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Is it mandatory to have work experience to apply for H1B visa to work in USA ?
One of the questions recently asked was, “Is it mandatory to have work experience to apply for H1 visa?”
Quick answer: NO.
The important thing that USCIS considers when they look at your H1B petition is to validate if you have the enough skills to work in a particular role or position. The key thing is, the position you are applying to matches with your area of education and your expertise. The attorneys write up the paperwork matching your skill set with your position description.
Ideally, it is recommended to have internship experience. If you are a student in US, your work experience either on CPT or OPT helps and makes the case stronger. If you are a student in US, working in OPT for some time and then applying will be perfect. But, if you are student from India, you can still apply for H1B petition with your courses, other project work and maybe some internship experience. If filing without experience, you have to make sure that the application filed is related to your degree of study. Typically, if you have a degree in Computer Sciences, then you will be ideal for H1B petition for any IT related job. If your background is Electronics, then you will be perfect for applying for electronics engineer kind of positions. General recommendation for coming to US on H1B from India is to have at least one or two years of experience. If you are studying masters degree in India, you can work part time and fill in the experience part and make the case stronger.
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Hello, i have done my masters in finance and BA in psychology from india am i eligible for H1b Visa if i want a marketing analyst job? with that i too have a 6 months internship experience.
Hi Saurabh,
I am at USA now and we are expecting a Baby in couple of weeks. Please help me to understand with few questions below:
1. How soon my Baby can travel back to India?
2. Should I apply Passport my Baby in USA itself (assuming Yes)? If Yes, how soon Baby can get the Passport?
Please help
Hi Saurabh,
U can apply for the baby US passport from post office after submitting birth certificate in one month app.
U need to have the PIO card for US baby that takes around 40-45 days.
After that u can travel with the baby to India…Good luck
Hi,
I did my Diploma in IT and Bachelor of Engineering in IT in India, then I did my Masters in IT from UK. I am a fresher who is looking for employment. Can i get H1B visa so that i can go to USA and look for jobs ?
My spouse is on H4, did 2 years of teaching in India and 1 year of software development and 6 months of internship
As per educational evaluation, she is eligible for H1B
Is it fine to go with Software Engineer position while applying her H1B?
I know teaching experience is not same as software development but it does say that candidate has knowledge about the concepts/programming languages and related things
Is uscis strict about number of years in relevant work experience?
She also has 5 month IT experience in a volunteer company.
Is it fine to put that too?
Any way to improve chances of visa approval?
Anyone??
Hi Saurabh,
My wife is pregnant (7 Months) now and has valid H4 Visa. Is she allowed to travel to USA at this stage, would there any security issues at USA Airports?
Please help me with if she’s allowed to travel.
Thanks !
Srinivas,
I haven’t heard of any cases where they stopped pregnant women on visas from entering US as long as they don’t becomes wards of the State. So if she plans to travel to US, then she should carry information about her insurance plan to show that her maternity charges will be bore by her, your employer and insurance company. You can check for other experiences online as well. In addition, check w/ the airline about any specific restrictions they have on the travel in 7th month.
Hi Saurabh,
I got my H1 Visa which is valid till Dec 2013 only. If everything goes fine, I will be traveling by next week. If my employer is ready to renew it, would it be an issue? If need to go with renew, when should be the proceedings started?
Srini,
Your employer has enough time to file for H-1 extension. It can be filed as early as 6 months prior to H-1 expiration date.
Hi Saurabh,
I have a Masters degree in computers and 3 1/2 years of relevant exp. in IT.After that i got a gap of 7 years.Am I eligible for H1B visa?
Shamili,
You look eligible for H-1 in general. However, you should also be qualified for the offered position.
Hi Saurabh,
I have my VISA Interview tomorrow (hoping it will go thru). If it goes through and if I need to get my mother on Visitor Visa – can you please let me know the possibilities and what are the documents required?
Thanks !
Srinivas,
It will be very difficult for her to get visitor’s visa while you are still in India. Once you have reached US, she can appear for B-1/2 visa stamping and you can be the sponsorer. Even then she has to show financial/social ties w/ home country and convince the VO that she will return to home country after her trip to US.
Hi Saurabh,
I have got H1 VISA Interview appointment in the first week on March however on my Appointment Confirmation, my surname was misspelled by my petitioner.
I am worried if that creats any issues at VISA interview. Please confirm if that’s an issue, if Yes – please let me know what needs to be done.
Thanks in advance !
Srinivas,
Are you referring to the interview confirmation letter which has date, time, consulate mentioned? All other documents have the right name? How big is the typo? I don’t remember what other details are mentioned in the confirmation letter, but if passport number is mentioned, that can also be used to identify you.
Still, this is checked by security officials outside the consulate who may or may not leniant. So its better to let your employer know and talk to the consulate folks for correction.
Yes – I was referring to the appointment letter however I was done with my visa interview and got my Visa as well
Hi,
I did my completed my graduation in Hyderabad with 55% with 5 years since i have back logs and the worked with a MNC company for 22 months during the backlogs time and then moved to Uk for my masters and did not complete it for personal reasons,now i am again working for a company from past 7 months whose head office is in USA,Now my employee is applying for H1 for me .
Will it be any problem for me will i get H1,What sought of interview questions do i need to face.
Please let me know as i am tensed a bit
Santosh Pisipati
Santosh Pisipati,
To be qualified you need to have at least a 4 years Bachelors degree. If you have that (even if w/ backlogs) then you are qualified. In addition, you need to be qualified for the offered H-1 position.
Hi all,
I finised MCA, later worked for 3 years as an Asst. Professor in reputed college in India. Last year i came to US on H4. This is year Planning to Apply H1B for software developer. Does teaching experience will consider in this situation?
Sirisha,
If it is not directly related to the offered position and it’s requirements, then it doesn’t help much.
Hi Saurabh ,
Your posts are really helpful….
I want to know the chances of getting h1 b visa .. Please have a look at my profile below.
i finished btech non – it engineering in 2007 ..actually i was supposed to complete in 2006 but because of backlogs it went late..
in 2007 only i applied for f1 visa for usa and got rejected 3 times because of potential immigrant and my backlogs ..after this i went to london metropolitan university, london and did pre-masters (4mmonths) and masters in computing ..i finished my ms successfully and returned to india..here again i have 15months gap and now after this i have put 3.5 years of fake experience and joined a top US MNC .till date i have 17months of exp from this MNC as developer.
now i am planning to file H1 b visa through a desi company , i ll have 2yrs of genuine exp by the time i go for stamping…
As you see i already had enough punches and want you to please suggest me regarding the chances of getting h1 b visa…is UK MS valuable
i take UK MS + 2 Yrs exp from top mnc as positive points …is it correct ?
will the us consultate be able to verify the exp that i have put to get the job in this top mnc..or will they just ask whether i work for them..and the current role..please help
Satheesh Baseneni,
Based on the information you have provided, you seem qualified (4 years of college degree). Still you need to be qualified for the offered H-1 position. Your company can tell you what the requirements are for the position, and you can check whether you qualify for it or not. As your Bachelors was non-IT, I suggest getting education evaluation done for your degrees and have all experience letters (the valid ones) ready.
Hi all,
i am post graduate in electronics and i have 7 years of experience in the field of embedded and vlsi, now i want to apply for h1b visa can any one guide me how to apply for this
thank’s in advance
Sudhakar,
Find an employer who is willing to sponsor your H-1. That’s the only way to go about it.
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