United States work permit: H-1B specialty occupation
Sponsoring a H-1B specialty occupation in United States: salary threshold, employer registration, processing time and right-to-work duties.
Employer facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Route | H-1B specialty occupation |
| Salary threshold | Prevailing wage for the occupation and area |
| Licence | Registered petitioner; H-1B lottery each March |
| Processing | Lottery in March, start 1 October; premium processing 15 days |
| Right to work | Form I-9 within 3 business days of hire; E-Verify where required. |
- Registration fee $215
- I-129 filing $780
- ACWIA and fraud fees $2,000 to $2,750
Sponsoring a hire in United States, step by step
- Check the role. Confirm the occupation is eligible and the salary meets Prevailing wage for the occupation and area before the offer is made.
- Employer standing. Registered petitioner; H-1B lottery each March. Gather the registration, financial and HR evidence the authority asks for.
- Petition and documents. The candidate's passport, qualifications, experience letters and police or medical checks are validated against the published list.
- Filing and biometrics. The petition is lodged, biometrics are booked and the decision window of Lottery in March, start 1 October; premium processing 15 days starts; the guaranteed date is quoted to HR and the candidate.
- Start date and compliance. Form I-9 within 3 business days of hire; E-Verify where required.. Reporting duties, address changes and expiry dates are tracked for the life of the permit.
Questions, answered
What salary must an employer pay for a H-1B specialty occupation in United States?
The current threshold is Prevailing wage for the occupation and area. Offers below it are refused or need an exemption, so check the figure against the role before the offer letter is issued.
Does the employer need a licence to sponsor in United States?
Registered petitioner; H-1B lottery each March. Vistolane checks the employer's standing before a petition is started and records the evidence on the case file.
How long does a United States work permit take?
Typically Lottery in March, start 1 October; premium processing 15 days from a complete filing. Vistolane quotes a guaranteed filing date from the published window and the earliest biometrics slot.
What right-to-work evidence must be kept?
Form I-9 within 3 business days of hire; E-Verify where required.. Expiry dates and renewals are tracked on the employee record so the sponsor's duties are met.
Sponsoring an H-1B specialty occupation worker
The H-1B is the United States' main work visa for degree-level roles, and for Indian candidates it is governed by a calendar rather than a queue. Employers register each candidate in March for a USD 215 fee, the selection is made by lottery against the annual cap, and selected petitions are filed on Form I-129 with a USD 780 filing fee plus the ACWIA and fraud-prevention fees that bring the employer's outlay to between USD 2,000 and USD 2,750 before legal costs. Employment can start on 1 October. Premium processing returns a decision in fifteen calendar days for an extra fee.
The employer must pay at least the prevailing wage for the occupation and the metropolitan area, certified through a Labor Condition Application, and must keep a public access file. Cap-exempt employers such as universities and non-profit research bodies can file at any time of year, and extensions beyond six years are possible while a green card petition is pending, which is the common path for Indian engineers given the employment-based backlog. Spouses on H-4 may be eligible to work once an I-140 is approved.
From the first day of work the employer completes Form I-9 within three business days and uses E-Verify where state law or federal contracts require it. Vistolane tracks the registration, petition, LCA and I-9 dates on the employee's record so HR and the immigration partner see the same timeline.