The taxation of income for H-1B employees depends on whether they are categorized for tax purposes as either non-resident aliens or resident aliens.

After completing a policy review, the USCIS clarified that “ any time spent in H-4 status will not count against the six-year maximum period of admission applicable to H-1B aliens.

According to the USCIS, " H-1B aliens may only work for the petitioning U. S. employer and only in the H-1B activities described in the petition.

* If the visa holder has an approved I-140 immigrant petition, but is unable to initiate the final step of the green card process due to their priority date not being current, they may be entitled to a three-year extension of their H-1B visa.

This is known as H-1B portability or transfer, provided the new employer sponsors another H-1B visa, which may or may not be subjected to the quota.

The current law limits to 65, 000 the number of foreign nationals who may be issued a visa or otherwise provided H-1B status each fiscal year ( FY ).

The classification is determined based on the " substantial presence test ": If the substantial presence test indicates that the H-1B visa holder is a resident, then income taxation is like any other US person and may be filed using Form 1040 and the necessary schedules ; otherwise, the visa-holder must file as a non-resident alien using tax form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ ; he or she may claim benefit from tax treaties if they exist between the United States and the visa holder's country of citizenship.

The rules to file taxes for H-1B holders may be complex, depending on the individual situation.

An H4 Visa holder may remain in the US as long as the H-1B visa holder remains in legal status.

The petitioning U. S. employer may place the H-1B worker on the worksite of another employer if all applicable rules ( e. g., Department of Labor rules ) are followed.

H-1B visa holders may be sponsored for their green cards by their employers through an Application for Alien Labor Certification, filed with the U. S. Department of Labor.

An H-1B employee could be just one month from obtaining their green card, but if the employee is laid off, he or she may have to leave the country, or go to the end of the line and start over the process to get the green card, and wait as much as 10 more years, depending on the nationality and visa category.

TN status may be easier for some Canadians or Mexicans to obtain, as they are not subject to the annual cap for H-1B visas issued.

In summer of 1997, he was interviewed by Microsoft for a job in the Internet Explorer Unix team ( to work on a SPARC port ), but lacked the university degree required to obtain a work H-1B visa.

Separately, the U. S. Department of Homeland Security and a federal grand jury are continuing to investigate allegations that Infosys committed visa fraud by using B-1 ( visitor ) visas for work requiring H-1B ( work ) visas.

The NDC has worked to craft and pass legislation, including Permanent Normal Trade Relations ( PNTR ) for the People's Republic of China, fast track Trade Promotion Authority, digital signatures, and H-1B visa reform and continues to work on matters such as privacy, broadband, expanding e-learning opportunities and making government more accessible and efficient through the use of technology.

* The maximum duration of the H-1B visa is ten years for exceptional Defense Department project related work.

H-1B holders who want to continue to work in the US after six years, but who have not obtained permanent residency status, must remain outside of the US for one year before reapplying for another H-1B visa.

In addition, excluded from the ceiling are all H-1B non-immigrants who work at ( but not necessarily for ) universities and non-profit research facilities.

* On the date this application is signed and submitted, there is not a strike, lockout or work stoppage in the course of a labor dispute in the occupation in which H-1B nonimmigrants will be employed at the place of employment.

If such a strike or lockout occurs after this application is submitted, I will notify ETA within 3 days of the occurrence of such a strike or lockout and the application will not be used in support of petition filings with INS for H-1B nonimmigrants to work in the same occupation at the place of employment until ETA determines the strike or lockout has ceased.

Critics alleged that employers benefit from this enforced loyalty because it reduced the risk that the H-1B employee might leave the job and go work for a competitor, and that it put citizen workers at a disadvantage in the job market, since the employer has less assurance that the citizen will stay at his job for an extended period of time, especially if the work conditions are tough, wages are lower or the work is difficult or complex.

Given that both companies have a work force of approximately 100, 000 employees, and a U. S. employment base of roughly 20, 000 H-1B holders, this indicates that roughly 1 / 5 of the Indian workforce of Infosys & Wipro applied for a visa in 2006.

