DOES U.S HEALTHCARE SPONSOR H-1B VISA?.

The H-1B is a visa in the US under the Immigration and Nationality Act which allows the United States employers to employ foreign people in various specialties and occupations. If a foreign worker in H-1B status is dismissed or quits from the sponsoring employer, the worker is then required to either apply for and be granted a change of status, find another employer, or leave the United States.

Regulations define a specialty occupation as the application of highly specialized knowledge in the various field that includes chemistry, computing, architecture, engineering, physical sciences, etc.

Also Read:

The maximum duration of stay is three years which can be extendable to six years where the user must fulfill some requirements. One, If the visa holder has submitted an I-140 immigrant petition or a labor certification prior to their fifth anniversary of having the H-1B visa. This entitles them to renew their H-1B visa every year until a decision has been rendered on their application for permanent residence which is backed up by the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The other circumstance is if the visa holder has an approved I-140 immigrant petition to which he or she is unable to initiate the final step of the green card process due to their priority date not being current or are entitled to a three-year extension of their H-1B visa until their adjustment of status can finish. However, the maximum duration of the H-1B visa is ten years for exceptional United States Department of Defense project related work.

Many physician recruiters working with candidates on H-1B visas face a difficult month because each year on April 1, many employers throughout the country submit petitions on behalf of foreign-born professionals whom they hope to hire on H-1B visas. Medical groups, healthcare facilities, and hospitals try to submit H-1B petitions on behalf of international medical graduates so that they can find approval to working in the States.

One of the strategies that physician recruiters can use in the submission of their petitions is by enhancing their petitions in the cap-exempt category that includes positions with academic medical centers and facilities that are in affiliation with the academic medical centers.

The H-1B visa program works by allowing workers in highly-skilled occupations to work in the USA for a maximum duration of up to six years which can then be sponsored by any company in the US or a multinational company that operates in their country. The sponsoring company must, however, show that they are willing to offer a competitive wage for the position and that hiring the foreign person will not negatively affect the United States workforce.

Some of the challenges that hinder the adoption and smooth application processes of the H-1B visas is that the current immigration climate has made it increasingly tough for foreign workers to work in the states that it was in the past. The executive order that was signed by President Trump in the mid-2017 set a tone that visas are to be awarded to the most skilled or higher paid petition beneficiaries.

Applicants are also facing requests for evidence challenges as the US Citizenship and Immigration Services sends applicants a request for evidence if it requires additional information to determine if that applicant is eligible for a benefit. The US Citizenship and Immigration services have also proposed new changes that restrict the possibility for spouses of H-1B visa holders to apply for work permits. The changes will restructure the Optional Practical Training Program (OPT) that allows foreign students to work in the US for a maximum of three years after finishing their studies in a US college or University hence reducing the number of graduates that will be sponsored for work visas.