Hello Sajha Basis,
I have a question relating to H1 and hope that some of you will have enough expertise or experience to be able to answer it. I am graduating in may of '08 which a lot of people advise against. But my question is that if I get a job offer by lets say Jan of '08, will my employer be able to file H1 for me even if I have some time before I graduate. Any help in this matter will be really appreciated.. Please let me know about this because if I can't then I might have to make some major changes in my plan....
Thanks in advance...

You have to have Minimum of Bachelors Degree before you file H-1b. This is all I know and I had H1B for 6 yrs.

..Sunil dai

To file a H1-B, you will need your complete transcript or graduation certificate which i think you wont have until may in your case. You may wana check with a lawyer about this issue but as far as i know, you need to have your certificate. Thats one of the requirements for H1-B.

Until you get your degree, you can work on CPT which is about 39 hours a week. Once you get degree then go for full time with H1B.

CPT applies only if your job offer is within your commutable areas.

I am already working on a CPT right now but I won't be able to continue on with my CPT once I graduate. Also if you are pursuing your bachelors degree, you can only work full time for 1 year and if you work for more than one year you won't be able to do your OPT. I know that for sure but my question is about H1..

It seems until now that I would not be able to get my H1 if I am still in school....

Also, can somebody explain to me what the premium processing is in regards to the H1 please..

I hope that the information I put forward will help you to some extent.

I will start with your last questions about Premium processing. This processing will get the precedence in terms of taking an action. My point is if you process Premium way it will be approve in 15 days ( INS given time) but the regular way might take months. Saying that last year well for the H 1 stating on Oct 1 of this year there were above 130 thousand applicants and there were only I believe 60 thousand h1 for undergrad and 20 I believe for Masters. So the INS did a so called lottery system. The chance is fifty fifty. In this situation I don’t know how this premium thing is handeled!


Now the second well the first questin that you asked is about the processing of H 1. Its true that you have to have a bachelor’s degree to process it but then the INS will accept application I believe from the month of April and with higher number of H1 application they will stop accepting application as early as may itself. Now if the company that hired you liked so much they have alternative ways to tackle this situation and can go for J-1 ( I don’t know much about it) and right a way process your GC and keep you at work. That is if the company is so good that they like you and understand your needs. Finally this is not going to happen with any of the desi companies. Only the big companies American companies will do that. One of my cousin had the same scenario and they did J1 and processed his GC and he was good to go without even being in H 1 ever.


Graduation thing! that is what people say to me when I was about to graduate!!!! Its your opinion but genuinely speaking don’t fall behind by postponing it. Many people say that cause they don’t have the in depth knowledge. See you have worked so hard to get this degree and now when you are about to get it why step back. Put the black cap Brother!
After that if nothing works still you have the Degree and you will proud of yourself.
""Damn it I made it""!

Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are so much debates in sajha regarding H1 and may graduation. So try to avoid may graduation first then you can go through either dec or next aug. As i am trying to finish in this dec the next option is aug.

o_o, in your case, I think you will be able to file for the h1b in April '08 even though you will graduate in May '08 as long as your advisor and the records office can provide you with a letter stating that you have met all the university reqiuirements for the graduation and you would graduate in May '08. I am not an expert in this matter, but it's always good to talk to a lawyer.

I would ofcourse hire a lawyer in due time but I just want to have a feel of the other side of the fence... lol.. Still I haven't gotten any definite answer though.. Is my situation so unique?

It is best to graduate in fall as you'll have few months to get hired and prepare the H1 petition to be filed on April 1. I think you'll have only one day to file your petition so you would like not to take any chances.

If you graduate in May, you'll miss H1 filing for 2008. Assuming your OPT starts right away after you graduate in May, you can work for one year and can file H1 for 2009 on April 1, 2009. But the problem is, your OPT will expire after one year and you'll have to join school again to maintain status until October 1, 2009 which is the first day you can start working.

I'm not sure if the letter stating that you'll graduate in May will work. I know that a copy of your diploma is needed. If the letter works, you can file in April 2008 which can be the best thing for you right now. If not, it seems you are all set to file for 2009.

No it depends whether you want to:

- Graduate in May 2008, work for 1 year on OPT, file H1 on April 2009, stop working after OPT expires, take risk and try to maintain status until Oct 1, 2009.

OR

- Graduate in fall 2008, start working on OPT, file H1 on April 2009, continue working on OPT until Oct 1, 2009 when your F1 changes to H1.

Good Luck!

I have known atleast one person who filed H1B before he graduated. However he already had his Bachelors degree and was completing his Masters. Not saying that he filed H1B in undergraduate quota, but the faculty and advisor provided him with good documentation on his nearing graduation. Also, the company that hired him, wanted him so badly. He started working when he was in school and was paid later after his H1 aproval. Many companies dont do this, Is your employer willing to do this???

In premium processing INS provides you with your H1B acceptance or denial in 15 days after accepting your application. In cases like last year when random selection is done , 15 day starts after your application is selected, premium processing doesnot affect random selection process.