What to think about if you want to hire someone who has an H-1B

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What to think about if you want to hire someone who has an H-1B

By Jim Nolan | February 21, 2010

One of my clients wrote that they are thinking of hiring someone with an H-1b visa and asked what should they think about before making an effort. There are some potential tricks and if you are in this situation I would suggest you think about the following:

How much of the 6 years has the person used? The time the person has used in his or her H-1B status will reduce the time you can sponsor him or her for an H-1B visa. For example, if they have already used 4 years on his or her H-1B you can only have them for 2 more years. You can also add on time the person has been physically outside the U.S. to the 6 years so you should also ask about how long they have been outside the U.S. and add that time onto the 6 years.
Are they still working at their sponsor now and will stay there until you file for the case? If the person is no longer working for his or her current sponsor that is a problem and you should ask how long ago they left and why. If they are still with their current sponsor they can start working for your company the day after we file the case and do not need to wait until their case is approved to start working for you.
Costs. The filing fee would be $1,570 (if you have less than 25 employees) or $2,320 (if you have more). Of this your company is legally obligated to pay $750 or $1,500. The rest is negotiable between you and the new employee.

See the wage the Department of Labor thinks you have to pay If you hire a person on an H-1B visa as a practical matter you have offer him or her what the Department of Labor (DOL) believes is the “prevailing wage” for this job in your area. The DOL is getting much more strict about this requirement and sometimes my clients can only hire a person on a part-time basis because the DOL’s wage is higher than they want to pay for a full-time position.

You can see what wage the DOL requires by visiting this Web site.

It is possible to offer a different wage than listed on the DOL’s survey, but you will have to name the actual wage survey you are relying on and often the DOL will want to see a copy of the survey. Since wage surveys can be quite expensive they are not usually practical for small or medium-size businesses.

Family members. You should ask if they have a spouse and/or minor children. If so, they should be included your visa request unless the spouse has his or her own visa and this will add $300 to the filing fees.

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