Here’s another edition of “Dear Sophie,” the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies.
“Your questions are vital to the spread of knowledge that allows people all over the world to rise above borders and pursue their dreams,” says Sophie Alcorn, a Silicon Valley immigration attorney. “Whether you’re in people ops, a founder or seeking a job in Silicon Valley, I would love to answer your questions in my next column.”
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Dear Sophie,
I am currently working in Seattle after relocating from Chile on an L-1B visa.
Can I change my L-1B visa to an H-1B with a different company? My understanding is that L visas are restricted to working only with the issuing company.
— Charming Chilean
Dear Charming,
Congrats on taking the first step in seeking out new opportunities — and thanks for including me on your journey!
Yes, you are correct: L visas for intra-company transferees enable you to work only for the company that sponsored you for the visa.
All non-immigrant work visas, including the L-1B, require you to have a job offer and an employer sponsor, and your visa is tied to your job with that employer. The short answer to your question is: Yes, you can take a new job with a different company that is willing to sponsor you for an H-1B specialty occupation visa or other work visas.
Image Credits: Joanna Buniak / Sophie Alcorn (opens in a new window)
It’s great that you’re looking to make this change now, because filing fees for the H-1B and other work visas are soon to increase substantially. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has proposed raising the fees for the L-1, H-1B and most other non-immigrant visas and green cards, as well as increasing the premium processing time from 15 calendar days to 15 business days.
Under the proposal, the registration fee for the H-1B lottery would increase to $215 from just $10, and the H-1B filing fee would increase to $780 from $460. DHS, which asserts that these increases are necessary to reduce processing times and eliminate backlogs, will accept public comments on the proposed rule through March 6, 2023, and I urge you to let DHS know how these changes might affect your ability to change jobs.
Now, let’s drill deeper into the H-1B and other work visas you can consider.
The H-1B Process
The H-1B specialty occupation visa requires a beneficiary to have at least a bachelor’s degree and specialized knowledge in a specific field. If you do not have a bachelor’s degree, you can count every three years of work experience as one year of academic study in a related field.
Because the number of H-1B visas available each year is capped at 85,000 (65,000 for individuals with a bachelor’s or higher degree, and 20,000 for individuals with a master’s degree or higher) and demand far exceeds the supply of H-1Bs, USCIS holds an annual random lottery to select people for an H-1B.
The annual lottery is held in March. To participate, you will need to have a job offer for a specialty occupation position from a company willing to sponsor you for an H-1B. The process begins when a company registers you for the lottery when the registration period opens in March. The electronic registration period generally stays open for a few weeks, and by the end of March, USCIS will notify employers whose H-1B candidates have been selected.
Employers of selected candidates will have until June 30, 2023, to file a Labor Condition Application (LCA) for certification by the U.S. Department of Labor, and then a full H-1B application to USCIS.
If your H-1B is approved, the earliest date you can begin working for that employer will be October 1, 2023 — the first day of the new federal fiscal year. The maximum stay on an H-1B visa is six years: an initial stay of three years with one extension of three years. If you’re currently on an L-1B, then you will need to ensure that your status is valid until the H-1B takes effect on October 1.
The H-1B is a dual-intent visa, which means that you can hold it with “immigrant intent.” In other words, you can apply for a green card to remain permanently in the U.S. Your employer can sponsor you for a green card, usually through PERM, or you can apply for either an EB-1A extraordinary ability green card or an EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card on your own.
H-1B1
If you aren’t selected in the H-1B lottery, talk to your prospective employer about sponsoring you for an H-1B1 visa instead.
Like the H-1B, the H-1B1 is a non-immigrant specialty occupation visa earmarked for citizens of Chile and Singapore, as they have trade agreements with the United States. Each year, the number of H-1B1 visas is capped at 1,400 for Chileans and 5,400 for Singaporeans, and are set aside from the 65,000 H-1Bs reserved for bachelor’s degree holders. These caps are reached rarely, if at all.
Unlike the H-1B visa, the H-1B1 allows you to stay for only one year, initially. It is a non-immigrant intent visa and can be extended indefinitely in one-year increments as long as you can demonstrate that you do not intend to stay permanently in the United States, such as showing you retain a residence abroad. Your employer can continue to enter you in the annual H-1B lottery until you’re selected.
You’ve got this!
— Sophie
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