CPT FAQ

Yes, for example, if the applicant is studying for a 2-year master’s program, there will be a total of 2 lottery opportunities until graduation.

In fact, students during the CPT period still hold F1 visas, and their insurance plans are no different from ordinary F1 student insurance. You can purchase school insurance or off-campus insurance that meets the school’s requirements.

It Can. It should be noted that OPT becomes invalid immediately after SEVIS transfers out of the original school, and applicants need to obtain a CPT work permit from the new school before they can start working.

Generally speaking, it is possible. Remember to communicate with the school advisor in time. If graduation is approaching, it is still recommended that you complete school courses and obtain transcripts and graduation certificates until H1B becomes effective.

Yes, just communicate with the school in advance and update the SEVP portal employer information in a timely manner.

H1B Visa FAQ

The most important thing is to determine the employee’s position and salary

As we all know, H1B has standard requirements for prevailing wages. Employers need to pay according to this wage standard after H1B takes effect on October 1. Before October 1, employers are not required to pay according to this H1B wage standard.

Lawyers will assign a position based on courses taken by the employee’s education and transcript. Then, a salary standard is given based on the employee’s position and the region where the employer is located.

At this time, the lawyer will communicate with the employer to see if the employer can provide the prevailing wage. Based on past experience, if the difference between an employee’s current annual salary and the H1B prevailing wage is about $5,000, there is a high probability that the employer will agree to increase the employee’s salary to meet the H1B salary requirements.

If the difference is relatively large, such as more than 10,000, then you can use part time H1B to submit an H1B application to the employee based on hourly wages.

The pass rate of part time H1B is basically the same as the pass rate of full time H1B. For part time H1B, it is generally reasonable to work about 25-30 hours a week.

You have time to prepare and submit materials. The deadline for submitting materials to the Immigration Bureau is June 30.

Of course, if the company has its own law firm, the law firm will have its own deadline for submitting materials. Usually it will be before June 15th, so that the lawyer has enough time to prepare the materials. Then everyone should submit the materials according to the deadline given by their lawyer.

Can leave the country.

It is not recommended to leave the country before H1B application is submitted and approved. Before submitting the H1B application, complete entry and exit with F1 visa. Or leave the country after approval and enter the country with h1b visa.

H1B is just a work status, not a green card policy.

The immigration policy of the United States is mainly divided into six categories: family immigration, work immigration, investment immigration, outstanding talent immigration, religious immigration and bihu.

The fastest among them is to get married to a US green card or spouse.

Regardless of whether you win the H1B lottery, as long as the employer agrees, the employer can start the green card process. Therefore, if you do not win the lottery this year, you can continue to apply for a day 1 cpt study, work for the employer, and ask the employer to apply for a green card.

The entire process of applying for eb2/eb3 perm now takes about a year and a half. It may take longer in the future, so the earlier you apply and get a scheduling date, the better.

If you have been selected for H1B, you must also apply for a green card with your employer as soon as possible. H1B is for three years at a time and can be extended twice. The total is three years plus three years, which is six years. If during the six-year period of H1B, the employer starts the green card process, then H1B can be renewed indefinitely until the green card is processed.

Otherwise, once six years have passed, you will have to leave the United States, wait for one year, and then participate in the H1B lottery before you can continue to work in the United States.

Therefore, for those who have been selected for H1B, their employer must start applying for a green card in the fourth and a half years of H1B at the latest.

If you graduate from a non-profit university in the United States, you have two chances to be drawn.

The signature limit for H1B is 85,000.

First of all, undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications will be drawn together, and 65,000 places will be drawn. Applicants with a graduate degree or above who are not successful will be drawn again for 20,000 places. Therefore, graduate students who meet the requirements have two chances to draw lots.

Yes, but the risk is relatively high. When you return to the United States, decide which visa to use to enter the country based on how long it is until October 1st.

After entering the country after H1B approval, you can enter with F1, but it cannot be too close to the effective date of H1B (at this time, you need to enter the country with H1B again for an entry and exit interview to complete the status change.)

