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Apply H1B Visa 2014 – Preparation – Sample Plan

We are about 3 months away for the H1B Visa 2014 season to start. Many of you might have the dream to work in America on a visa. Although, there are a variety of visas available to work in America, H1B Visa is one of the most popular visas that are utilized by highly skilled international students and professionals. If you are planning to apply for H1B Visa for this fiscal year 2014, it is good to do some homework and be prepared. As like in previous years, let me share with you all a Sample Plan for applying H1B Visa for FY 2014, with detail list of tasks.

Sample H1B Visa 2014 Plan – Checklist of tasks

Some activities have to be carried in parallel. Just pay attention to the dates.

Month, Week  in 2013Description of H1B Activity to be completed
Jan 1st week  – Feb 2nd weekSearch and collect information on H1B Visa sponsoring companies.  You need to prepare a high level list of companies that have the potential.  Read the article : How to Find H1B Visa 2014 Sponsors
Feb 3rd Week – Feb Last week. Due diligence on the H1B Visa Sponsoring companies list that you prepared.  You need to drill into details like LCAs filed, Approvals, Denials, etc.  Read the article : Things to verify before you choose H1B Sponsor.
Feb 3rd Week – Feb Last weekCollect all the documents required to file the H1B Visa petition for this fiscal year 2014.  You will need to gather documents like Experience letters, copies of degrees, requesting transcripts, etc.Read article:  H1B Visa Petition Filing Check list. 
Feb 3rd Week   – Feb Last weekDiscussion with H1B Sponsoring Companies. You need to talk to the companies and get the final offer letters  released. Make sure you negotiate  with the employers properly . Read below articles

Feb Last Week. By Feb 28th, you need to have a H1B Sponsoring company picked to file your petition.  Just put down all the companies list in an excel and rate them on factors like offer, benefits, trust, etc.  Talk to someone in the company, like an acquaintance or friend,  before you commit to the decision.
March 1st week.  Talk to the employer that you have chosen and get in touch with the attorney to get a list of the documents they require. You need to be careful on what you give.  DO NOT give any original documents.  Read article on What NOT to give to H1B Employer to file petition.
March 1st week.Send out all the documents to your employer. You only need to give copies of documents, no need of any originals.   Your employer should have the documents by end of first week.
March 1st weekYou need to check with your H1B 2014 petitioner , if they need any more documents to file the LCA. They would not need anything. But, make sure they have filed your LCA on time.
March 2nd, 3rd WeeksCheck with your employer  and attorney, if everything is on track for filing the H1B Visa petition for this fiscal year.  They would be dealing with so many H1B cases, just make sure yours is in line as well.  Your Job is technically done, just need to follow up.
March Last weekThis is employer’s task.  The  H1B sponsoring company would work with  mail delivery companies like FedEx, UPS, USPS , etc have the H1B petitions delivered exactly on Monday April 1st, 2013

Did I miss anything ? Share your thoughts on your experience planning for H1B Visa filing.

You can check out our last year’s H1B Visa 2013 Sample Plan for Filing petition

   

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42 Comments

  1. Dear Sir,
    Now i got one appointment latter of US company . now they require the document for visa process. Is it possible to get visa in one week. Possible to get H1B visa ?

    Reply
  2. Hi everyone,
    My name is Rahul. I’ve completed M.S in Australia(july 2014).
    I want to apply for H1 visa for USA.
    How can i apply H1 visa for USA?
    Do i need to apply from Australian quota(as i’ve studied masters) or Indian quota(as iam indian citizen)?

    Reply
  3. Hi,

    Can anyone suggest me Where Am I eligible to process for H1B, As I have 4+ Years of exp working in US Staffing, am B.Sc (Computers Science) graduate background, and passed out in 2009. Can anyone let me know the h1 sponsoring companies ?

    Regards,
    Srikanth S

    Reply
  4. Respected Sir,

    I have completed my graduation from Electronic and communication Engineering at June 2007. I have 4.5 Years of experience in Electrical and Automation field. I’m seriously looking for some H1B sponsors .

    Can anyone suggest me few consultants ?
    My email is patel_rh@yahoo.com

    Reply
  5. Respected Sir,

    I have completed my graduation from Electronic and communication Engineering at June 2011. I have 3.0 Years of experience in Electrical and Automation field. I’m seriously looking for some H1B sponsors .

