover, H1B can be filled by many employers, so if you are able to get more than one employee to fill out a petition for you, you double your chance in the game.
International students from Chile and Singapore also have advantages, because every year, 6,800 visas are reserved for workers due to the free trade agreements those countries have signed with the US [Investopedia].
Below is the PDF of the Powerpoint that was presented during the workshop. It covers many details about H1B that can be useful for your reference:
However, you should take notice that changes can be made in the future. If you have any questions, you can try contacting Prasant D. Desai, the lawyer from Iandoli Desai and Cronin P.C. that presented in the workshop.
Prasant D. Desai
617-482-1010
desai@iandoli.com
