Article by Ramey Ko, Austin Attorney

DISCLAIMER: The content of this column is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice. If you need legal advice or representation on a specific matter, please consult an attorney.
 

免责声明：本专栏的内容仅供参考，不能作为专业法律建议。 如果您需要法律咨询或对特定事项的法律建议，请咨询专业律师。

Among the many ways Asians have immigrated to the United States, the H-1B visa is probably one of the most popular and well-known.  The H-1B visa allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields.  While such fields can include the arts, law, or education, most people associate the H-1B with the so-called STEM fields – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.  Generally, because of the expertise that is supposed to be required for employment, the position must require at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, which the H-1B worker must have in the relevant field.
 

在亚洲移民到美国的许多方式中，H-1B签证可能是最受欢迎和最知名的签证之一。 H-1B签证允许美国雇主临时聘用外籍工作人员从事专业领域理论或技术方面的专业工作。 虽然这样的领域可以包括艺术，法律或教育等多方面，但大多数人将H-1B与所谓的STEM领域（科学，技术，工程和数学）联系在一起。 一般而言，由于对就业所需的专业知识的要求，职位要求H-1B工作人员在相关领域必须具备学士学位或同等学历。

Generally, the duration of an H-1B visa is three years, extendable to six years.  In certain cases, additional extensions may be possible.  H-1B visas are classified as non-immigrant visas, which generally means that they do not provide a path to permanent residency or citizenship; however, H-1B are actually dual-intent visas, which means qualifying visa holders may be eligible to apply for a green card while still in H-1B status.

一般来说，H-1B签证的期限为三年，可延长至六年。 在某些特定情况下，可能有额外的扩展 。 H-1B签证被划分为非移民签证，这通常意味着拥有签证的人没有永久居民或公民的身份；然而，H-1B实际上是双重意向签证，这意味着符合资格的签证持有者可能有资格申请绿卡，同时仍然可以持有H-1B身份。

Current law caps the number of H-1B visas granted each fiscal year at 65,000 (with an additional 20,000 visas for Masters and PhD degree holders); USCIS begins accepting applications each year on the first business day in April and stops processing once the cap is reached.  Those granted H-1B status can begin work when the new fiscal year begins on October 1.  Certain nonprofit and education employers and workers may be exempt from the annual cap and/or the October 1 start date.

现行法律规定，每个财政年度授予的H-1B签证数量为65,000（另外为硕士和博士学位持有者提供另外20,000签证）; 美国移民局每年在四月的第一个工作日开始接受申请，一旦达到上限就停止处理。 那些获得H-1B合法身份的人可以在新会计年度10月1日开始工作。某些非营利和教育雇主和员工可以免于年度上限额和/或10月1日的开始日期。

As the economy recovered and grew over the past few years, the number of H-1B applications far exceeded the cap. As a result, USCIS instituted a lottery system and cut accepting applications after just a few days; before 2017, often fewer than 50% of applications were selected for processing. Under the Trump Administration, however, both actual and perceived or anticipated changes to immigration law, policy, and procedure greatly depressed the number of applications in 2017, increasing the chances for an application to be randomly selected. Many observers anticipate even fewer applications this year, especially as the Trump Administration is repealing an Obama-era rule allowing some H-4 spouses of H-1B visa holders to work.
 

随着过去几年的经济复苏和增长，H-1B的应用数量远远超过了上限。 这样的结果就是，美国公民及移民服务局制定了彩票抽签制度，并在短短几天数量达到后就停止接受申请。 2017年之前，通常只有不到50％的申请被选中进行处理。 然而，根据特朗普政府的移民法的政策和程序，实际和预期的申请数量将比 2017年的申请数量大大减少，从而增加了大家随机选择申请的机会。 许多观察人士预计今年的申请量会更少，尤其是特朗普政府正在废除奥巴马时代的规定，将不再允许H-1B签证持有人的H-4配偶工作。

Despite these predictions, USCIS has not announced any plan to eliminate the lottery system this year, so employers should still aim to submit H-1B applications to USCIS by April 2, 2018, to ensure they can participate in the lottery. Because every H-1B application must be accompanied by a Labor Condition Application (LCA), a document that certifies that an employer is paying the H-1B worker at or above the prevailing wage and is not bringing the worker in to replace a US citizen, keep in mind the length of time it is now taking the Department of Labor (DOL) to certify an LCA. It is not at all unusual for LCA certification to take a few weeks. In practical terms, it may not be possible to get an H-1B application ready to submit on time if employers wait until March to initiate applications with an attorney. Companies and workers interested in H-1B should start preparing as soon as possible, so that their attorneys can begin preparing their H-1B petitions to be filed immediately on April 2, 2018.

尽管有这些预测，美国移民局今年还没有公布任何消除彩票抽签系统的计划，所以雇主仍然可以在2018年4月2日之前向移民局提交H-1B申请，以确保他们可以参与抽签。因为每份H-1B申请都必须符合劳工条件申请（LCA），这是一份文件，证明雇主以现行工资或超过现行工资支付给申请H-1B的员工，而且该员工的工作能力不能被美国公民所替代 。请记住现在劳工部（DOL）认证LCA的时间。 LCA认证需要几周时间。实际上，如果雇主需要等到三月份才能向律师提出申请，因此有些H-1B申请可能无法按时提交。对H-1B感兴趣的公司和员工应该尽快开始准备，以便他们的律师可以在2018年4月2日起立即提交H-1B申请。

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