    Can anyone suggest me few consultants ?
    My email is kandarpgajjar14@yahoo.com

    Reply
  6. hello sir
    my education MA(political science) my work experience
    seven years sale job insurance sector my job is on role.
    i regular empolye. i eligible h1b visa please confirm me .

    Reply
  7. Hi,

    I am looking for a H1 Visa Sponsor for me. I am 14 years experienced. Working as architect in IBM currently.
    Please let me know the sponsors

    Reply
  8. Saurabh,

    Who will give client letter in April 2014 for a work VISA that starts from OCT 2014.

    Can you give some tips on how to get one ?

    or is there any possibility.

    I have an employer but he lacks a client letter so far,

    Reply
    • Hi Saurabh,
      I’m currently working as a IT developer in hyderabad with 1+ years of exp.
      does any consultancy in hyderabad process h1b visa, and how can i get a list of US clients/companies who are offering jobs

      Could you suggest me any consultancies?

      Reply
  9. Hi Saurabh,

    I have completed my graduation from Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering at December 2013. Now, my question is am I eligible for submitting H1B vias?

    Heemel

    Reply
  10. Hi Saurabh, You are doing a nice job by posting all required information, it would help people like me a lot. Keep it up the nice work.

    I am a 10 years Java exp Sr. Software engineer working for a company in Hyderabad. For 6 months i.e. from 2013 Dec to 2014 May I was not working with any company due to personal reasons.
    My questions are :
    1. Am I eligible for H1B Visa 2014 with this gap of 6 months? As my present employer is going to file it for me.
    2. Should take a work exp certificate from that 6 months gap from some company(my friends company but I can’t get salary certificate).
    3. If exp certificate is not needed, should I say, due to health problem I was not working? or suggest me suitable reason to get me H1B Visa.

    Your suggestion would help me a lot, thank you in advance.
    Thank you
    Kris

    Reply
    • It will not create any problem. I have 3 yr gap, but I got my h1b last year
      I am in onsite…..but don’t go for fake exp. It will create problem for you…

      Reply
  11. Hi All,
    I have around 8 Years of experience and working for a US MNC in India. I’m seriously looking for some H1B sponsors .

    Can anyone suggest me few consultants ? My email is sandeep dot khokalay at gmail dot com

    Thanks,

    Sandeep

    Reply
  12. Hi Saurabh,

    I am a BA(Bachelor of Arts) Grads. i got an oppurtunity with a big company in US, they sponsered my H1B this yr. and it is approved, i have to go for H1B stamping interview. So my ? is my education will create any problem or they can rejeect me on that ground.

    But i have 5+ yr of work experience, currently also working in a big IT firm in Bangalore as senior software engineer.

    Please advice on this.

    Reply
    • Aki@Lucky this time,
      Did your employer do any education evaluation when applying for H-1? If yes, then carry that document as it will show that you are eligible for H-1. In addition, carry your updated resume and experience letters or reference letters from old employer(s) to show that you have the necessary experience.

      Reply
  13. Great resource….but for guys whose OPT starts in June after summer graduation….when do they apply for H1B ? I am guessing their timeline is different…..

    Reply
    • Vikas,
      H-1 is always applied starting April. If your OPT runs from June to May, then also H-1 needs to be applied in April while you are in OPT. Once you are selected in the cap, you can avail cap-gap which allows you to stay and work until Oct 1 or H-1 denial date (whichever is earlier).

      Reply
  14. hi saurabh,
    I am little late on H1b …currently in India but done my masters from USA in 2010…one company wants to hire me but I dont have any job offer latter yet so can I make it this time??
    and in which category I stand General or masters from USA??

    Reply
  15. I am trying for H1B for a long time, but with almost no luck. There is no response from almost any employer. I don’t understand why so? Is it really so hard? did anybody made success of hunting employer who can sponsor H1B?

    Reply
    • willingToGo,
      Usually consulting companies are more open to file H-1s for people who are not in US as they are ready to wait for 6 months before the person joins. However, even those companies are finding it difficult to get the approval w/o the client letter, project details which most of them do not have. They used to rely on corp-to-corp structure, which is becoming all the more difficult these days.

      There are people who have been able to finalize the companies and who have filed for them while they are outside US. However, I can’t say how successful they were in getting the petition approved and visa stamped.

