VISA2US Blog

October is a big deal for the government, particularly in the immigration sector. October 1 is the start of the new fiscal year, and a new round of H-1B workers have begun the jobs they worked so hard to obtain. But October is also when the Diversity Visa (Green Card) lottery opens. This year, the window started on October 4. What is this lottery, and could it help you? Keep reading to find out.

When you’re trying to obtain an H-1B visa, you must abide by specific beginning and ending dates, and these aren’t always optimal. This can be particularly concerning when you’re a student finishing your university program with a gap between your last day of school and your first day at your new job. Since this is relatively common, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has a process in place to streamline your H-1B petition and allow you to remain in the US with a cap gap extension.

Foreign nationals enter the United States every year for various reasons, including work, tourism, and education. The visa they use to gain entry into the US depends on the reason for their visit. For international students, this is typically the F-1 status. However, only certain fields of study qualify for extensions that also permit work authorization. According to the latest updates from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), there are eight new fields that fall under the STEM OPT degree and qualify for the two-year work authorization extension. We’ll break those fields down here.

Foreign nationals on an F-1 student visa often prefer to stay in the United States and continue their careers. The H-1B work visa is one way to do this. However, most job offers are obtained through businesses under the “capped” category. In these situations, a limited number of visas are allotted annually, and those approved can’t enter the US to begin work until October 1 of that fiscal year. So what happens to those in F-1 status who are approved for an H-1B visa but their OPT authorization or F-1 grace period expires before October 1? That’s where the H-1B Cap Gap Extension kicks in, and we’ll explain the details here.

Changes to how the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services department handles premium processing have begun, and the latest round began on April 3, 2023. These adjustments directly affect students in certain F-1 categories and those petitioning for nonimmigrant foreign worker visas. This blog explains how you may be affected by the new regulations for premium processing.

The H-1B visa is highly sought after, partly because it allows the beneficiary to bring their dependents with them to the United States. The document permits the holder to work and live in the US for three years, with an optional three-year extension. But during that time, minors grow up and are no longer dependents. When that happens, they must obtain their own visas, such as the F1 student visa. If your child is in the transition period where they’re going to need a visa of their own to stay with you in the States, read on to find out what their options are and if transferring to an F1 status from your H-1B dependency is possible.

There’s no denying that the H-1B visa is arguably the most popular category on the market. But with many more petitioners than visas allocated, it’s also very difficult to obtain. This year’s lottery, FY 2024, saw the largest influx of registrations in history, but the US Citizenship and Immigration Services can only provide 85,000 visas. If you weren’t one of the chosen few, you still have options, as we’ll discuss here.

The H-1B and certain other categories of visas are designed to bring skilled workers into the United States to fill specialty job positions. However, these workers must meet strict requirements, such as a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited university. Those applying for an advanced degree exemption typically have a bachelor’s and a master’s or beyond that must qualify as accredited. Hopeful H-1B petitioners need to verify that their institutions are from an accrediting agency, but recent changes in the US Department of Education have dropped an important one. The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) is no longer recognized, meaning substantial impacts for H-1B and certain F-1 student visa holders.

According to USCIS, a student on a visa is, well, a student. Therefore, they should devote their time to studies, not to earning an income. Students aren’t allowed to receive Employment Authorization Documents. They can go to school and perform in after-school activities, such as clubs and sports. This has been a non-issue for most foreign student-athletes on a non-immigrant visa. Yet, the current changes in NCAA policy — the National College Athlete Association — could impact all of this.

Certain fields are known to have job openings that are notoriously difficult to fill. These industries, such as those in the STEM categories, have high-skill requirements and fewer people who meet the criteria to choose from. For that reason, many of these US employers must reach beyond the pool of native applicants and attempt to find foreign workers who can help them. But this action, although it's a last resort, does not get performed lightly. You must follow government guidelines as a US employer looking to hire a nonimmigrant. We've summarized them here to help you get started.