If it is too close to October 1st, you may be required to enter the country with an h1b visa.

The remaining unused opt time can be accumulated. But this is not recommended. Because you have been using your own opt, even if H1B is selected and approved, it will not take effect.

If by chance you are fired by your employer during this period, since your previous h1b has not been activated, you may not be able to transfer your H1B to the new employer when you find a new employer.

impossible. When the lottery is required, the sponsor’s employer submits an H-1B application.

Generally, the legal teams of medium and large enterprises are outsourced, so communication with the employer’s lawyers is not very timely. As an employee, the only thing you can do is send more emails and follow up more, so that the lawyer will prioritize your case.

If you win the lottery, you can continue to prepare materials. Please refer to the first question for matters needing attention.

If you don’t win the lottery and your opt is used up, you can consider a day1 cpt school and continue studying. Wait until next year to draw lots.

If you meet the requirements, you can choose to apply for an O1 visa or work for a non-profit organization that does not require a lottery.

If you need to know in advance about day 1 cpt, you can contact @CPT in the group for consultation. For other visas such as O1, you can consult lawyer Zeng according to your own situation.

Generally, you need to wait until the h1b application is approved, and you can safely drop out of school.

However, before H1B takes effect on October 1, you must have a valid work status, opt or cpt, to continue working for the employer. It is not until H1B takes effect that you can work for the employer with H1B status.

The first is specialty occupation, which is the professional nature of the position. This is the most common reason for RFE. Commonly encountered in liberal arts majors. Mainly, you need to prove to the Immigration Bureau why this position requires a bachelor’s degree or above in a specific field to be able to perform it.

The second is proof of employment relationship. This proves that the employee is a genuine employee. Generally, IT consulting companies will send employees to serve client companies for a long time, so it is necessary to prove the consulting company’s management and control of employees.

The third is the maintenance of identity. The difficulty of this kind of patch is relatively low. Generally, this situation will occur when cpt is used. Friends only need to prepare sufficient materials when submitting the application to prove that they have attended classes on time during the CPT period. In fact, they can avoid the situation of having to fill in documents from the beginning. I will post a post specifically on how to do this later.

The fourth type is proof of company address. This is the simplest supplement, as long as the company provides sufficient address proof.

The fifth category is licensing requirements. Lawyers, accountants, and architects all have license requirements. However, any entry-level positions do not require a license. In this case, the lawyer can explain the industry requirements to the Immigration Bureau.

The sixth type is the issue of employee qualifications. Generally, the course studied is too broad, causing the Immigration Bureau to consider that it does not meet the professional professional requirements. Such as MBA or business administration. The specific lawyer will explain this part from a professional perspective, combined with the nature of the company and the employee’s job duties, to prove that the employee is qualified.

The Immigration Bureau will begin receiving application materials on April 1. Applicants have 90 days to prepare and submit materials after being selected. The deadline for submitting materials to the Immigration Bureau is June 30.

Of course, if the company has its own law firm, the law firm will have its own deadline for submitting materials. Usually it will be before June 15th, so that the lawyer has enough time to prepare the materials. Then everyone should submit the materials according to the deadline given by their lawyer.

Educational qualifications at the same level can only have one opt. Once you apply for the opt for the first master’s degree, even if you have not actually worked with this opt, there will be no opt for the second master’s degree.

Master’s and PhD degrees are different levels of opt.

Yes, green card and H1B are immigration procedures and work visas, and they do not affect each other.

Because helping to apply for a green card is based on future work, and helping employees apply for a green card. So now it doesn’t matter whether the employee works for the employer or whether the employee is in the United States. The important thing is that when the timetable comes in the future, the employee will get a green card and work for the employer/

Therefore, no matter whether you are currently applying for H1B, whether you are in the United States or not, and whether you have worked for the employer or not, as long as the employer agrees, you can let the employer start the green card process.

