H-1B

Departments initiate the requests for new petitions, extensions, and amended petitions by completing the forms and submitting the appropriate documents and fees to the Office of the General Counsel, Attn: Leslie Crosdale. Leslie will prepare the petition for submission to USCIS.

FSU pays for all immigration petitions.

The maximum period permitted in H status is six years (certain exceptions apply). Petitions may be submitted to request no more than three years at a time.

Departments should submit the H-1B request materials to the Office of the General Counsel as soon as possible and at least three to four months before the anticipated start date of employment if the employee is outside the U.S. or if the employee is currently in the U.S. in a different nonimmigrant status. The Office of the General Counsel needs approximately two to three weeks to prepare the petition. USCIS processing time can be significant. Processing times are available on the USCIS website.
For a $2,500 fee, USCIS will process the petition in 15 or fewer days.

If the prospective employee is currently in H-1B status, he/she can begin employment in the new or amended position as soon as USCIS has received the petition (proven by issuance of the receipt notice).

Six months.

Before submitting an H-1B petition, the Office of the General Counsel must obtain a Labor Condition Application certified by the U.S. Department of Labor. To obtain the certification, the Office of the General Counsel must attest, on behalf of the employing department, that the department will pay at least the prevailing wage or the actual wage, whichever is higher. The Office of the General Counsel can discuss the salary with the department prior to the department completing the H-1B request forms.

No, universities are exempt from the annual limit of H-1B visas.

In the U.S.
Dependents (spouse and children under age 21) in the U.S. hold H-4 status, or they may hold another status on their own. To extend their stay (if already H-4), or to change their status to H-4 from another nonimmigrant status, the dependents must submit an I-539 form to the Office of the General Counsel to be mailed to USCIS with the H-1B petition. If a dependent is considering filing an I-539 online or separate from the H-1B petition, the primary should contact Leslie Crosdale before filing the I-539.

Dependents Outside the U.S.
Dependents outside the U.S. will need to apply for H-4 visas if they intend to come to the U.S. FSU will send them a copy of the approved H-1B petition and the original approval notice. H-4 dependents cannot obtain employment authorization.

Please contact the Office of the General Counsel BEFORE you make any changes in the terms or condition of the employment. Many changes (like the ones mentioned above) require us to file a new Labor Condition Application (LCA) and submit a new, amended, H-1B petition to USCIS. The changes in employment should not occur until after FSU has filed the new LCA and petition. Some changes, like moving from one department to another, with no changes in duties or salary, do not require a new LCA or amended petition.

Yes, an H-1B employee may take classes, as long as they are fulfilling the duties of the job that is the basis of their H-1B status. However, if a part-time employee wants to engage in full-time studies, they should apply to change their status to F-1 or J-1 student. The nonimmigrant status should reflect the individual's primary purposes for being in the U.S. If study is full-time and work is part-time, the H-1B is not an appropriate status. An H-1B employee may be eligible to be classified as a Florida resident for tuition purposes.

Not necessarily. The H-1B is for temporary employment, although it is often the best choice of nonimmigrant status for an employee who is going to hold a permanent position.