The H1B visa, otherwise known as the work permit and specialty occupation visa, allows aliens to move to the USA, to take up temporary employment for a maximum of six years. The H1B is intended to attract skilled workers to move to the USA to ease skills shortages.
US immigration law defines a specialty occupation as a profession requiring theoretical and practical application of specialised knowledge such as architecture, engineering and medicine. The H1B requires a 4-year university degree relevant to the target job or a 3-year course plus three years of relevant job experience.
Candidates who fall short of the above educational requirements can still qualify for the H1B if they have 12 years of relevant work experience.
The H1B visa also allows dependents to move to the USA, along with the principal holder. It grants a minimum residency of three years, subject to a two-year extension and one further year. The maximum residency period is subject to some exceptions, one-year extension after the maximum residency period if the labour certification is pending for at least 365 days and a three-year extension after the maximum residency period if the government approves an I-140 Immigrant Petition.
H1B employees can file monetary claims against their sponsors if they are dismissed prior to the expiration of their contract. Sponsoring employers are required to reimburse the relocation or travel expenses incurred by H1B holders as a result of premature termination of their employment contract.
For taxation purposes, H1B employees are categorised as either Resident Aliens or Non Resident Aliens. A method called the “substantial presence test” is used to determine the tax residency of H1B workers.