Of course, in real life, employers usually let employees work for them for two or three years. After their performance is good, they start the green card application process.

After winning the lottery, you cannot change your employer immediately. Winning is just the first step. You have to wait for H1B to be submitted, approved, and take effect on October 1st, and then get the pay check for about a month before changing employers.

H1B status is calculated neither from the lottery nor from the submission of materials.

Specifically when does it start? It depends on what method H1B chooses to take effect. For the specific advantages and disadvantages, you can read the article in my Xiaohongshu “Newland Chengzhi Law Firm” .

“There are two ways to validate H1B, COS and CP, which one is more suitable for you?”

To be safer, you can submit H1B applications to two companies at the same time, because H1B may also be rejected.

If H1B is approved by both employers, then choose a company to work for first. After H1B becomes effective, you can use concurrent H1B to work for another employer.

The first question is being able to participate in the lottery. And if you win the lottery, you can submit the H1B application within the 60-day grace period after the end of EAD, that is, before the beginning of May. Then you can still stay in the United States and continue to wait, but you will not be able to work during the period. Wait until the visa becomes effective on 10/1/2024 before continuing to work.

If you want to continue working, you need to find a day 1 cpt school before your EAD expires next year, and use day 1 cpt to continue working for your employer.

For details, you can read the article in my Xiaohongshu “Newland Chengzhi Law Firm” – How to draw H1B during Grace Period.

Yes, there is no risk, as long as the employer is willing, or you can sponsor your own EB1A or NIW.

No, the H1B visa is valid for one year at a time, but the H1B status is valid for 3 years. So if the h1b visa expires after one year, you need to sign it again

Those in non-sensitive majors may also be checked, because sometimes they are checked because of other backgrounds of the employer or employee.

There are many categories of J1, including student visa, short-term visiting scholar visa, research scholar visa, etc. I don’t know which category I want to transfer to. Strictly speaking, you cannot work part-time with a US J1 visa.

And if the J1 you apply for is subject to a 2-year limit, then if you transfer to H1B or other status later, you will still need a waiver.

It is actually quite simple for a company to apply for a green card. It is nothing more than an additional fee for the immigration office, lawyer fees, etc. The total cost is about 10,000 to 20,000.

Some companies are unwilling to help apply for green cards because they want to use the green cards to manipulate their employees. Employers are afraid that their employees will change jobs once they have a green card, so they don’t want to apply for it for their employees.

If you win the H1B lottery and apply for a green card, please refer to ” Is there anything I need to pay attention to in advance if I apply for a green card in the future?”

Can’t. The insurance method is to work for the selected company for a month on October 1st, activate H1B, and then do the h1b transfer.

Yes, but the identity must be maintained in the middle and cannot be broken. You can use f1 to maintain it in the middle

When leaving the country, bring the information needed for your H1B visa interview, such as the original H1B approval notice, etc. Because you need an H1B visa when entering the country, you need to go to the consulate for an interview.

For specific precautions during the interview, please refer to the answer to question 21.

The H1B will be confirmed when you submit it, and you can choose change of status first. If the Immigration Bureau approves the case but does not approve the change of status’s effective method, then CP will be selected to take effect.

If H1B is approved and takes effect, if you want to enter the country, you need to re-H1B.

In the past, the H1B visa interview was relatively loose and there were basically no problems. It took more than a month at most to get the visa. But recently, overseas H1B visas are stricter, whether it is China or Canada, so you still need to be well prepared.

For details on how to prepare, you can read the article “History of Blood and Tears: How to Prevent H1B Interview and Visa Revoke” in the Little Red Book “Newland Chengzhi Law Firm”

Day 1 CPT schools are available for application. However, when choosing a school project, you need to pay attention to the fact that your completed major should not be more than 50% similar to your current major. If you have already studied 2-3 master’s degrees, you can learn about doctoral programs. We have a number of PhD programs to choose from. For specific circumstances, you can also scan the QR code at the end of the article and contact the CPT admissions representative to apply for the Day1 CPT project.