How can employers prepare for this year’s H-1B cap
After all, collecting and preparing the required information for the H-1B registration is just the first step.
What else should you consider as an employer?
More than anything, employers need to ensure that the job being offered to the prospective employee qualifies for H-1B classification. It would be terrible to have a registration selected in the H-1B lottery only to have USCIS ultimately deny the petition because the position does not qualify for H-1B classification.
To be eligible for H-1B status, a petitioner must establish that the offered position requires: (1) the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge; and (2) the attainment of a bachelor’s degree or higher degree in a specific field of study as the minimum entry into the occupation.
The offered position must meet only one (1) of the following four (4) criteria to qualify as a specialty occupation:
Bachelor’s or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum entry requirement for the particular position; or
The degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations or, in the alternative, the job is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by an individual with a degree; or
The employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position; or
The nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that the knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree.
In addition, the employer must pay the prevailing wage for the position as determined by its occupational classification and the geographic area of employment. We have created this instructional video that provides the required steps to determine the appropriate prevailing wage for an H-1B position.