      Reply
  16. Hi Sourabh and Kumar,
    Thanks for all the information.
    I have one doubt my manager has approved me for H1B and I am working in Top Indian multinational ( IT Company ).I have one doubt since I am an engineer and 1 year experience is there any eligibilty criteria of any sort ? like you must have x number of work experience etc?

    Reply
    • Aks,
      To be eligible, one needs 4 years of college education equivalent to US Bachelors. If the person has 3 years of equivalent education, then they need 3 years of relevant work experience (basically 3 years of relevant work experience for each missing year of education).

      Reply
  17. Hi Saurabh,
    I am on H4 visa in Fremont,CA.I found an employer who is in Atlanta,GA and he is asking for some $$$$$ for filing H1.
    This employer has around 100 employees and it is e-verified . He is not having any clients , he only place the candidates in the projects and take 80-20 billing rate.
    The employer is assuring that H1 approval rate is good for their company.But he will not give me any offer letter,benefits and also there are no agreements to sign.He is also assuring that he will only find a project after H1 approval.
    I only got information about the company in myvisajobs.com and the count is good for them.But there are no reviews from any of their employees.
    Can you please advice me whether I should file H1 from this employer as he is assuring that the chances of approval are maximum ? What other factors should I consider if I file H1 from him ?
    Thanks,
    Nikki

    Reply
    • Nikki,
      Ask them how will they respond to USCIS if they issue a query regarding client/projects etc? Also, you are on H-4 in the Bay Area and I assume you will like to remain here w/ your spouse. So does this employer in GA has projects in CA where he can place you, or does this require relocation? For some people this is a deal-breaker, so you should talk to him about if (if it matters). Even if he is not issuing any offer letter, has he communicated to you what are the T&C of the employment including vacation, health benefits, 401k etc. In addition, ask them if they pay the salary on bench; else you will become out of status.

      In the end, if you really want to get H-1 filed this year then you will have to go w/ whatever best employer you can find. So you can keep this employment warm, and continue looking for alternate employers. If nothing comes up as good as them, then you know which employer to go w/.

      Reply
  18. Hi,

    Good to see all information organised here.

    I have heard that LCA can be filed only 6 months before the employment start date i.e 6 months before 1st Oct comes to 1st April. Also, in some scenarios it can be filed few days back mentioning the employment date as 1st Oct.

    Can anyone please tell what is the earliest date LCA can be filed for H1B 2014? Please mention the pros and cons also if applicable.

    Reply
    • Nehal,
      I don’t know the exact dates, but lot of employers file it in March. It takes 1-2 weeks for DOL to certify and then needs to be posted on internal notice boards for around 2 weeks. So this gives enough time for the processing to be completed in time for April 1 filing.

      Reply
  19. Hi,

    Myself and my wife both are software engineers and working in different IT company in India. We have 7+ yrs experience. We managed to get H1B visa sponsoring company from US. They are offering H1B for both of us because they are searching for specific skill set which we have.
    Now my question is, while we will go for H1b visa interview that time we will be in respective current companies with holding offer letter of H1B visa sponsored company. Will there be any problem for such scenario? They can definitely ask why both of you hired ..and even at that time we will not be an employee of that company.

    Reply
    • JD,
      That should be fine. Lot of people who file from outside US have similar situation – working in their home country for A, and filed H-1 through B. You may be asked how you came across this employer etc to test the genuineness of the employment.

      Reply
    • JD ,

      Can you please share some of the reliable h1b sponsors consultants as there are many consultants I am not sure whom to select ….

      please send me the h1b sponsors details at : Anjali.sh03 at gmail dot com

      Reagrds
      Anjali

      Reply
  20. Hi Sourabh,

    Thanks for providing such a wounderful plan.

    I have a question for you-

    What do you think how much time it will take for 2014 CAP to get Full ?
    Approx date e.g. 5th April, or 15th April or 30 April, 15 May ?????

    My personal take is approx 30 April…

    I know it is not that easy to answer the question at this point of the time but still need to know your guess or probablity.

    Reply
    • Raju,
      Although it is too early to guess, but if I have to make a guess it would be around 30th April.

      Also, the article was written by Kumar and not me. So all credit goes to him 🙂

      Reply
  21. Hi, do they entertain IT background profiles or do they consider profiles from service industry or some other sector.

    Please advise. As, my status is H4 & I am working well in India with top notch MNC unfortunately, I am not getting employer neither my organization process H1b in our profiles.

    Reply

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