Complete H1B Process (H1B filing process)

H1B visa is for foreign nationals in specialty occupation with bachelor’s degree and meeting certain criterion. Full filling the criterion for getting the eligibility for filing the H1 makes this process more complex and cumbersome. To make sure that the whole process goes smoothly without any hurdles its important that we have ample time in hand.
Please follow the information below which gives a brief idea on the H1B visa process.
NOTE: This information is gathered from various sources and personal experience. It is not officially approved by any official/governing body of USA or any other country. However, It gives more closer/simpler view of the process.
For any further information its always better to follow USCIS official website.
Process unveiled
As mentioned earlier, an employer’s need to get professionals holding Specialty occupations triggers the H1 process. So for someone willing to go to USA on H1 visa needs to find a US employer who can sponsor for the visa.
Due to the cumbersome process, for filing of H1 it’s always better to start the process couple of months earlier to filing date (April 1st) so better start by FEB. After applying H1, it might take 4 to 8 weeks for receiving the approval and the approved candidate can attend for the visa interview immediately; however you can start working in USA only from 1st of October.

Employer then follows the steps below for filing of H1B.

Documents required from the candidate for filing of H1 is as follows:
Latest resume mentioning in detail about Experience and Skills.
Starting from Secondary school all Marks sheets (individual marks sheet preferred) and certificates in English language only.
Offer letter and pay-stubs from present employer & Offer letter, releasing letter, Experience letter, pay-stubs and any other documents of the past employer.
Professional License
Copies of any professional development course certificates available
Passport copy (Blank pages not necessary)
Personal information: Full name, date and place of birth
Present and permanent address.
Home and work telephone numbers
Address that you prefer to receive mail.
USA Consulate/Embassy you would like us to have USCIS send a wire approval to, if necessary
Education Evaluation Report.
These documents will give clear indication of skills of the person sponsored by the employer.


LCA (Labor condition application)
Employer has to abide by few laws described by DOL. Employer has to make sure that H1B employee is getting paid more than the existing prevailing wage in that particular State. Also make sure that H1B doesn’t have direct impact on the citizens of USA employed in similar occupation. Employer also has to give some more information regarding the company for applying for LCA.
EAT 9035- LCA has to be filled and posted for at least couple of weeks at two prominent (eye-catching) locations. Upon completion of this posting we can apply for LCA with DOL. Approved LCA will be received in approximately 1 to 2 weeks. A copy of the LCA has to be handed over to the prospective employee.

Education Evaluation
It is important to complete the education evaluation by Authorized body in USA. This body will evaluate and give the right correlation of the education attained by the employee in comparison with the US counterpart. As in education, the work experience also has to be evaluated by the concerned bodies. In general the whole Education evaluation process takes about 1 to 2 weeks.
Mailing of I-129 to USCIS
Completing the above mentioned steps in the systematic and timely manner will allow the most important phase of filing the petition easy. Utmost care should be taken while filling the filing form. Any small error or misplace of information or incomplete application will lead to a RFE, which will in turn delay the complete processing time.
Make sure all the documents supplementing this application are legible, in order and in English language only.
It takes approximately 1 to 2 months to receive the Notice of Action I-797A, which means that USCIS has received your application and has started processing it further. We can know the status of the application by checking your case number in USCIS official website.
Approximately in another couple of months, the original H1B Receipt is sent to the employer through mail. An employee can start attending the VISA interview after he gets the H1 packet to his hand, however he an start working in USA only from 1st of October.

In my next blow I will speak about the challenges involved in the VISA interview process.