Did You Know? – H-1B Alternatives

Posted on March 30, 2012 by VISANOW

For many people in the U.S. immigration industry, this is about the time when H-1B stress starts hitting its annual peak.  Knowing that there is a chance that employment plans could go awry if H-1B petitions are not filed timely and/or if the H-1B cap is met early (like in a few years past) leads to a tremendous amount of uncertainty for foreign nationals, HR personnel, hiring managers, and immigration services providers.

April 2^nd , 2012 (the 1^st is a Sunday) will be the first day USCIS allows petitions toward the 2013 H-1B cap.  Many Human Resources professionals, immigration attorneys, and foreign nationals will be anxiously waiting to see how this year’s H-1B count progresses.  Though many do not believe the cap will be met in April, there are still some that want to make sure there is a “Plan B.”  For those of you who do not yet have a “Plan B,” here are some alternatives just in case.  For more information regarding any of these, please feel free to contact us at 1-855-VISANOW.

• B-1 in Lieu of H-1B – This is for an employee whose work would be H-1B level in a specialty occupation, paid by an employer outside the U.S.,  and with a degree that is relevant to the work they would be performing.
• L-1 – If your company has offices outside the U.S. and you are transferring an employee to your U.S. location, this could be an option for you.
• E-3 – If the foreign national is a citizen of Australia, this is a visa that may work.
• TN – For Mexican and Canadian citizens, this is a route that you could take to qualify to work in the U.S.
• O-1 – For people of extraordinary talents, abilities, and achievement.

-Le Nguyen

Vice President of Client and Talent Acquisition and Development

This entry was posted in Immigration Blog and tagged H-1B, H-1B alternatives, USCIS. Bookmark the permalink.