H-1B Alternatives for Individuals Not Selected in the Lottery

This year, the USCIS received roughly 172,500 H-1B petitions to fill 85,000 cap-subject slots for fiscal year (FY) 2015. This means that those subject to the cap and not selected in the lottery will have to wait until April 1, 2015 to apply for an H-1B visa, hoping that their petition is selected in this lottery. Over the past decade, it has become increasingly more difficult to obtain H-1B status. The difficulty is largely due to this numerical limitation, or “cap,” imposed on new H-1B visas. Regardless of how qualified an individual is, unless exempt, he or she will not have a chance to be granted H-1B status unless he or she is selected in the lottery, which fills 85,000 slots for petition processing (20,000 of which are for beneficiaries holding a US master’s degree or higher). While an H-1B visa may have been most appealing, there are some alternative visas that may be available to those who were unable to be granted H-1B status.

O-1 Visa

O-1A visas are for aliens of extraordinary ability in science, education, business, or athletics. O-1B visas are for aliens of extraordinary ability in the arts or extraordinary achievement in the motion picture of television industry. These individuals are people who are recognized as being at the very top of their field and who are coming to the US to continue work in that field. The visa is granted for up to three years initially and can be extended in one year increments until the business activity is completed. Additionally, the O-1 visa holder may be joined by his or her spouse and children. The spouse and children will be granted O-3 status and cannot work, but are able to attend school or college. Another benefit to the O-1 visa is that it allows for dual-intent. Therefore, one can extend or renew their O-1 status even after filing an I-140 or I-485. To find out more information and learn whether O-1 status may be a great fit for you, please visit http://www.wegreened.com/O-Visa-Alien-Extraordinary-Ability.

L-1 Visa

L-1 visas may be a viable option for those individuals that have been working for multi-national companies. For L-1 status, one must have worked for one continuous year in the last three years prior to entering the US as an executive, manager, or person with specialized knowledge. The employer abroad must be a parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch of the US company. This visa category also allows for dual-intent and allows for the visa holder’s spouse and children to join him or her. The spouse of the L-1 visa holder may be granted L-2 status and is able to obtain work authorization and/or study, while the dependent children of the L-1 visa holder and admitted as L-2’s but are only allowed to study. These visas are initially approved for up to 3 years and can be extended for a total stay of 7 years for executives and managers (L-1A) or 5 years for workers with specialized knowledge (L-1B). L-1 visas also allow dual-intent, allowing aliens to extend or renew their L-1 status even after filing an I-140 or I-485. To find out more information and learn whether L-1 status may be a great fit for you, please visit http://www.wegreened.com/L-Visa-Intracompany-Transferee-Visa.

Immigrant Visas

While it typically takes much longer to obtain an immigrant visa, it may be advantageous to start the process now.

EB-1A visas are first-preference, employment-based visas for aliens with extraordinary abilities in science, arts, education, business, or athletics. These visas are current, so the foreign national does not need to wait for the priority date to become current before obtaining a green card. Self-petition is also allowed, so one does not need an employer to sponsor the process and a job offer is not required. For more information on EB-1A visas, please visit http://www.wegreened.com/EB1A

EB-1C visas are also first-preference, employment-based visas and are reserved for multi-national executives and managers. Very similar to the L-1 visas, the beneficiary must have been employed abroad for one continuous year in the previous three by a multi-national company seeking to transfer the employee to the US. Unlike the L-1 visa, however, EB-1C does not allow for transfer of specialized knowledge employees. This category is also current, but self-petitioning is not allowed and a job offer is required. For more information on EB-1C visas, please visit http://www.wegreened.com/EB1C-Multinational-Executives-or-Managers

EB-2 (NIW) visas are popular amongst those qualified individuals whose employers are unwilling to sponsor the foreign national for permanent residency. Sponsoring an EB-2 employee can be a burdensome and arduous process for employers, but EB-2 NIW waives the necessity to have a labor certification and a job offer which removes the need for an employee to be sponsored. While the individual must still be qualified for the EB-2 category, they can obtain a National Interest Waiver if they can prove that their admission to the US would be in the “national interest”. For more information on EB-2 (NIW) visas, please visit http://www.wegreened.com/niw/

Miscellaneous Options

In addition to the above-referenced visas, there remains a variety of other options for those that are unable to obtain H-1B status. B-1 Business Visitors, R-1 Religious Workers, P-1 Athlete/Entertainer, and E-1/E-2 International Traders/Investors are just a few examples of alternative routes that are available.

