Employers Face H-1B Work Visa Challenges In 2018

Companies that anticipate filing petitions for new H-1B visas to employ foreign guest workers in a "specialty occupation" should begin working now with their immigration counsel to ready their petitions for filing with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).  Specialty occupations eligible for employment in H-1B status are those for which a four-year bachelor's degree or higher is a minimum entry level requirement.  Examples of H-1B eligible occupations include engineers, accountants, physicians, architects and attorneys.  Spouses and children (under the age of 21) are eligible to accompany the alien guest worker in H-4 dependent status.  An employer may employ the alien guest worker for up to 6 consecutive years in the United States in H-1B status, and further extensions of status may be possible in the event the employer elects to sponsor the guest worker for an employment-based green card (also known as permanent residence status).  Initial