The spouse of a H-1B visa holder who generally comes on H-4 ( dependent ) visa cannot work in the United States.

In addition to H-1B visas, there are a variety of other visa categories that allow foreign workers to come into the U. S. to work for some period of time.

Steps advocated for reducing the numbers of immigrants include advocating stronger action to prevent illegal entry and illegal immigration, and reductions in non-immigrant temporary work visas ( such as H-1B and L-1 ).

Up to 23 August 2010, it had been possible to use one year of residence in the United States as a holder of an E-3 visa ( or certain other work visas, such as H-1B ), while employed in an eligible occupation, to obtain provincial nomination from Alberta for permanent residence in Canada.

When a foreign worker, usually on a temporary work visa such as an H-1B with a U. S. employer, begins the green card process, the first step is to complete labor certification to prove that a qualified American worker could not be found to fill the position the foreign worker is taking.

If a foreign worker in H-1B status quits or is dismissed from the sponsoring employer, the worker must either apply for and be granted a change of status to another non-immigrant status, find another employer ( subject to application for adjustment of status and / or change of visa ), or leave the US.

* If a visa holder has submitted an I-140 immigrant petition or a labor certification prior to their fifth year anniversary of having the H-1B visa, they are entitled to renew their H-1B visa in one year or three year increments until a decision has been rendered on their application for permanent residence.

H-1B visa holders pay Medicare and Social Security taxes, and are eligible for Social Security benefits.

Even though the H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa, it is one of the few visa categories recognized as dual intent, meaning an H-1B holder can have legal immigration intent ( apply for and obtain the green card ) while still a holder of the visa.

The additional 20, 000 Advanced Degree H-1B visas for FY 2008 was exhausted on April 30.

Because of AC21, the H-1B employee is free to change jobs if they have an I-485 application pending for six months and an approved I-140, if the position they are moving to is substantially comparable to their current position.

# The employer must, prior to filing the H-1B petition, take good-faith steps to recruit US workers for the position for which the H-1B worker is sought, offering a wage at least as high as what the law requires for the H-1B worker.

Again, specific to the H-1B visas, countries such as India, Pakistan, and the Philippines have long experienced a brain drain of highly skilled workers to more economically stable and competitive countries like the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Portugal, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and Australia.

Thus the number of H-1B visas issued each year is significantly more than the 65, 000 cap, with 117, 409 having been issued in 2010.

USCIS accepts H-1B visa applications no more than 6 months in advance of the requested start date.

Since the duration of the H-1B visa hasn't changed, this has meant a lot more H-1B visa holders have to renew their visas in one-year or three-year increments to continue to be in legal status while their green card application is in process.

After completing a policy review, the USCIS clarified that individuals who spent more than one year outside of U. S. and did not exhaust their entire six year term can choose to be re-admitted for the “ remainder ” of initial six-year period without being subject to the H-1B cap.

From August 14, 2010, the H-1B fee was increased by $ 2, 000 for petitioners who employ 50 or more employees in the US with more than 50 percent of its employees in the US in H-1B or L ( including L-1A, L-1B and L-2 ) nonimmigrant status as President Obama signed into law Public Law 111-230.

Historically, H-1B holders have sometimes been described as indentured servants, and while the comparison is no longer as compelling, it had more validity prior to the passage of American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000.

" Critics of H-1B use for outsourcing have also noted that more H-1B visas are granted to companies headquartered in India than companies headquartered in the United States.

For firms of 50 employees or more, an H-1B dependent employer is defined as having more than 15 % of their employees in H-1B status.

However, for more than a decade, a few states such as California, New York, Washington and Texas have extended in-state tuition to H-1B workers and dependents.

The set of occupations permitted to petition for TN status is also quite a bit more limited than for the H-1B visa.

Australian citizens applying for an E-3 visa are also no longer subject to the 65, 000 annual visa limit for H-1B visas ; although there is a separate annual quota of 10, 500 E-3 visas, this is believed to be much more generous to Australians than requiring them to compete with all other nations for H-1B visas.