North America Immigration Law Group – WeGreened.com ( Also known as Chen Immigration Law Associates) is one of the major U.S. immigration law firms with the focus on the petitions of EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver), EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) and EB-1B (Outstanding Researchers/Professors) categories.

We are pleased to announce that we have more than 600 EB1 and NIW case approvals in the year of 2013 and overall approval rate exceeds 98.5%*, which makes us a leading U.S. immigration law firm with the most approval cases and highest successful rate in the field of NIW/EB1 I-140 immigration petitions. This year (2013), we got more than 516 physical approval notices of EB-1 and EB-2 NIW cases with the approval rate exceeding 98.5%*. Those approvals notices are from clients who retained us from the beginning of the case preparation. In addition, we also successfully helped around additional 70 clients preparing their RFE (Request for Evidence) responses that were originally filed by other law firms or by DIY clients filing the cases themselves. In addition, we helped around 30 clients preparing for their EB1B cases for their employers to file. In these cases, we are not able to get approval notices as we are not the attorney on record.

We provide the most comprehensive service for NIW (National Interest Waiver) and EB-1 petitions, including drafting recommendation letters (from the scratch), drafting the petition letter and respond to RFE (without extra charge). Qualified clients are entitled to our “approval or refund” service and if in a rare case the petition is denied, the attorney fee will be refunded. Our policy is specified in our retainer agreement and is binding to us. Because of the quality of our service, our clients comments and reviews are also impeccable.

North America Immigration Law Group (Chen Immigration Law Associates) is a U.S. immigration law firm dedicated to representing corporations, research institutions, and individuals from all 50 U.S. states regarding I-140 immigration petitions. We specialize in employment-based immigration petition and have a proven record of high success rate for the categories of: EB2-NIW (National Interest Waiver), EB1-A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability), EB1-B (Outstanding Researcher/Professor) and O-1 (Alien of Extraordinary Ability).

Our Ten Thousand I-140 Approvals Provide Unprecedented Insight into the USCIS Adjudication Trend

With more than 47,000 EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-2 NIW and O-1 cases approved, we have first hand information on the manner in which the USCIS adjudicate I-140 cases. As the USCIS has constantly changed its adjudication standards for the EB-1A, EB-1B and EB-2 NIW categories, our firm's huge database of successful cases gives you unprecedented insight to USCIS adjudication trends. We carefully analyze the data for all of our cases and apply the results of our analyses toward giving our clients up-to-date advice and adapting our strategies such that we remain on par with the ever-shifting landscape of immigration law in the U.S. With us, you will always have access to important updates, strategies, and information so that you can make the most informed decisions about your case.

We Have Helped Hundreds and Thousands of Clients with Credentials and Backgrounds Similar to Yours

With our exceedingly large number of successful petitions, no matter what credentials you have, no matter your background and field of expertise, no matter your visa status or nationality, chances are we have helped hundreds or even thousands of clients just like you. Our clients are usually impressed with how well we understand their research and work. Our insight and understanding stems from the fact that we have handled many cases with elements similar to yours already, and this helps us devise the best strategies for each individual petition.

Vast Majority of Clients Came to Us Because of Referrals

For years, our firm has attracted new clients based solely on word of mouth, recommendations, and the positive collaboration experiences shared with them by their friends and family. We take pride in our reputation and work hard to ensure that we provide a green card application experience that our clients are happy to share with their friends and colleagues. That is how our approved cases grew from 600 in 2013 to over 47,000 in 2023.