Does an Employee’s Education Level Impact Their H-1B Visa Qualification?

Employment visas are one of the most highly requested visa types by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). With this, these visas come with very specific eligibility criteria. Read on to discover whether an employee’s education level impacts their H-1B visa qualification and how a seasoned work authorization permit lawyer in Milwaukee, WI, at the Sesini Law Group, S.C., can help determine your eligibility.

What is an H-1B visa?

Simply put, an H-1B visa is a type of employer-sponsor, nonimmigrant work visa. This visa allows individuals who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States to work in a specialty occupation within the country for a certain period of time. With applying for extensions, this certain period of time may be up to six cumulative years. And such specialty occupations include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Work related to biology, at the professional level.
  • Work related to business administration, at the professional level.
  • Work related to education, at the professional level.
  • Work related to engineering, at the professional level.
  • Work related to mathematics, at the professional level.
  • Work related to medicine, at the professional level.
  • Work related to physics, at the professional level.
  • Work related to psychology, at the professional level.
  • Work related to social sciences, at the professional level.

Does an employee need a certain education level to qualify for an H-1B visa?

Because of the level of expertise required for the aforementioned fields of work, an employee does need a certain level of education to qualify for an H-1B visa. More specifically, the minimum educational level is a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in the related field of work. For your visa application, you may have to provide proof of your degree or equivalent certification.

But with that being said, having this level of education does not automatically make you eligible for H-1B status. That is, the job itself, for which you are applying, must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent listed as one of their requirements. This may pose a difficulty depending on what type of work you are seeking, as certain fields do not have well-established degree requirements.

What’s more, having this level of education and finding a job that discloses this education requirement does not automatically grant you an H-1B visa. This is because the USCIS has a cap of 65,000 H-1B visas distributed for the entire country each year. In addition, your potential employer must properly submit a petition to be your sponsor to the USCIS.

Without further ado, you must retain the services of a competent work authorization permit lawyer in Milwaukee, WI immediately. We can assure you that we are passionate about your case, so contact us today.

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