Funds That Employ Foreign Nationals Should Begin Preparing For Highly Competitive H-1B Visa Program

Financial institutions and private investment funds should determine now whether any professional employee will require the filing of an H-1B petition. By way of background, the H-1B specialty occupation status permits professionals (including, for example, financial analysts, quantitative analysts, accountants and computer systems analysts) to work in the U.S.

For an individual to qualify for H-1B status, the employer must offer a position that normally requires at least a bachelor's degree in a specific field, and the foreign national must have earned at least this degree in this or a closely related field. Degree equivalency is permitted under limited circumstances to provide possible H-1B eligibility for persons lacking formal degrees, or for those who have foreign degrees unrelated to the position offered. As a general rule, three years of progressive work experience may be substituted for each year of university that is missing. Individuals may hold H-1B status