Heads-Up On Preparing H-1B Petitions

Organized as a list of top five mistakes, a guide from law firm Amundsen Davis concludes with this plea: “If you plan to file an H-1B petition, please begin by February 10.” Even though the online submission window likely will extend to March 1, says the writer, keep in mind it’s a multi-step process, requiring exchanges with the Department of Labor (DOL) and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Security measures include multi-factor authentication, and any back-and-forth is likely to take more time than you expect. In any case, it’s better to do it this year than next: Assuming a current proposed rule goes through, the cost will increase more than two thousand percent (from $10 to $215 ).

Among other considerations: Petitioners will need to make the case the company is financially sound, and this post includes recommendations on how to do that, as well as how to make a case that that the visas being requested are, as required, for “professional or specialty occupations.”