Immigration Planning and Compliance: H-1B Specialty Worker Visa Update

Policy Changes May Inhibit H-1B Petitions

On January 8, 2010, the Associate Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Memorandum to its Service Center Directors that places new limitations on a U.S. employer's ability to procure an H-1B professional work visa in order to hire a foreign national.

An H-1B nonimmigrant visa permits companies and universities to temporarily employ professional foreign workers who have obtained the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree. To successfully apply for an H-1B professional visa, the candidate must be offered employment in what the USCIS considers a "specialty occupation" which typically requires at least a bachelor's degree or its equivalent as a pre-requisite to employment. Common examples of such specialty occupations include Financial Analysts, Software Engineers, and Market Research Analysts.